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Kukk, Christopher L.

WORK TITLE: The Compassionate Achiever
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://chriskukk.com/
CITY: New York
STATE: NY
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:

http://www.wcsu.edu/socialsci/faculty.asp * https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-kukk-429059b9/

RESEARCHER NOTES:

 

LC control no.:    n 2017010367

Descriptive conventions:
                   rda

Personal name heading:
                   Kukk, Christopher L.

Found in:          The compassionate achiever, 2017: ECIP t.p. (Christopher L.
                      Kukk)

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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS AUTHORITIES
Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave., SE
Washington, DC 20540

Questions? Contact: ils@loc.gov

PERSONAL

Married; wife’s name Elly; children: three sons.

EDUCATION:

Boston University, B.A., 1992; Boston College, Ph.D., 2001; graduated from U.S. Army Military Intelligence School’s Counterintelligence Agent program.

ADDRESS

  • Home - Brookfield, CT.

CAREER

Academic. U.S. Army counterintelligence agent; Western Connecticut State University, Danbury, CT, professor of political science, 2001–, founding Director of the Center for Compassion, Creativity and Innovation, director of the Kathwari Honors Program, debate team founder. Has also lectured at Harvard College and Boston College; Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, international security fellow, 1998-2000; University of Tartu, Fulbright scholar, 2007-08; Cambridge Energy Research Associates, research associate; InnovOwl LLC, cofounder and CEO, 2013-17. Advisory council member to Housatonic Valley Association Inc., 2004–; member of board of directors for Jesse Lewis Choose Love Foundation, 2013–; advisor to Hawn Foundation, 2013–.

MEMBER:

International Neuroethics Society, Learning & the Brain Society, Association of Writers & Writing Programs, Men Against Sexual & Domestic Violence.

AWARDS:

Teaching excellence award, Western Connecticut State University, 2009.

WRITINGS

  • The Compassionate Achiever: How Helping Others Fuels Success, HarperOne (New York, NY), 2017

SIDELIGHTS

Christopher L. Kukk is an academic. After finishing his B.A. in political science and government at Boston University, he earned a Ph.D. from Boston College in 2001. He also graduated from the U.S. Army Military Intelligence School’s Counterintelligence Agent program and subsequently served as a U.S. Army counterintelligence agent. Kukk lectured at Harvard College and Boston College before eventually becoming a professor of political science at Western Connecticut State University. Kukk’s academic research interests include the Connected Five Cs of education (concept, creativity, compassion, courage, and constraint) and the implementation of this with compassion into American common core standards curriculum.

Kukk published The Compassionate Achiever: How Helping Others Fuels Success in 2017. Kukk pushes his ideal that everyone should employ compassion in all areas of our lives. In particular he challenges the belief that in order to be successful, one must push the acceptable borders of ethical behavior and kindness. Finding this approach poisonous, he believes that compassion is a greatly underappreciated but effective tool to achieve our goals. He posits that many overachievers are able to apply compassion in their lives. Kukk supports this premise by offering examples from neuroscience and from within the natural environment, illustrating how the results are more rewarding for those who achieve them through compassionate means than for those who behaved with less or no compassion. Kukk also promotes a set of LUCA skills, which include listening, understanding, connecting, and acting.

In an article in the News Times, Kukk talked with Rob Ryser about the importance of compassion and lamented how humans have seemed to cast aside the significance it can bring to achieving success in one’s life. He recalled that “as a society we discount compassion, even though Charles Darwin said compassion is one of the key reasons why humankind moved up the evolutionary chain…. We think we know how success is obtained—that we have to be ruthless—but we are absolutely wrong.” Ryser admitted that “compassion is more than just a value or a virtue,” clarifying that “it’s a verb.”

A contributor to Publishers Weekly found the book to be “astute but repetitious.” The reviewer observed that Kukk implores that compassion is something that is not a passive trait and must be worked on and employed. The reviewer noted, however, that after “this premise is accepted, there’s not much content here beyond repeating it, and the result feels slim.” A contributor to the Jathan & Heather Website stated: “Packed full of easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions, The Compassionate Achiever teaches all of us how to Listen, Understand, Connect, and Act (LUCA) in a way that benefits us and the people in our lives. So pick up this revolutionary new book today, take Kukk’s compassionate words to heart.”

BIOCRIT

PERIODICALS

  • Publishers Weekly, January 9, 2017, review of The Compassionate Achiever: How Helping Others Fuels Success, p. 55.

