The Opposite of Think

HOT READS FOR THE PRACTITIONER

Title: Management? It’s Not What You Think!

Competency: leadership, visionary leadership

Who benefits: anyone in management or aspiring to management

Consultant Usage: organizational consultants, executive coaches

What’s it about? Are you up for a most unconventional book about management?  Professor and Organizational Development Swami Henry Mitzeberg and colleagues have put together a very short book, a collage of articles actually, that is extremely easy to read … yet if all you do is read it, it is a waste of time.  The real intent is to be provocative.  To entice you to think about management and leadership differently.  To challenge everything you know, or think you know, about management and leadership. 

I confess as I read it I kept asking myself “What am I supposed to do with this?”.  I also confess that I kept reading because it amused me.  If you are looking for right answers, don’t bother reading this short tome (for those of you who read over the last two words quickly, together they form an oxymoron – which is one of the themes of this short tome, ahem!).  The authors are trying to convince you there are no right answers.

If you are looking for “how to’s” – again don’t bother.  You are more likely to find “how not to’s”.

However, if you are looking for some management laughs, you might find them in this book … even if you are not sure what you are reading is true or not.  I particularly enjoyed the story of the Canadian company that outsourced it’s President, CEO and the Chairman.  According to the company’s spokesperson: “At the end of the day, the cost savings will be quite significant….  We simply can no longer afford this inefficiency and remain competitive on the world stage”.

The book also takes on the value of MBAs, corporate speak, and buzz word filled vocabulary of management consultants.

Article titles include:

‘PowerPoint is evil,” 
“The opposite of profound truth is also true,” 
“‘Change management’ is an oxymoron,”  
“Ye gods, what do I do now?” 
“Managing without managers,” 

So go for the fun and the challenge … or don’t go at all.

Catch you later.
[tags] leadership, visionary leadership, oxymoron, henry Mitzeberg, envisia, envisia learning, bill bradley, william bradley, bradley[/tags]

Bill Bradley

Bill Bradley (mostly) retired after 35 years in organizational consulting, training and management development. During those years he worked internally with seven organizations and trained and consulted externally with more than 90 large and small businesses, government agencies, hospitals and schools.