Territorial Games: Understanding and Ending Turf Wars at Work

by Annette Simmons

This book analyzes 10 insidious and instinctual acts of gamesmanship, and supplies positive strategies for combating territorial behavior. Power, position, property. That's been the name of the game throughout human history. And the urge to gain new territory -- or keep what's already been acquired -- certainly shows up in our daily work lives. The workplace, in fact, is ablaze with battles over information, relationships, and authority -- and everyone is fighting for psychological survival. Written from the perspective of a behavioral scientist and drawn from in-depth interviews with corporate managers, Territorial Games explains how Camouflage, occupation, shunning, and intimidation.…these turf wars are some of the most unproductive and morale-squashing activities that employees engage in. Learn how to understand and end turf wars at work with help from this insightful guide.

Genres: Business, Leadership

Paperback

First published October 6, 1997

About the author

Annette Simmons is a vibrant keynote speaker, consultant and author of four books: The Story Factor named as one of The 100 Best Business Books of All Time, Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins , A Safe Place for Dangerous Truth (AMACOM, 1998), and Territorial Games: Understanding and Ending Turf Wars at Work.

Annette started with a business degree from Louisiana State University in 1983, spent ten years in Australia in international business, attained a M.Ed. from NC State in 1994 and started Group Process Consulting in 1996. Annette is surprisingly honest, ferrets out hidden opportunities, joyfully takes risks and tells a good story.

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I appreciated that this book helped me identify some territorial games I see at work, because that's the first step to addressing them.

However, I found the author's writing style too colloquial, and her choice not to cite sources in the text made the content seem less credible. I was also disappointed by the suggestions for avoiding territorial games. I think they were realistic, but they took a top down approach (essentially, they were tactics that a director or VP could use with their teams, not someone at the bottom of the org structure). I also agreed with the author that the only way to get people to change is to make them want to, but I didn't take away any recommendations on how to achieve that.

[Lester · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although many of the thoughts written down by Anette Simmons here are almost obvious, the book is useful for self-reflection, as it gets the reader to think about which of the ten types of territorial games he/she als indulges in. Other than that, a general good reference book if you find yourself in the middle of such instances and wonder why.....