ONLINE

  • Christopher L. Kukk Website, http://chriskukk.com (October 17, 2017).

  • Jathan & Heather Website, https://jathanandheather.com/ (April 3, 2017), Heather Fink, review of Compassionate Achiever.

  • News Times, http://www.newstimes.com/ (July 12, 2017), Rob Ryser, “Western Connecticut State University Professor Pens Book on Compassion.”

  • Western Connecticut State University Website, http://www.wcsu.edu/ (October 17, 2017), author profile.*

  • The Compassionate Achiever: How Helping Others Fuels Success HarperOne (New York, NY), 2017
1. The compassionate achiever : how helping others fuels success LCCN 2016051065 Type of material Book Personal name Kukk, Christopher L., author. Main title The compassionate achiever : how helping others fuels success / Christopher L. Kukk, PH.D. Edition First edition. Published/Produced New York, NY : HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2017. Description viii, 239 pages ; 24 cm ISBN 9780062457899 (hardcover) CALL NUMBER BJ1475 .K85 2017 CABIN BRANCH Copy 1 Request in Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms - STORED OFFSITE
  • http://chriskukk.com/ - http://chriskukk.com/

    Dr. Kukk is Professor of Political Science/Social Science at Western Connecticut State University, a Fulbright Scholar, HarperCollins author of The Compassionate Achiever, founding Director of the Center for Compassion, Creativity and Innovation, Director of the Kathwari Honors Program, founder of the University’s Debate Team, and member of Phi Beta Kappa. He received his Ph.D. in political science from Boston College and his B.A. in political science from Boston University. He was also an international security fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. His research and publications combine neuroscience with the social sciences and focus on education issues, the political economy of natural resources, and the creation and sustainability of civil society. Dr. Kukk was also a counter-intelligence agent for the United States Army, a research associate for Cambridge Energy Research Associates, and has provided the Associated Press, National Public Radio, The Economist magazine, NBC-TV, CableVision, and Connecticut media with analysis on a wide range of topics and issues. His forthcoming books are based on the idea of weaving values such as compassion into our learning, civic, and business communities.

    Western Connecticut State University

    Professor of Political Science
    Director of the Kathwari Honors Program
    Founder of the University’s Debate Team

    CCCIWSCU Center for Compassion, Creativity and Innovation

    Founding Director

    jesse-lewis-choose-love-foundationJesse Lewis Choose Love Foundation

    Member Board of Directors

    Men Against Sexual & Domestic Violencewc_logo_tosize

    Member

    hawn
    The Hawn Foundation

    Advisor

    hopelabHopeLab

    Member of their Resilience Tech group
    The motto is “Helping humanity thrive through technology.”

    belferHarvard University’s Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs

    Manuscript reviewer for their journal International Security.
    Former International Security Fellow.

    pbkPhi Beta Kappa

    Member

    innovowl-logo-9-logInnovOwl LLC™

    Co-Founder and CEO

    nsInternational Neuroethics Society

    Member

    Learning & the Brain Society learning_and_the_brain

    Member

  • wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Kukk

    Christopher Kukk, Ph.D., is a professor of Political Science at Western Connecticut State University, director of Western’s Kathwari Honors Program, founding director of the Center for Compassion, Creativity, and Innovation, and founder of Western’s Debate Team. Kukk’s research and publications combine the social sciences with neuroscience and focus on education issues, the political economy of natural resources and the formation and sustainability of civil society.[1]

    Contents

    1 Education
    2 Career
    3 Personal life
    4 References
    5 External links

    Education

    Christopher Kukk graduated from the U.S. Army Military Intelligence School’s Counterintelligence Agent program in Fort Huachuca, Arizona. Kukk earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston University, graduating as a member of Phi Beta Kappa, one of the oldest honor societies in the United States. Kukk went on to earn a Master of Arts degree in American and International Politics and a Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science from Boston College.[2]
    Career

    Kukk worked as a Counterintelligence Agent for the United States Army. Following his departure from the military, Kukk worked as a research assistant for Cambridge Energy Research Associates. Kukk is also a 2007-2008 Fulbright Scholar at the University of Tartu in Estonia. Kukk has taught at Harvard College and Boston College, and currently teaches at Western Connecticut State University as a professor of Political Science.[3] Western Connecticut State University presented Kukk with the Teaching Excellence Award on December 8, 2009.[4]

