Shadows of the Neanderthal: Illuminating the Beliefs That Limit Our Organizations

by David Hutchens, Bobby Gombert (Illustrator)

Boogie the caveman is on a quest to understand how his people have become stuck in beliefs that drastically limit their ability to share insights and make progress. Join his hilarious journey of discovery and learn how to surface, share, and challenge your own and others' hidden beliefs and to recognize how they inform--and often misinform--what we do. With its engaging use of metaphor and detailed discussion guide, Shadows of the Neanderthal is a must-have resource for any organization on its own quest for clear and open communication.

Genres: Leadership, Nonfiction

81 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1998

About the author

David Hutchens is an author, business writer and learning designer who creates communication solutions for The Coca-Cola Company, Wal-Mart, IBM, GE, Nike, Bank of America, and others. He served as chairman of Storytelling in Organizations, a special interest group of the globally renowned National Storytelling Network.

He speaks to organizations and leadership teams all around the world on the topic of storytelling as an organizational capacity. His new book is “Circle of the 9 Muses: A Storytelling Field Guide for Innovators and Meaning Makers,” Wiley & Sons 2015

He is creator of the Learning Fables -- a book series that uses narrative and metaphor to illustrate principles of organizational learning. With titles that include "Outlearning the Wolves" and "Shadows of the Neanderthal," the popular business fables have have sold more than a quarter-million copies in over a dozen languages.

He is author of the book "A Slice of Trust: The Leadership Secret with the Hot & Fruity Filling,” which features a foreword by Stephen M.R. Covey.

In partnership with The Conference Board, he is creator and lead facilitator of The Team USA Leadership Experience, at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado springs; and he also facilitates The Apollo Leadership Experience at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

A nationally recognized developer of innovative learning products, David's work has been recognized with distinctions such as Training & Development's "Training Product of the Year" award; ASTD's prestigious "Excellence in Practice" award; Brandon Hall Gold award, and more.

David's newest product is "GO Team: Powering Teams to Perform," a just-in-time team training resource. GO Team's library of 18 team-related topics allows you to build your own learning agenda tailored to your team's needs.

Reviews

[Mark]

I've actually been trying to be more aware of my mental models in the last few years. It has dramatically altered the way I look at things and the way I think about things. Some of my positions on hot political topics have been dramatically changed and my predilection for hostile argument has gone down. Overall, I'd say my life is much more peaceful as a result. Still, this is the sort of thing you can't afford to get complacent about,

[Samuel]

The first half, a watered-down version of Plato's Allegory of the Cave with some truly awful attempts at forced humor, is about as bad as any corporate training nonsense I've ever read. But the second half is a surprisingly good, simple, and readable summary of mental models and what they do. It's hard for me to imagine many readers who would make it through the first half to get to the second, but that second bit does have value.

[Kaushik]

Very simplistic take on the core issues of any big organization. An organization is, in many ways, a living organism; while being a part of the whole how one must challenge the status-quo of preconceived notions, conformity bias, groupthink and communication pitfalls is what this book is about.

A must read (more importantly understand) for new-era leaders.

[Lisa Wood wilhelmi]

Short, fun and helpful

This is a fun, practical book. I read it in one afternoon, and it offers some good exercises to do with your team.

[Ryan Barretto]

What a brilliant method to illustrate mental models. In simple and succinct language, the author makes his points and gives clear explanations.

Again, a must read for OD practititioners.

[Jeff Dalton]

Quick read. Thought provoking.

[Theresa]

7 principles about mental models:
1. Everyone has mental models
2. Mental models determine how and what we see
3. Mental models guide how we think and act
4. They lead us to treat our inferences as facts
5. They are always incomplete
6. They influences the results we get, thereby reinforcing themselves
7. They often outlive their usefulness

[Danielle]

Sometimes it's difficult going back to the cave?

[Steph S]

Had to read this for one of my Master's classes. It is pretty interesting and equally ridiculous.

[Miss Ryoko]

My boyfriend has to read this book for one of his classes and I want to read it because it's written in a fictional sort of way with illustrations and all! Haha - it looks fun!

[Aaron Wong]

Excellent modern-day fable.

[Ulises]

Un bonito cuento.

[Iman]

A quick read and a great book for teens to adults and anyone who interacts with other human beings!

[Karyn]

How our "mental models" affect the way we see the world.