Kaliym Islam - The 12 Inch Rule of Leadership: Proven Strategies For Career Success

Copyright 2021 by Kaliym A. Islam

The 12-Inch Rule of Leadership: Proven Strategies for Career Success

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The resources in this book are provided for informational purposes only and should not be used to replace the specialized training and professional judgment of a health care or mental health care professional.

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For more information, email kaliym@thetrainingproacademy.com.

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-7369160-0-1

eBook ISBN: 978-1-7369160-1-8

Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-7369160-2-5

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To the second generation of leaders

spawned from the tree of Ruby Cayne.

When Dr. Kaliym A. Islam asked me to write this foreword for The 12-Inch Rule of Leadership, I was very honored and excited. Over the past decade, I have had the pleasure of watching Dr. Islam soar in his career, mentor men of all ages, and become an expert in leadership. We both are known as Leadership Training Experts in our fields of organizational management, and even though we have similar backgrounds, we speak to different audiences. As a diversity culture consulting expert, I am consistently reminded of how we navigate our career successes through a different lens and how important it is to understand the insight of those different from us. Since obtaining our doctoral degrees, Dr. Islam and I have had discussions around how, as a Black woman, leadership for me can look and feel different than it does for Black men.

So, to recommend this book allows me to introduce Dr. Kaliym Islam and his dedicated work toward the lessons, insights, and stories from generations of Black men about business and what it takes to succeed using the 12-Inch Rule. I will never forget the day I walked in the room with the opportunity to mentor my first group of young Sigma Betas of The Crescent Foundation, a program targeting young males between thirteen and eighteen, with Dr. Islam and our brothers of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. I was completely out of my comfort zone. In that moment, I witnessed a transformation happen watching my fraternity brothers interact with those young boys, who saw their future selves in the men. They saw leaders, scientists, entrepreneurs, and mentors, and I realized the chapters in this book will not only transform mindsets, but lives as well, just like those young men.

No matter where you are in your life, the 12-Inch Rule will connect you to understanding what foundational principles are needed to navigate leadership successes. When organizations hire individuals, they hire for skills and talents, but they must manage the whole person. It can be challenging navigating organizational cultures and having a feeling of inclusiveness. In this book, Dr. Islam decodes the behaviors of leaders from a number of industries into easy-to-follow steps, explaining how they leveraged and continue to leverage the concepts of the 12-Inch Rule to advance in their careers and gain the recognition they deserve.

What makes this book so unique is that Dr. Islam not only shares the experiences of each of these Black men, but he also breaks down the information with research and data he collected through his own findings. As a researcher, we are taught how data is utilized, and it is so important when we are making decisions. When you can conduct the research and provide the primary data, it validates and provides a powerful impact. Every day, we are constantly looking at leadership trends and what we can utilize to navigate the workplace. In The 12-Inch Rule for Leadership, Dr. Islam took a holistic approach to provide just that with trends, stats, and real stories that people can relate to.

As you read The 12-Inch Rule of Leadership, you will be transformed, and you are in for more than just knowledge, but an experience. It is a transformational experience to read about what the 12-Inch Rule means and the principles behind it. In addition, you will learn lessons and read stories from generations of Black men who have navigated the business culture and created wealth, success, and opportunity. You will be encouraged and intrigued as each chapter unfolds with principles you can immediately apply to your current life and work. You will walk away with resources that will impact you and those around you.

I trust you will enjoy and benefit from reading this book and will find the amazing leadership stories inspiring!

Dr. Nicole King-Smith

CEO, NK Enterprise Consulting, LLC

April 5, 2021

Just over thirty-eight years ago, I was initiated into the brotherhood of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Incorporated, a historically African American Greek lettered fraternity founded at Howard University in Washington, DC, on January 9, 1914. The founders of the organizationA. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I. Brownestablished the fraternity to exemplify the ideals of Brotherhood, Scholarship, and Service, while simultaneously exemplifying an inclusive perspective to serve the community. This vision was a dramatic departure from the principles of other organizations that focused on exclusivity.

Sigma men are expected to function as vehicles who use their skills to deliver services to the general community, not for enriching themselves and/or their immediate families. As a result, individuals view the fraternity as an international organization of leaders.

The fraternitys success in this effort is evidenced by its long history of producing exceptional leaders in several fields, including science and education, with members like George Washington Carver, the scientist, botanist, educator, and inventor whose studies and teaching revolutionized agriculture in the Southern US; and James Weldon Johnson, the author, politician, and diplomat who authored Lift Every Voice and Sing.