http://CureCorporateStupidity.com
Recovering CEO and Author Larry J. Bloom learned a lot about Corporate Stupidity first hand during his 30+ years helping grow Bio-Lab, Inc. from a small closely held family business into an industry leading $700M subsidiary of a public company in the specialty chemical industry. Having remained as a leader of the company both after its original sale and then through two more changes of ownership, he has experienced the corporate world from many angles and points of view. He passionately believes that the true value of a company resides in its people and the quality of their decisions. And he has experienced firsthand the highs of being a shining star within a larger company and the lows of being on the wrong end of corporate strategy. Larry also served as Chairman of the Board for a volunteer, industry trade association with over 3000 members. Larry graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in Chemical Engineering and was recognized and inducted into Georgia Tech's Academy of Distinguished Engineering Alumni. He is currently an author, private advisor to several business leaders, a board member, and an owner of a start-up media and software company that promotes better thinking. Larry has personally seen the good, bad and ugly of corporations and organizations and after retiring in 2006 began researching why smart people make bad decisions with the goal of making a difference.
Book Overview
Just like software has bugs, we have bugs in how we think and make decisions. These bugs occur in the five inches between our ears, and many problems in business today are not the result of factors that occur outside our thinking, but, rather, they are self-inflicted as a result of Mind-bugs™. This book will help you understand, identify, and avoid mind-bugs before you fall victim to corporate stupidity.
Who the Book is for?
For people who want to:
- Improve business decisions, get better results
- Decrease risk, reduce stress at work
- Do more with less, enhance teamwork
- Grow career, develop organizations
What is Corporate Stupidity?
Have you ever thought, "What the heck are they thinking? That's a bad decision." This book is for you. Corporate Stupidity is not intended to say people inside corporations are dumb. Instead, it means every human on this planet is capable of making bad business decisions that: 1. Destroy value to the corporation 2. Could have reasonably been avoided.
What are Mind-bugs?
Our brain's survival mechanisms influence business decisions in a non-conscious way. Here are a few examples:
- We see patterns in random data where none existed AND use the data to recommend a project.
- We take assumptions for granted AND use the assumptions for a business case or investments.
- We fail to encourage effective critics to challenge our thinking AND miss important options.
- We present a favorable picture of something that isn t true AND fail to solve a problem.
What Problems does the Book address?
- Mind-bugs harm careers, alienate customers, increase costs, create job loss, and more.
- Unreasonable expectations to do more with fewer resources.
- Limited or no time to think about work, let alone get it all done in a quality fashion.
- Objectives that are unclear and change frequently.
- Unhealthy levels of internal competition and defending individual positions.
- Internal resistance to new ideas and thinking making it risky to bring them up.
- Decreasing levels of trust, motivation, and fairness.
- Work becoming more exhausting and less enlivening.
What Benefits do you get from the Book?
- Improving business outcomes in any department, at any level.
- Reducing risk of business, program, and project failures and problems.
- Helping people meet the demands of getting more done with fewer resources.
- Making collaboration, change, and growth easier and healthier.
- Allowing people to more effectively assess performance, collectively or individually.
- Improving careers by increasing the quality of decisions, plans, and actions.
- Creating environments where employees can be happier and more productive.
- Helping us recognize, smile, and empathize with stupid business decisions more easily and move forward more quickly.
What is the Mind-bugs Taxonomy and Reference Chart?
The taxonomy organizes Mind-bugs in 4 dimensions:
- Sufficiency Do I have the correct inputs?
- Accuracy Are the inputs truthful?
- Beliefs How do I color my decision process?
- Social What is the influence of others?
The Mind-Bugs Reference Chart identifies 20 Mind-bugs & 4 dimensions and helps people to identify their presence in any business environment.
What are the Main Sections of the Book?
- Section 1: Understanding Mind-Bugs - What is happening inside our head?
- Section 2: Identifying Mind-Bugs - 20 Mind-bugs in detail with real-world examples
- Section 3: Avoiding Mind-Bugs - tools and approaches for avoiding Mind-bugs
- Section 4: Appendices references 160+ pieces of scientific research
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