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Richard Caruso and John Crosby started the Uncommon Individual Foundation in 1986 with the belief that mentoring was the key to unlock human potential and individual growth, paving the way to meaningful and productive lives. Caruso envisioned a book revealing the importance of mentoring in his own life, and now his partner, Crosby, takes up the mantle to share it as a way to inspire others to achieve their own goals.
About the author
John C. Crosby, Ed.D., is the founding director of the Uncommon Individual Foundation, a nonprofit educational organization devoted exclusively to mentoring. Prior to starting the foundation with Richard Caruso, he was superintendent of schools for 20 years in three Pennsylvania districts. Under his leadership in Radnor, The Wall Street Journal and Consumer Reports rated the district one of the nation’s best. He has degrees from Abilene Christian University, Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, and Teachers College, Columbia University. John’s distinctions include being named a Henry H. Linn Scholar at Teachers College and the recipient of Penn’s Graduate School of Education’s Outstanding Achievement Award for exemplary leadership in developing productive partnerships among the university and area public schools. In 2009 John was awarded a Distinguished Alumni Citation by Abilene Christian University. He lives in Radnor with Marlene, his wife of 60 years. They have two grown children, Jack and Carla, and four granddaughters, Kelly, Devon, Heather, and Cassidy.
Summary
Richard Caruso and John Crosby started the Uncommon Individual Foundation in 1986 with the belief that mentoring was the key to unlock human potential and individual growth, paving the way to meaningful and productive lives. Caruso had a vision for a book revealing the importance of mentoring in his own life, and now his partner takes up the mantle to share it as a way to inspire others to achieve their own goals.
Born in Atlantic City to first generation Italian Americans, Caruso’s life started with humble beginnings as a young boy shining shoes on the boardwalk, to founding Integra LifeSciences. With hard work, tenacity and a “never-give-up” attitude, he obtained FDA-approval for Integra™, a genetically engineered artificial skin, which finally reached the commercial market after 14 years and has saved the lives of thousands of patients throughout the world—not just those fighting extensive burns, but those with chronic skin diseases.
Crosby shares their cutting-edge systems of mentoring as developed by Caruso at the London School of Economics. He explains how these systems work, which not only include people as powerful mentors, but also multiple resources such as books, poems, speeches, videos, and art. He details Caruso’s involvement as an entrepreneur in starting FedEx, PECO, Verizon, Provco, and other start-ups as examples of how he worked and lived.
In telling Caruso’s story, Crosby shares his friend’s life with humor and personal memories of how they created the Uncommon Individual Foundation and implemented their innovative mentoring philosophy in over 200 organizations in the U.S. and globally. Most importantly, their life stories are beacons of light to encourage readers to find true value in mentoring to help themselves and others find success and happiness in their own lives.
