The Glass Closet: Why Coming Out is Good Business

Description

Within the pages of John Browne's The Glass Closet you will find the most important lesson for the modern business world - being true to yourself brings success. 'I wish I had been brave enough to come out earlier in my tenure as CEO of BP. I regret it to this day. I know that if I had done so I would have made more of an impact for other gay men and women. With The Glass Closet, I hope to give some of them the courage to make an impact of their own.' Whether you're lesbian, gay, transgender or straight, John Browne's message is simple and clear, it's better for you and it's better for business when you bring your authentic self to work. Drawing on his personal experiences and the experience of other gay and lesbian business leaders, and by investigating the research and the social contexts, The Glass Closet strives to give courage and inspire the LGBT community that despite the risks involved, self-disclosure is best for employees and for the businesses that support them. Every CEO, every HR Manager, every team leader - anyone who is responsible for the culture and success of their business should read The Glass Closet. And for anyone fearful or lacking the confidence to bring their true self into work every day, this book was written for you.

JOHN BROWNE (Lord Browne of Madingley) was CEO of BP from 1995-2007, where he built a reputation as a visionary leader, transforming BP into one of the world's largest companies. He was president of the Royal Academy of Engineering, is a fellow of the Royal Society, a foreign member of the US Academy of Arts and Sciences and chairman of the trustees of the Tate Galleries. He holds degrees from Cambridge and Stanford universities, was knighted in 1998, and made a life peer in 2001. He is now a partner at Riverstone Holdings and the author of the memoir Beyond Business, popular science book Seven Elements that Have Changed the World and revealing business polemic, The Glass Closet.

Despite much progress in recent years, gay rights issues around the world remain a serious problem. The Glass Closet by John Browne is a brave and fascinating book that shows how businesses can lead the way in promoting gay rights and why being yourself is best for business and for you. * Sir Richard Branson, Chairman Virgin Group * Personal and instructive, The Glass Closet provides a compelling roadmap to what, as a society and as individuals, we can achieve if LGBT men and women are completely free from prejudice and anxiety because of who they are. * Lloyd Blankfein, Chairman and CEO Goldman Sachs * Lord Browne has written a book of unfl inching honesty and lasting social value. In it he says, 'You will do more to better the world when you can be authentic.' It took much of his remarkable career for him to reach that conclusion; but in doing so, he makes it infi nitely easier for others to follow. * Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO WPP * This is a brave book. It takes a subject hardly ever discussed in global business, gay rights, and blows apart misconceptions. * Martha Lane Fox, Founder lastminute.com * How many of your people are living a double life? How many are wasting energy and emotion keeping their closet closed? Business leaders are used to shaping their worlds, to making a diff erence. This is one place we can, and should. * Peter Sands, CEO Standard Chartered *