How Come Every Time I Get Stabbed in the Back My Fingerprints Are on the Knife?: And Other Meditations on Management

by Jerry B. Harvey

The role we each play in our own downfalls create the profound--and profoundly entertaining--basis for this series of linked "meditations" as the author of The Abilene Paradox takes another irreverent look at the nature of life on the job. In this work, Harvey explores the ethical, moral, and spiritual dilemmas we all face in the modern world of work. But he does it in a most unconventional way. His is an approach that mixes equal parts humor, philosophy, and insight to make us laugh, think, and examine organizational behavior in a brand new light. The twelve essays themselves carry such spirited titles as "What If I Really Believe this Stuff," "On Tooting Your Own Horn," and "Ode to Waco." Altogether, it's an enthralling collection of wise and witty parables that illustrate the redemptive value of the truth in a voice that is ultimately understanding of human shortcomings.

Genres: Management, Leadership, Business

288 pages, Hardcover

First published August 3, 1999

Reviews

[Pavel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is a fundamental one to read for executive coaches as it definitely shed some light on causes of bad management practices. Yet while it is a piece of art in terms of depth of thinking it looks a bit like a very theoretical book (which it is) so the best possible use of it, in my opinion, is a slow reading on a beach whenever you has some conflict at work or experience a client situation (for a coach) which you can't deal with for some reason. Anyway, it was a pleasure to see the best review of Elliott Jaques' work - very serious and still understandable by us mere mortals.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

2019 Read Harder Challenge - a business book

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic book on organizations. The best book I've read on change in organizations since William Bridges. And funny.