Escape from Cluelessness: A Guide for the Organizationally Challenged

by Lee G. Bolman, Terrence E. Deal

With its confining cubicles, incompetent leaders, bureaucratic inertia, and corporate doublespeak, the workplace can sometimes seem cartoonishly sinister--right down to the pointy-haired bosses and malevolent canines! It's time to snap back into flesh-and-blood reality and tune in to ESCAPE FROM CLUELESSNESS. This refreshing book offers an antidote to the creeping cynicism and feelings of helplessness that ensnare millions of employees--each struggling to make sense of the strange and puzzling world of work. There are no sugarcoated management mantras here. Instead, the book uses a punchy text and biting wit to survey the same grim territory so brilliantly satirized by "Dilbert." But, unlike the cartoon, ESCAPE FROM CLUELESSNESS takes the strong, positive stand that something CAN be done to improve things. And the book supplies a detailed road map for making it happen, leading readers on a journey away from cluelessness and toward a better, more rewarding work life. Along the way, they' * Plunge into the murky underworld of office politics--and learn how to play the game (without getting eaten) * Enter the hothouse of interpersonal relationships--and learn to understand themselves and the people around them * Tour the feudal landscape of corporate monarchs, lords, and serfs--and learn to work around the bureaucratic barriers that hierarchy creates * Crack the hidden cultural codes, create pizzazz in a sterile workplace, navigate the endless--and endlessly bumbled--change efforts, and much more.

244 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

READ JUNE 2009

Well written depiction of what "really" happens in organizations and how to navigate in a balanced way.