The authors (both of Stanford U.) argue that there is a need for evidence-based management. Without such an approach to management, organizational leaders will tend to rely on half-truths and nonsense derived from conventional wisdom. In separate chapters, they consider such half-truths as "work is fundamentally different from the rest of life and should be," "the best organizations have the best people," "strategy is destiny," "change or die," and "great leaders are in control of their companies." Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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The best organizations have the best talent. . . Financial incentives drive company performance. . . Firms must change or die. Popular axioms like these drive business decisions every day. Yet too much common management “wisdom&; isn&;t wise at all—but, instead, flawed knowledge based on “best practices&; that are actually poor, incomplete, or outright obsolete. Worse, legions of managers use this dubious knowledge to make decisions that are hazardous to organizational health.Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert I. Sutton show how companies can bolster performance and trump the competition through evidence-based management, an approach to decision-making and action that is driven by hard facts rather than half-truths or hype. This book guides managers in using this approach to dismantle six widely held—but ultimately flawed—management beliefs in core areas including leadership, strategy, change, talent, financial incentives, and work-life balance. The authors show managers how to find and apply the best practices for their companies, rather than blindly copy what seems to have worked elsewhere.This practical and candid book challenges leaders to commit to evidence-based management as a way of organizational life—and shows how to finally turn this common sense into common practice.
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