    Kukk believes in a holistic approach to education-bringing in multiple disciplines and studies to make learning accessible to different people and enhance the experience. For instance, he may blend history, economics, and culture to make a lesson stronger.[2] Kukk’s devotion to education stems from a passion of learning and experiencing the world through the lenses of his students. Kukk said,“The greatest thing about teaching is the chance to read, analyze and discuss the issues of today with bright, young minds. It promotes critical thinking of those issues. And my ideal class is when someone asks me a question I don’t know the answer to — someone thought outside the box. Those are the days I’m walking on Cloud Nine.”[2]

    Kukk’s current research focuses on the Connected Five Cs of education, which consists of Concept, Creativity, Compassion, Courage, and Constraint. The purpose of the Connected Five Cs is to produce an integrated system of education that develops students’ abilities to know, imagine, understand, do, and question. Kukk is working on curriculum that weaves compassion and the Connected Five Cs into common core standards in the United States. Kukk’s first book featuring the Connected Five Cs, Connecting Space, will be finished soon.[5]

    Kukk’s upcoming editions of children and trade books are based on the idea of weaving values such as compassion into our work, community, and everyday lives.[1]
    Personal life

    Kukk is married to his high school sweetheart, Elly, and they have three sons. Dr. Kukk loves and is quite obsessed with chocolate milk.[1]

  • western CT State U - http://www.wcsu.edu/facultystaff/kukk.asp

    Dr. Chris Kukk — Teaching Excellence Award
    Dr. Chris Kukk — Teaching Excellence Award
    Dr. Chris Kukk

    Enter any one of Associate Professor of Political Science Dr. Chris Kukk’s classes at WestConn, and you’ll find it’s anything but typical. Kukk doesn’t lecture off of last year’s notes or read out of a textbook. Instead, he uses his dynamic energy to engage students in debate and challenge them to think at a higher level.

    “The greatest thing about teaching is the chance to read, analyze and discuss the issues of today with bright, young minds. It promotes critical thinking of those issues,” Kukk said. “And my ideal class is when someone asks me a question I don’t know the answer to — someone thought outside the box. Those are the days I’m walking on Cloud Nine.”

    His teaching skills and devotion to education have earned Kukk, a Fulbright Scholar who has taught at Harvard and Boston College, the university’s Teaching Excellence Award, which will be presented at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 8, at the Faculty Recognition Ceremony in Warner Hall.

    A graduate of the U.S. Army Military Intelligence School’s Counterintelligence Agent Program in Fort Huachuca, Ariz., Kukk earned a B.A. in Political Science from Boston University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa, before going on to earn an M.A. in American and International Politics and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Boston College.

    To say Kukk teaches political science is only scratching the surface — he incorporates history, economics and culture, to name a few, to give students the bigger picture of the world they live in. “I touch on all that,” he said. “You have to — that’s what makes it come alive.”

    A college professor for the better of 12 years, Kukk said that today’s classroom is especially exciting because of the different ways you can reach students, thanks to myriad technological advances.

    In his junior-level “Nuclear Non-Proliferation” course, his students face off weekly with 25 students from the Geneva School of Diplomacy simulating non-proliferation treaty talks using videoconference equipment. His students literally bring what they’ve learned into the world, as each student represents a country — Israel, South Africa, North Korea, Iran, the United States, United Kingdom, China and France. After studying each article of the treaty, the students then argue their government’s position. “It’s an amazing experience for our students.”

    Whether a 100-level or 400-level course, Kukk said the enthusiasm is always there — every year he changes courses to meet societal changes and student demands.

    “It never gets boring. The students always change the dynamics. And I probably shouldn’t say this, but I would do this for free,” Kukk said. “The passion is contagious. The hardest thing is to get that passion going and when it does, it’s amazing and that’s what keeps me here.”

  • harpercollins - https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062457899/event_category

    Christopher L. Kukk, Ph.D., is a professor of political science and social science at Western Connecticut State University; founding director of the Center for Compassion, Creativity and Innovation; and faculty advisor for the University and City of Compassion initiatives. He is also cofounder and CEO of InnovOwl LLC, a research and consulting start-up for solving micro and macro problems through innovative education. He was an international security fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, a counterintelligence agent for the United States Army, and a research associate for Cambridge Energy Research Associates. He lives in Brookfield, Connecticut.

  • linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-kukk-429059b9

    Christopher Kukk
    Christopher Kukk

    WCSU professor | HarperCollins author: The Compassionate Achiever | Dir. of Ctr. for Compassion, Creativity & Innovation

    Greater New York City Area
    Higher Education

    Current

    HarperCollins Publishers, Western Connecticut State University

    Previous

    InnovOwl LLC, Harvard University

    Education

    Boston College

    Recommendations 2 people have recommended Christopher Kukk
    Websites

    Personal Website
    BlogSummary

    Dr. Kukk is Professor of Political Science/Social Science at Western Connecticut State University, a Fulbright Scholar, founding Director of the Center for Compassion, Creativity and Innovation, Director of the Kathwari Honors Program, founder of the University’s Debate Team, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He is the HarperCollins author of The Compassionate Achiever. He is also co-founder and CEO of InnovOwl LLC, a research and consulting firm that solves micro and macro problems through innovative education. He received his Ph.D. in political science from Boston College and his B.A. in political science from Boston University. He was also an international security fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. His research and publications combine neuroscience with the social sciences and focus on education issues, the political economy of natural resources and the creation and sustainability of civil society. Dr. Kukk was also a counter-intelligence agent for the United States Army, a research associate for Cambridge Energy Research Associates, and has provided the Associated Press, National Public Radio, The Economist magazine, NBC-TV, CableVision, and Connecticut media with analysis on a wide range of topics and issues. His forthcoming children and trade books are based on the idea of weaving values such as compassion into our learning, civic and business communities.
    Experience

    HarperCollins Publishers
    Book Author
    HarperCollins Publishers
    October 2015 – Present (2 years 1 month)

    The Compassionate Achiever. A practical guide for developing compassion, the foundation for achievement and success in all aspects of modern life.
    Western Connecticut State University
    Professor | Director of Center for Compassion, Creativity & Innovation | Director of WCSU Honors
    Western Connecticut State University
    August 2001 – Present (16 years 3 months)
    InnovOwl LLC
    CEO & Co-Founder
    InnovOwl LLC
    October 2013 – March 2017 (3 years 6 months)

    InnovOwl LLC is a research and consulting group that solves micro and macro problems through innovative education. InnovOwl’s mission is to help individuals and organizations in the areas of education, health care and business build success by connecting seemingly unconnected ideas and concepts from diverse fields and disciplines. We use a multi- and inter-disciplinary approach to help our clients develop innovative strategies and programs for achieving their objectives. We weave experts and information to produce solutions you haven’t thought of yet. Albert Einstein called the approach “combinatory play” and we take this type of play very seriously. It results in organic wisdom grown from the cross-pollination of ideas.
    Harvard University
    International Security Fellow
    Harvard University
    1998 – 2000 (2 years)

    Education

    Boston College
    Boston College
    Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Political Science and Government
    1992 – 2001
    Boston University
    Boston University
    Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Political Science and Government
    1990 – 1992

    Activities and Societies: Phi Beta Kappa

    Projects

    The Connected Five Cs

    An education should be a bridge that connects knowledge with wisdom. My current research and forthcoming books on the Connected Five Cs™ are about building one such educational bridge. The Connected Five Cs™ system is based on the premise that the purpose of an education is to develop student capacities for knowing (concept), imagining (creativity), understanding (compassion), doing (courage) and questioning (constraint).

    Team members:
    Christopher Kukk

    Skills

    Public SpeakingResearchTeachingHigher EducationCommunity OutreachLeadershipNonprofitsProgram DevelopmentEditingCompassionPolitical ScienceWritingNeuroeducationPublic PolicyInternational RelationsSee 17+

    How's this translation?

    Great•Has errors

    Patents

    The Connected Five Cs
    United States

    Inventors:
    Christopher Kukk, InnovOwl

    Volunteer Experience & Causes

    Board of Directors
    Jesse Lewis Choose Love Foundation
    January 2013 – Present (4 years 10 months)Education

    Research and speak about weaving the learning of values such as compassion into education.
    Advisory Board Member
    The Hawn Foundation MindUp
    November 2013 – Present (4 years)Education
    Advisory Council Member
    Housatonic Valley Association Inc
    September 2004 – Present (13 years 2 months)Environment

    Organizations

    Association of Writers & Writing Programs

  • news times - http://www.newstimes.com/local/article/WSCU-prof-pens-book-on-compassion-11284364.php

    Western Connecticut State University professor pens book on compassion

    By Rob Ryser Updated 7:28 pm, Wednesday, July 12, 2017

    Christopher Kukk Photo: Peggy Stewart / Peggy Stewart Unrestricted Use

    Photo: Peggy Stewart
    Christopher Kukk

    DANBURY — Christopher Kukk has been correcting the record about Charles Darwin since March, when the Western Connecticut State University professor’s new book about compassion was published.

