Roots and Wings: Ten Lessons of Motherhood that Helped Me Create and Run a Company

by Margery Kraus, Phyllis J. Piano

Overview

A child of immigrants, Margery Kraus knew the value of hard work from an early age. Graduating from college before she had finished high school, she learned to be a risk taker. As a young wife and mother coming of age in the 1960s, she faced plenty of people who told her, “You can’t do that.” But in the end, she did: she founded APCO Worldwide, a global consulting firm headquartered in Washington, DC, specializing in public affairs, communication, and business consulting for major multinationals. Under her leadership, the company grew from nothing to almost $150 million in revenues. In Roots And Wings, Kraus shares the ten lessons she learned from motherhood and leadership that guided her along the way—an inspiration to all seeking to overcome obstacles, achieve career and personal success, and do the right thing.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781684630257
Publisher:	SparkPress
Publication date:	10/22/2019
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Margery Kraus, founder and executive chairman of APCO Worldwide, a global consulting firm headquartered in Washington, DC, specializes in public affairs, communication, and business consulting for major multinationals. She is the author of numerous articles in the fields of public affairs management and corporate reputation; has been a guest lecturer throughout the world; and has received many prestigious awards. Kraus serves as a trustee of American University and sits on the advisory board of the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, is the Chair of Women’s Presidents Organization, and has served on the boards of various industry, professional associations, and corporations. She has been married to her husband, Steve, for more than fifty years, is a mother of three, and has nine grandchildren.

Phyllis J. Piano spent more than thirty years as an award-winning corporate communications expert for some of the world’s largest companies. She has somehow managed to maintain her sense of humor, love of writing, and passion for life and the people she loves and cares about throughout it all. A world traveler, Piano has since left the corporate world and fallen back into the arms of her own first love: writing. She and her husband divide their time between California, England, and the Midwest. Her first novel, Hostile Takeover: A Love Story, was published in October 2016. When she is not packing a bag, making artisan sourdough bread, or cooking with lots of garlic, Piano is working on her next novel.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents Praise for Margery Kraus and Roots and Wings Foreword Introduction Work/Family Balance: Can You Have It All? Lesson One: Give Them Roots and Wings Lesson Two: Praise in Public, Criticize in Private Lesson Three: Be Fearless Lesson Four: Nurture—Don’t Underestimate the Power of Caring Lesson Five: No Whining Lesson Six: Make a Difference Lesson Seven: Set Clear Boundaries—Carrot and Stick Lesson Eight: Because I Said So Doesn’t Cut It Lesson Nine: Show Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way Lesson Ten: Expand Horizons and the Ten-Year-Old Trip Epilogue About Margery Kraus About Phyllis J. Piano APCO’s Mission, Values, and Operating Principles Acknowledgments

Editorial Reviews

Featured in Parade's The Ultimate 2019 Reading Gift Guide: 25 Books For Every Reader on Your List
“Margery Kraus is an extraordinary woman who’s making a positive, lasting impact and building a better world . . . She teaches us how she nurtured a beautiful, active, and engaged family while creating, building, and running a groundbreaking company. There is much we can learn from her, personally and professionally, from her unbounded optimism to her ‘calibrated persis-tence.’” —Sylvia Burwell, President, American University, Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2014–2017), Director, U.S. Office of Management and Budget (2013–2014) “Kraus is a transformational leader who has proven that one can be brilliant, decent, and for-ward-thinking in life generally, and specifically in building a company that helps to prove that one can do well by doing good. Her life lessons as a wife and a mother provide a clear guide for success and leadership, which can be replicated in so many ways.” —Daniel Glickman, Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America (2004–2010), Secretary, US Department of Agriculture (1995–2001), Congressman, (Kansas 4th Con-gressional District, 1977–1995) “This is an incomparable book that combines the expertise of parenting (and grandparenting) with savvy business acumen. Too often, women believe they need to seek balance between two competing priorities—family on one side; career on the other. It’s an unwinnable game that un-doubtedly leads to guilt on both ends of the scale . . . Margery’s book shows us that each priority informs the other, developing skills that are applicable in both realms. Through real-life exam-ples, she illustrates how being a good business leader makes us better parents and how good par-enting delivers an invaluable skillset to the workplace. Rather than competing, the two goals work together to weave a tapestry that is both stronger and more beautiful than they are alone.” —Linda McMahon, 25th Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), Co-founder and former Chief Executive Officer of WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) “Margery Kraus tells a story of stunning business success with passion, deep insight, and refreshing plain talk. This remarkably candid book is a roadmap for others—who want to dream big—and then find the ways to actually make it happen.” —Former U.S. Senator Don Riegle

From the Publisher