Once Upon a Corporation

About the Book

Once Upon a Corporation: Leadership Insights from Short Stories is a set of 27 tongue-in-cheek, short fictions drawn from work life—parodies, satires, parables, Socratic dialogues and straight stories—written to both delight and enlighten. Readers will get the message of each story by insight and reflection, following the successes and failures of characters that perform ordinary tasks in extraordinary ways. The stories highlight some important values of leadership, including caring for others and trying to empower them; they urge taking a stand and speaking out when organizational excellence or personal dignity are at stake; and they show ways of using one’s brains to prevail ethically by presenting worthwhile views with commitment and sound logic. This is a unique collection of imaginative fictions, written specifically about today’s work life, and supported by thirty years of the author’s organizational experience in professional, management and teaching roles.

“An outstanding contribution to today’s business literature.”
—Irving Weiser, Chairman and CEO, Royal Bank of Canada Dain Rauscher

“This is an excellent job of conveying managerial concepts in a concise manner… It is easy reading and yet very instructive.”
—Lloyd P. Johnson, Past Chairman and CEO, Norwest Corporation

“The stories have some outstanding lessons and insights.”
—William W. George, Past President and CEO, Medtronic, Inc.

About the Author

Tolly Kizilos was a director of Organization Development at Honeywell, Inc. until his retirement. He is an adjunct professor of Management at the University of St. Thomas, in Minneapolis, and is engaged in consulting, writing and lecturing. He is the author of three other books and several articles and short stories.