    To wit: Darwin did not coin the phrase “survival of the fittest,” nor did he believe in it. The father of evolution believed in something more like ‘survival of the kindest,’ Kukk says.

    But the science Kukk likes to surprise people with is what happens in the brain when people exercise compassion.

    “When we think with compassion our bodies produce a peptide hormone called oxytocin, which releases the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine, and gives us that high feeling,” said Kukk. “The science is built into us when we act with compassion.”

    Kukk, a professor of political science and a Brookfield father of three, has been leading the call for more compassion in Connecticut since he founded the Center for Compassion, Creativity and Innovation in 2012, following the Dalai Lama’s visit to the university.
    More Information

    The discussion

    “The Compassionate Achiever: How Helping Others Fuels Success”

    Begins 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Farioly Program Room at the Danbury Library, 170 Main St.

    The center promotes programs that integrate compassion into everyday life.

    Although Kukk has always believed compassion builds better people and better communities, he had been losing his argument to proponents of the competition culture, who say compassion doesn’t get people ahead in a world where only the strong survive.

    So Kukk started reading Darwin.

    In his book, Kukk quotes from Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species:” “(I)t hardly seems probable that the number of men gifted with such virtues (as bravery and sympathy) ... could be increased through natural selection, that is, by the survival of the fittest.”

    The result is his book about the scientific foundation of compassion: “The Compassionate Achiever: How Helping Others Fuels Success,” which he will discuss during a presentation at the Danbury Library on Tuesday.

    “As a society we discount compassion, even though Charles Darwin said compassion is one of the key reasons why humankind moved up the evolutionary chain,” Kukk said. “We think we know how success is obtained — that we have to be ruthless — but we are absolutely wrong.”

    Compassion, which Kukk defines as caring about another person’s pain and making a commitment to help, builds better relationships, increases intelligence and improves people’s ability to rebound from hardship, he said.

    “When oxytocin is released in the body you have more trust, and that helps build resiliency,” Kukk said. “We know from research that dopamine acts act like a Post-it note for the memory system, and that is why social and emotional learning is so important in the classroom.”

    Social and emotional learning is an increasingly popular curriculum concept about the role of compassion in managing emotions. Kukk helped a mother who lost a son in the 2012 Sandy Hook shootings develop a program based on the social and emotional learning concept she is offering to schools through her foundation, the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement.

    Kukk’s free discussion at the library, will feature Kukk’s four steps to compassionate achievement: listening, understanding, connecting and acting.

    “I don’t know how we can understand if we don’t listen,” Kukk says. “We have to learn to listen to understand and not listen to reply.”

    Kukk added the last step is implied in the definition of compassion.

    “Compassion is more than just a value or a virtue,” he says. “It’s a verb.”

  • WCSU - http://www.wcsu.edu/socialsci/faculty.asp

    Dr. Christopher Kukk, Professor of Political Science (kukkc@wcsu.edu, 203-837-8247), is the Director of Western’s Honors Program and was the founding coach of the university’s Roger Sherman Debate Society. Kukk, who received his Ph.D. in International Politics from Boston College and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, is a former International Security Fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and a 2007-2008 Fulbright Scholar at the University of Tartu in Estonia. His research and publications focus on political economic relations over fresh water resources as well as the creation and sustainability of civil society. Before entering the field of higher education, Kukk was a counter-intelligence agent for the United States Army, a research associate for Cambridge Energy Research Associates, and is often asked by the media (e.g., Associated Press, National Public Radio, and the Economist magazine) for his analysis on issues regarding American politics and United States foreign policy. Kukk is married to his high school sweetheart, Elly, and they have three sons who love baseball, soccer, and rock-n-roll.

