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    Management of the Absurd: Paradoxes In Leadership
    Management of the Absurd: Paradoxes In Leadership
    Management of the Absurd: Paradoxes In Leadership
    Audiobook (abridged)2 hours

    Management of the Absurd: Paradoxes In Leadership

    Written by Richard Farson

    Narrated by Richard Farson

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    An original, contrarian philosophy that challenges today's leaders to look past the quick fix and deal thoughtfully with the real complexities of managing people.
    In organizations, as in life, human behavior is often irrational -- and problems do not easily lend themselves to the simplistic answers and gimmickry offered in the myriad business "self-help" books and management training programs available today. In Management of the Absurd, Richard Farson zeros in on the paradoxes of communication, the politics of management, and the dilemmas of change, exploring relationships within organizations and offering a unique perspective on the challenges managers face.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateApr 1, 1996
    ISBN9780743540681
    Management of the Absurd: Paradoxes In Leadership
    Author

    Richard Farson

    Dr. Richard Farson has led several organizations noted for innovative programs. Farson helped found the Western Behavioral Sciences Institute in 1958 and remains its president. In this capacity he directs its International Leadership Forum, an Internet-based think tank that brings influential leaders together to consider critical policy issues. A University of Chicago Ph.D. in psychology, Farson has been a Naval officer, college dean, research director, organizational consultant, and a member of the Human Relations Faculty of the Harvard Business School. He is the author of several books, including the critically acclaimed Management of the Absurd, now published in 11 languages. He lives in La Jolla, California.  

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    Reviews for Management of the Absurd

