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Bruce W. Piasecki

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Bruce Piasecki
BornBruce W. Piasecki
1955
West Islip, Long Island, New York
OccupationAuthor
Businessperson
Alma materCornell University
Period1987–present
Genre
  • Non-fiction
SpouseAndrea Masters[1]
Website
www.brucepiasecki.com

Bruce W. Piasecki (born 1955) is an American author, academic, and environmentalist.[2][3] He is the founder and president of AHC Group.[4][5]

Early life and education

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Born February 1, 1955, in West Islip, Long Island, New York, Bruce Piasecki was raised by a widowed mother, Lillian Anna (née Kureczko) Piasecki, who took in foster children from a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds.[6][7]

Piasecki is a graduate of Cornell University, from where he received a doctorate degree, under the guidance of the literary historian M. H. Abrams.[8][9]

Career

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After graduation, Piasecki began his academic career as an associate professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he also directed an environmental management program.[10][11] He has also taught at Clarkson University and Cornell University.[12] At Clarkson he taught courses such as Great Books in Western Civilization.[1] He has a particular interest in Benjamin Franklin and has been teaching his biography for ten years.[1]

In 1981, Piasecki established AHC Group, Inc.[13][14] to help businesses, particularly Fortune 500 firms, in realizing their full potential in terms of environmental strategy and public policy.[1]

Combining writing with environmental business consulting, Piasecki authored one of his first articles on managing toxic waste, "Unfouling the Nest," which was published in the September issue of Science 83 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.[15]

While serving as president of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, American diplomat Frank E. Loy awarded Piasecki sufficient funding to research hazardous waste policies and technologies in twelve nations of Europe from 1983 to 1988. This led to the publication of his two early books Beyond Dumping (1984) and America's Future in Hazardous Waste Management (1987). This work developed into a decades-long mentoring relationship, with Loy accepting multiple speaking engagements as a Senior Associate at Piasecki's Achieving Results workshops.[16]

In the 1990s, Piasecki served on a White House council formed by then-Vice President Al Gore.[1] That came about largely because in 1990 Simon & Schuster contracted with Piasecki to publish In Search of Environmental Excellence: Moving Beyond Blame. He and co-author Peter Asmus asked famed oceanographer Jacques Cousteau to write the Foreword for the book. Cousteau complied, as his chief scientist had earlier completed an interview with Piasecki about his prior books on hazardous waste. However, Cousteau assigned the actual writing task to his son, Jean-Michel Cousteau, but put his imprimatur on that introduction to the book.[17]

In 1995, his book Corporate Environmental Strategy: The Avalanche of Change since Bhopal was reviewed by Booklist.[18]

His 2007 book, World Inc., explores how countries increasingly turn to corporations, rather than governments, for problem-solving.[12] The book was later released in a number of foreign language editions, including Japanese, Italian, Greek, Portuguese, and Korean.[19]

In March 2012, the first hardcover edition of Piasecki's book, Doing More with Less: The New Way to Wealth (Wiley),[20][21] reached the #5 spot in the New York Times nonfiction bestsellers list.[22][23] VoiceAmerica interviewer David Gibbons[24] called it "a fine book that weaves its way through the definitions of frugality and historical context as framed by the lives of Benjamin Franklin among others." Another book, New World Companies, was reviewed by Kirkus, which called it "Optimistic and full of good intentions."[25]

American writer and academic Jay Parini wrote the Foreword to Piasecki's 2015 memoir, Missing Persons.[6][26]

In 2021, he and his wife, Andrea Masters, launched the Creative Force Fund Award for Social Impact Journalists.[1][27] The award is given to young journalists covering business and society who are under the age of 35.[1]

In March 2022, his book A New Way to Wealth: The Power of Doing More with Less was published. The book has been reviewed by Kirkus Reviews.[28]

In 2023 he published his memoir Doing More With One Life: A Writer's Journey Through the Past, Present, and Future with an introduction by noted author Jay Parini who writes "Piasecki takes us on an unexpected journey into a new form of autobiography, a life story projected and reflected." And, "This comes directly from the realms of modern business, but also indirectly from the wit and ambitions of Ben Franklin. It is this eclectic mix that proves electrifying." Piasecki uses the art of the autobiography to include a young man's journey as reflected in the writings of Ben Franklin, an immigrant's narrative like Mary Antin in The Promised Land, and allusion found in the writings of Walt Whitman. Piasecki discusses his memoir in a podcast here.[29]

In his most recent book, Wealth and Climate Competitiveness: The New Narrative on Business and Society,[30] published in January 2024 by Rodin Books and based on two decades of running business workshops, the author argues that a set of five recurring prejudices, from 1900 to 2020, have held up real progress on climate action.

In addition to his book writing and business consulting activity, Piasecki is also a regular contributor to the social publishing platforms Medium[31] and Muck Rack.[32]

In 2021, Paris-based artist and podcast host Mia Funk invited Piasecki to collaborate in interviews at The Creative Process[33] with notable business leaders such as Bill Novelli of Unilever and Chris Coulter of GlobeScan. The ongoing theme of these podcasts is how to achieve successful results in business and society.