The Compassionate Achiever: How Helping Others Fuels Success
264.2 (Jan. 9, 2017): p55.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
The Compassionate Achiever: How Helping Others Fuels Success

Christopher L. Kukk. HarperOne, $26.99

(232p) ISBN 978-0-06-245789-9

Going for the jugular is a popular technique in the business world--but it's usually not the best, says professor of political science and social science Kukk in this astute but repetitious guide. A former U.S. Army counterintelligence agent, he is a firm proponent of practicing compassion in all areas of life. We live in a time of unprecedented incivility, and the narrative of success as being diametrically opposed to kindness and ethical behavior is a poisonous one. Having found compassion to be an "underappreciated but consistent" trait of high achievers in many different fields, he urges replacing "survival of the fittest" with "survival of the kindest." Pointing to examples from the natural world and neuroscience, Kukk argues that people are "hardwired for compassion" for a reason--they accomplish goals more easily, and the achievements are more rewarding, when they take an empathetic approach. He advocates becoming proficient in the LUCA skills: listening, understanding, connecting, and acting. Bolstered with concrete advice and encouragement to nurture emotional intelligence, this is a needed reminder that compassion isn't a passive characteristic but requires us to actually act to help each other. However, once this premise is accepted, there's not much content here beyond repeating it, and the result feels slim. (Mar.)

Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"The Compassionate Achiever: How Helping Others Fuels Success." Publishers Weekly, 9 Jan. 2017, p. 55+. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA477339331&it=r&asid=bb59028ba828d039332f2cdfe07e3f43. Accessed 1 Oct. 2017.

Gale Document Number: GALE|A477339331

"The Compassionate Achiever: How Helping Others Fuels Success." Publishers Weekly, 9 Jan. 2017, p. 55+. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA477339331&asid=bb59028ba828d039332f2cdfe07e3f43. Accessed 1 Oct. 2017.
  • jathan & heather
    https://jathanandheather.com/2017/04/03/the-compassionate-achiever/

    Word count: 684

    Become a Compassionate Achiever and Fuel Success [REVIEW]

    April 3, 2017 by Heather Fink 3 Comments
    Mother and son listening

    Compassion grows when we talk less and listen more. (Photo by B.B., Flickr)

    For years, we’ve been taught to put self first, to push ahead of the crowd if we want to be a success in life. Recent studies show that belief system is antiquated, however, and it’s time for us to make a change. That’s why Christopher L. Kukk, Ph.D. is ready to teach us all how to help others and find lasting success in his new book, The Compassionate Achiever.
    Christopher L. Kukk, Ph.D.'s THE COMPASSIONATE ACHIEVER

    HarperOne

    Who knew that compassion is one of the strongest characteristics that build success? I didn’t! That’s why I loved reading Dr. Kukk’s book, because through it he has broadened my outlook on compassion.

    “Compassion grows when we talk less and listen more.”

    This simple sentence is so profound! When I first came across it, it literally forced me to take a step back and analyze if and when I listen to others. It made me ask myself: “If I am not listening, how can I actively be engaged in conversations with others?”

    My husband will tell you that like a lot of folks, I am not always comfortable with silence. If it goes on too long, it can become uncomfortable. Kukk introduces a way to embrace the silence.

    “Silence offers an opportunity to heighten your awareness of the present moment and assess what’s been said and how it’s been said. Silence is filled with meaning.”

    Now I can use these moments to refocus my attention to the conversation at hand.

    Sometimes, I get so caught up in getting things accomplished, I forget to stay in the moment with others, including my spouse, friends or colleagues. As a result, I can get impatient because I am so focused on accomplishing my goal I forget to attend to the needs of others. That’s why I truly appreciated reading this book.

    Kukk provides practical ways to reorient ourselves so we can maintain our compassion even when we are not in a compassionate state of mind. He calls it, “taking a WIRL (walk, imagine, read and listen).” I, for one, can’t wait to put this into practice in the workplace.

    One of the most important concepts Kukk teaches us is that compassion begins and ends with us. Enhancing our current skills by learning new ones, we can improve the quality of life in each of our spheres of operation. But we must be patient and realize that answers don’t always come immediately.

    Packed full of easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions, The Compassionate Achiever teaches all of us how to Listen, Understand, Connect and Act (LUCA) in a way that benefits us and the people in our lives. So pick up this revolutionary new book today, take Kukk’s compassionate words to heart, and soon all of us will be able to say, “I am LUCA,” and the world will be better off for it.

    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Christopher L. Kukk, Ph.D.

    Christopher L. Kukk, Ph.D.

    Christopher L. Kukk, Ph.D., is a professor of political science and social science at Western Connecticut State University; founding director of the Center for Compassion, Creativity and Innovation; and faculty advisor for the University and City of Compassion initiatives.

    He is also cofounder and CEO of InnovOwl LLC, a research and consulting start-up for solving micro and macro problems through innovative education.

    He was an international security fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, a counterintelligence agent for the United States Army, and a research associate for Cambridge Energy Research Associates.

    Dr. Kukk lives in Brookfield, Connecticut with his family.