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    • 4/5
      Management of the Absurd is a great book full of unconventional ideas on leadership . As Michael Crichton intones in the forward, I don't agree with everything Richard Farson conveys in this book but everything made me think. I took a bunch of notes while reading through this book.The book is short but not because it's short on ideas, Farson writes very tightly and doesn't waste words.
    • 4/5
      Excellent management books that uses a lot of psychology to change our way of thinking. Instead of talking about methods and techniques, he says that good managers will move beyond that and use their intuition and instincts. It's an excellent and short book that is a good foil to most of the leadership and management books popular today. Some of the information is a little dated when it comes to technology or the use of computers, but the philosophy and ideas are right on. How to change, how to learn from success, and very common problems good managers have. In particular, I liked the problem of rising expectations. If the manager is doing well and has high engagement, complaints don't taper off, they get worse. As people get more, they expect more. On the other hand, if they don't expect anything from a bad boss, there is not point in complaining. Interesting contrasts and surprises in this book. Favorite passages:We have seen the coexistence of opposites in management with the introduction of participative approaches designed to democratize the workplace. These approaches often do increase worker participation. But it is also true that hierarchy and authority remain very much in place, perhaps stronger than ever. That is because the executives who grant the workforce some amount of authority never lose any of their own authority. Granting authority is not like handing out a piece of pie, wherein you lose what you give away. It is more like what happens when you give information to someone. Although he or she may now know more, you do not know any less. p. 22Deeply held ideologies and cultural values, tunnel vision, selective perception, deference to the judgment of others--these are all enemies in our efforts to see what is really going on. And when the invisible obvious is pointed out to us, we are likely to have one of two reactions: Either we will reject and ignore it, or more likely, we will simply say, "Of course!" thinking we surely must have known it all along. p. 28"...most techniques drive their power from the context in which they are used; that is, they are in contrast to the way things are usually done. If a manager rarely pays attention to an employee and then begins to do so, the effect is quite dramatic. But if the manager is regularly attentive, the attention loses its power because it is not contrasted with its opposite." p. 35from Abraham Kaplan to distinguish between a problem and a predicament:"Problems can be solved; predicaments can only be copied with." p. 42"The best executives soon discover that purely analytic thinking is inadequate. Predicaments require interpretive thinking. Dealing with a predicament demands the ability to put a larger frame around a situation, to understand it in its many contexts, to appreciate its deeper and often paradoxical causes and consequences. Alas, predicaments cannot be handled smoothly. p. 43Praising people does not motivate them. It can be perceived as threatening, as an evaluation of the employee or as an attempt to change behavior. It can be shown as demonstrating your status, that you can sit in judgment over them. "What really does release creativity and promote achievement is when a manager takes the time to get involved in the employee's work--learning the direction the work is taking, the problems and possibilities it presents, the way the employee is dealing with the task. p.65"Finally, managers who experiment with participative methods open themselves up to abuse. Groups that are testing their leaders' ability to hear what they are saying or to accept their ideas can humiliate the leaders by resisting attempts to evoke participation. In such situations, managers who try to elicit ideas often become the focus of the group's complaints. Sometimes there is open hostility." p. 79In an affluent organization one can get away with almost anything. Indeed, it is common for the leaders of such organizations to attribute their success to managerial practices that might not be at all effective in a less favorable business climate. p. 87There is the absurdity. Only in an organization where people ARE in on things and where their talents ARE being utilized would it occur to someone to complain about those issues. What this means to the manager is that improvement does not bring contentment but its opposite. Absurd as it seems, the way to judge your effectiveness is to assess the quality of the discontent you engender, the ability to produce movement from low-order discontent to high-order discontent. p. 94We need to fail often. If we don't, it means we are not testing our limits. It means we're not taking the necessary risks to improve our behavior.When we are doing a series of things right, it gives us the strength and encouragement to continue--which leads to our greatest successes. p. 114Planning is as vulnerable to fashion as any managerial activity. p. 124Organizations change more often as a result of invasion from the outside or rebellion from the inside, less so as a result of planning. p. 122
    • 5/5
      Let’s lay this on the table first – the name, and the concept, could quickly become an overdone conceit. This book could quickly fall into the “Everything you know about management is wrong, when they say left you go right, oo-oo-oo I’m going to shock you with my wacky thinking” category. In addition, the cover of my edition holds two major strikes – it is a business week bestseller (I find that smaller books [172 pages] that are best sellers are usually those dreaded parables that tell you how to “manage/lead” as told to the author by a janitor he once met in the men’s restroom of the Washington DC subway system – or something to that effect), and the forward is by Michael Crichton (big name, what business substance would he bring to the table?) But the juxtaposition of management and absurd in the title caught my eye in the bookstore, and a quick perusal of the contents swayed me to make the purchase.Likewise, do not let any of these excuses dissuade you – this is a good book with good insights. Yes, the author works a little hard sometimes trying to go with that “every myth you know is untrue” line, but the few clunkers are worth the rest of the symphony. The book is divided into broad sections (Human Relations, Communication, Change – all the normal management areas) that are then divided into two or three page discussions of paradoxes in leadership. This makes the book easy to digest, and (more importantly) easy for the reader to stop and think about sections as they are completed. This you will need because, although the book is in the aforementioned sections, this does not mean there is necessarily a logical flow between the individual chapters. Reading them as a group won’t hurt, but stopping often to think these through will really prove valuable.So what is the content? Here’s just a few of the things I found looking back through multiple dog-eared pages. Paradox – “The More Important a Relationship, the Less Skill Matters” The deeper thought – “People learn – and respond to – what we are.” So what’s the big deal? – managers all spend a lot of time trying to develop management and leadership skills, and development of those skills is less important than being the model for what we really want others to be. Paradox – “Big Changes Are Easier to Make Than Small Ones” The deeper thought – “…the time a committee takes to discuss an item on the agenda is inversely proportional to the amount of money involved.” So what’s the big deal? – Two quick thoughts. One, knowing this, reapportion the amount of work done – skip the minor changes or limit the discussion, get deeper into the big changes. Two, don’t bother with the small changes – they take more time and get less done – big change is good.These two only give a piece of what’s going on here – and I’ve done a relatively poor job of trying to explain the impact. Context is everything. This is a book well worth reading through to see how it applies to you and those around you. It is on the list of ones to include even if you have a limited bookshelf (right after you get that Tom Peters stuff in there.) One quick caveat. I loaned this to a manager I was mentoring. He had many problems that directly related to concepts in the book. He read it, thought it was interesting, went on his merry way, and quickly moved on to a new job (not his decision.) As with any business book, it is only as good as you allow it to be. However, I think you’ll find this one of the easier ones to use for making those applications. (No, not easier to read than a parable book, but easier to find something of worth in it.)
    • 5/5
      This book is the antithesis to the flood of leadership and management books in the last 5 years. No special techniques, magic potions or long lost secrets are presented. Instead Farson pokes at all the conventional wisdoms and exposes many farses. He stretches your mind. Don't read this to get a raise next month at work. Read this to make yourself more insightful.