Bibliography

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  • 1984: Beyond Dumping
  • 1987: America's Future in Toxic Waste Management: Lessons from Europe
  • 1990: In Search of Environmental Excellence: Moving Beyond Blame
  • 1995: The Avalanche of Change Since Bhopal[34]
  • 2007: World Inc[35]
  • 2009: The Surprising Solution: Creating Possibility in a Swift and Severe World[36]
  • 2015: Missing Persons: A Life of Unexpected Influences[37]
  • 2016: New World Companies: The Future of Capitalism[38]
  • 2016: Doing More With Less: The New Way To Wealth[39]
  • 2016: Doing More With Teams: The New Way To Winning[40]
  • 2021: Giants of Social Investing: John Streur and Jack Robinson
  • 2022: A New Way to Wealth: The Power of Doing More with Less[41]
  • 2024: Doing More with One Life: A Writer's Journey Through the Past, Present, and Future
  • 2024: Wealth and Climate Competitiveness: The New Narrative on Business and Society

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Rightmyer, Jack (June 2, 2022). "Saratoga Springs author turns to Benjamin Franklin for newest book's inspiration". Times Union.
  2. ^ "GINGRICH LASHES OUT AT EPA". Washington Post. February 17, 1995. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
  3. ^ "Europe Leading the Way in Solving Toxic Waste Problem, Study Finds". Los Angeles Times. February 9, 1988.
  4. ^ "The social responsibility revolution". Christian Science Monitor.
  5. ^ cedelhart@bakersfield.com, COURTENAY EDELHART, Californian staff writer (November 28, 2009). "Stimulus money to fund local "green" projects". The Bakersfield Californian.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ a b "Five questions for Bruce Piasecki". February 19, 2015.
  7. ^ Piasecki, Bruce (November 19, 2023). Missing Persons: A Life of Unexpected Influences. Square One Publishers. ISBN 978-0757004124.
  8. ^ "The impact of the pandemic". April 30, 2020.
  9. ^ "DSpace" (PDF).
  10. ^ Deutsch, Claudia H. (March 3, 1991). "Managing; Giving the Environment Teeth". The New York Times.
  11. ^ "Waste Management, American Style". The New York Times. April 25, 1993 – via NYTimes.com.
  12. ^ a b Piasecki, Bruce (November 19, 2023). World Inc. Sourcebooks, Incorporated. ISBN 978-1402208713.
  13. ^ "About Bruce Piasecki".
  14. ^ "Bruce Piasecki Bio".
  15. ^ Science 83, September 1983, pp. 77–81.
  16. ^ "AHC Group Workshops".
  17. ^ "Bruce Piasecki: Self-Discovery, Self-Promotion, and Simple Naked Bragging". June 24, 2024.
  18. ^ "Corporate Environmental Strategy: The Avalanche of Change since Bhopal, by Bruce W. Piasecki" – via Booklist.
  19. ^ "About World Inc. | Foreign Editions - Translations".
  20. ^ "Doing More with Less: The New Way to Wealth by Bruce Piasecki". Wiley. January 31, 2012.
  21. ^ "The Doing More With Less Guy".
  22. ^ "Hardcover Advice & Misc". New York Times. March 25, 2012.
  23. ^ Grange, Pam. "Kepler's Bestsellers - March 11, 2012". www.almanacnews.com.
  24. ^ "In Discussion ~ David Gibbons". VoiceAmerica. May 25, 2010.
  25. ^ "NEW WORLD COMPANIES" – via Kirkus Reviews.
  26. ^ "MISSING PERSONS | Square One Publishers".
  27. ^ "Leah Thomas wins the Bruce Piasecki and Andrea Masters Award on Business and Society Writing". HudsonValley360. September 14, 2023.
  28. ^ "A NEW WAY TO WEALTH". Kirkus Reviews.
  29. ^ "The Creative Process Bruce Piasecki Interviewed by Mia Funk". September 26, 2023.
  30. ^ "Wealth and Climate Competitiveness".
  31. ^ "Bruce Piasecki at Medium".
  32. ^ "Bruce Piasecki on Muck Rack".
  33. ^ "Bruce Piasecki Interviews at The Creative Process". December 21, 2022.
  34. ^ Corporate Environmental Strategy: The Avalanche of Change since Bhopal, by Bruce W. Piasecki – via Booklist.
  35. ^ "Nonfiction Book Review: World Inc.: How the Growing Power of Business is Revolutionizing Profits, People and the Future of Both". Publishers Weekly. April 2007.
  36. ^ "Nonfiction Book Review: The Surprising Solution: Creating Possibility in a Swift and Severe World by Bruce Piasecki". Publishers Weekly. November 2009.
  37. ^ "Nonfiction Book Review: Missing Persons: A Life of Unexpected Influences by Bruce Piasecki". Publishers Weekly. February 2015.
  38. ^ "Nonfiction Book Review: New World Companies: The Future of Capitalism by Bruce Piasecki". Publishers Weekly. January 2016.
  39. ^ "Hardcover Advice & Misc. Books - Best Sellers - Books - March 25, 2012 - The New York Times". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
  40. ^ "Publisher's Book Page: Doing More With Teams by Bruce Piasecki". Square One Publishers. March 25, 2016.
  41. ^ "A NEW WAY TO WEALTH | Kirkus Reviews" – via www.kirkusreviews.com.
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