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The Hardware : Leadership Tools and Tales - Michael Cloutier

The Hardware

Leadership Tools and Tales

By: Michael Cloutier, Randi Madonik Skurka

Paperback | 9 December 2025

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The Hardware: Leadership Tools and Tales is a memoir-like leadership fable envisioned by Michael Cloutier, a retired pharmaceuticals executive, and co-written by Randi Madonik Skurka. It addresses contemporary challenges by incorporating fictionalized personal anecdotes in an engaging story, in order to demonstrate and teach principles of leadership.

 

The story opens with the protagonist, Brad, a business executive, receiving an invitation to be bestowed with an honorary degree by the University of Toronto at the spring convocation of its business school graduates. This is to be in recognition of his contribution to Canadian business and to the university, at which he served as an instructor and chief fundraiser for a new student learning centre. Each subsequent chapter contains flashbacks of events in Brad's life, and related recollections or conversations about a leadership trait or "tool," for example, trust, authenticity, integrity and generosity; these are summarized in key takeaways at the end of the chapter. The episodes unfold against the backdrop of his life's trajectory, starting with childhood memories of the small town hardware store of his grandfather, which is about to be sold.

 

Readers will be left educated, entertained and inspired.

Industry Reviews

"Reading The Hardware feels like sitting with a wise friend who's walked the path before you. These stories remind us that leadership is less about power and more about presence - the courage to listen, the humility to serve, and the clarity to inspire."

- Marc Champagne, Bestselling Author & Mental Fitness Futurist

"Very insightful and profound. It is a product of deep reflection about your experiences in leadership. Like leadership skills, we frequently get used to using the same tool for different situations where another might be more useful."

-Tom Potter, Leadership Professional

"Blending decades of leadership experience with the art of storytelling, Mike offers a powerful guide of wisdom that doesn't just teach leadership - it inspires it."

- Amita Kent, International Business Leader

You Can Find This Book In

Non-FictionBusiness & ManagementManagement & Management TechniquesOwnership & Organisation of EnterprisesNon-Profitmaking Organisations

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