Endorsements

Review
In The Breakthrough Solution Dr. Grant Mullen, a mental health physician from Grimsby, Ont., takes us into a dysfunctional high-tech company. He has a gift for humour, showing the various managers subscribing to different hot management theories - one fellow briskly tries to do everything in one minute while guarding the cheese on his desk from being moved, while another prides himself on disrupting staff in their work so that they can benefit from disruptive innovation.

But the major problem is the large bags each of the staff members is dragging around in this Alice in Wonderland world. Those bags - a metaphor for the emotional baggage they need to clear out to be effective - slow them down, and get in their way from doing their work. The message is that managers need to work through their own emotional issues to lead - and then help staff to work through their own problems.

A manager in this culture of recovery should be as comfortable - and as willing - to discuss staff personal problems as company issues, all with a goal of improvement. Staff should be encouraged to see counsellors when they are struggling, opening up their baggage for self-discovery, and promotions should go to those who demonstrate leadership ability and emotional well being. He tells the story in a charming, light way, although again you may wonder how the advice - there is no user manual offered - will work if you try it.
HARVEY SCHACHTER
The Globe and Mail, May 28, 2008

This light-hearted story shows how paying attention to people’s mental and emotional health is one of the best ways to unleash their power and potential. This is a fun read with an important message. Highly recommended.
Ken Blanchard, co-author of The One Minute
Manager and Leading at a Higher Level

Amazingly, Dr. Mullen has captured the essence of so much of the tension within today’s dysfunctional corporate environment. He helps his readers
navigate their path past familiar warning signs to a successful conclusion for both themselves and their employers. A must read for anyone feeling confusion or stress in the workplace.
David Breukelman, MBA
President, Business Arts Inc. & Founder of Arius3D Inc.

It should be required reading for anyone who aspires to become an effective leader. Reading it will make a positive impact on themselves, their employees and their bottom-line results.
Richard Elmes
The Sales Dating Guy richardelmes.com

Dr. Grant Mullen addresses in a fresh, non-threatening way, a serious problem affecting many people in business and other walks of life. Recognition that this is a problem that is widespread and for which help is available is a necessary first step to dealing with it. The many examples of the associated dysfunctional behaviour portrayed at Crystal-Display should strike a familiar chord with many readers. Managers and
supervisors at all levels should read this book. It’s a real eye-opener.
Jacques Lapointe
Retired President and CEO of GlaxoSmithKline Canada

The Breakthrough Solution presents not only the problem of emotional baggage that most employees bring to the job site, but it also presents some interesting solutions in dealing with the negative effects of this baggage. For instance, I found the example intriguing where a manager deliberately and sincerely asked those who report to him how he could help them do their job better. I tried this in my workplace in hopes of shoring up a foundation of trust and support. The idea of "success seminars" introduced toward the end of the book also sounded very promising. There are many other aspects of this short book that bring hope to difficult workplace environments.
I whole heartedly recommend the book as a good primer in management and also as a reminder of the true values that managers ought to promote among their employees.
Ivan Gaetz Phd
Dean of Libraries, Regis University
Denver, Colorado

I highly recommend this book to any individual or organization that is seeking a workable approach to the creation of balanced and creative management
concepts. The Breakthrough Solution is a clear, readable presentation of ‘the formula to create leadership and an environment that supports
it.’ It discusses the emotional baggage we all carry that prevents us from reaching our potential and how to deal with it. A great tool for the marketplace.
Ralph A. Beisner
Retired New York State Supreme Court Justice and Author

For the past 21 years I have worked with organizations throughout North America in assisting them in making the right hiring decisions. We all know, it’s all about people! However, in many cases hiring managers have no idea the baggage these employees carry into their new working environment. Dr. Grant Mullen is one of the few that “gets it”. Dr. Mullen has taken his practical knowledge of emotional health and weaved it into this little book that touches on corporate health and the impact “mental health” has on an organization.
The Breakthrough Solution is a great read for anyone who manages people.
Craig Bissett
President, Hire Results Ltd hireresults.ca

It is so refreshing to read a book that deals with not only the symptoms of a dysfunctional workplace but the actual causes and real solutions. Finally, an author (Dr. Mullen) has talked about the elephant in the room.
Paul Richardson
President, CBMC

I found The Breakthrough Solution to be a very valuable implement in my chest of people management tools. This book was extremely well written. In addition, I believe it was scripted with astonishing accuracy as I was able to identify many of the cast of characters in my own employees, my peers, and - yes - even in myself.
I have discovered and seen significant evidence throughout my management career that management is more of an art than a science. This book provides another resource to help me manage people more effectively and compassionately. Greater productivity in the business world today is realized through an efficient, healthy workforce. There are a number of recent studies that indicate that mental health issues are becoming prime contributors to absenteeism in the workplace, and consequently, lost productivity. This book, written with just the right balance of practicality and humour, is an easy read and will go a long way to assist any supervisor to identify and resolve stress and conflict issues before they begin to negatively affect the bottom line.
Ray Potstra, business professional

This guy gets it!
From reading Dr. Mullen's book I finally realized what I've been seeing for years. People bring their personal baggage to work and if work is not going well, it's usually because of personal issues. Work on the personal issues to fix the work issues and not the other way around.
A Software executive

I read the book, cover to cover the same night. The book is funny and insightful. I will never manage people the same way.
Patrick Thibault, a manager of 30+ employees

Dr. Mullen's book gets at the core reason many workplaces are dysfunctional - people have enormous baggage. It is blunting their effectiveness and their joy at work. This book is an important conversation starter - permission for any employee, especially senior managers, to admit they need help and to ask for it. It should be mandatory reading for every senior manager to sensitize them to inviting this kind of conversation with the people who report to them. Besides all that, it's kind of fun to read.
John Kuypers, organizational consultant