The Stupidity Paradox

2016-06-02
The Stupidity Paradox

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  • Author: Mats Alvesson
  • Publisher: Profile Books
  • ISBN: 1782832025
  • Category : Business & Economics
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 260

Functional stupidity can be catastrophic. It can cause organisational collapse, financial meltdown and technical disaster. And there are countless, more everyday examples of organisations accepting the dubious, the absurd and the downright idiotic, from unsustainable management fads to the cult of leadership or an over-reliance on brand and image. And yet a dose of stupidity can be useful and produce good, short-term results: it can nurture harmony, encourage people to get on with the job and drive success. This is the stupidity paradox. The Stupidity Paradox tackles head-on the pros and cons of functional stupidity. You'll discover what makes a workplace mindless, why being stupid might be a good thing in the short term but a disaster in the longer term, and how to make your workplace a little less stupid by challenging thoughtless conformity. It shows how harmony and action in the workplace can be balanced with a culture of questioning and challenge. The book is a wake-up call for smart organisations and smarter people. It encourages us to use our intelligence fully for the sake of personal satisfaction, organisational success and the flourishing of society as a whole.

The Stupidity Paradox

2016
The Stupidity Paradox

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  • Author: Mats Alvesson
  • Publisher: Ips - Profile Books
  • ISBN: 9781781255414
  • Category : Business & Economics
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 0

Something strange is happening in our knowledge economy - organisations everywhere are encouraging smart people to do stupid things. At its extremes, this kind of systematic stupidity can be catastrophic - witness the institutional blindness in financial services that led to the crisis of 2008. But we can all relate to more everyday examples of losing touch with the need to question the dubious and criticise the absurd, from unsustainable management fads or the cult of leadership and strategy through to an over-reliance on brand and image. This title tackles head-on the pros and cons of a culture of questioning and challenge in the workplace. Harmony and action at all costs can be attractive and can also bring short-term benefits.

The Stupidity Paradox

2016
The Stupidity Paradox

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  • Author: Mats Alvesson
  • Publisher:
  • ISBN: 9781781255421
  • Category : Critical thinking
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 276

Why do smart people do stupid things at work? Welcome to the idea of functional stupidity. Functional stupidity can be catastrophic. It can cause organizational collapse, financial meltdown and technical disaster. And there are countless, more everyday examples of organizations accepting the dubious, the absurd and the downright idiotic, from unsustainable management fads to the cult of leadership or an over-reliance on brand and image. And yet a dose of stupidity can be useful and produce good, short-term results: it can nurture harmony, encourage people to get on with the job and drive success. This is the stupidity paradox. The Stupidity Paradox tackles head-on the pros and cons of functional stupidity. You'll discover what makes a workplace mindless, why being stupid might be a good thing in the short term but a disaster in the longer term, and how to make your workplace a little less stupid by challenging thoughtless conformity. It shows how harmony and action in the workplace can be balanced with a culture of questioning and challenge. The book is a wake-up call for smart organizations and smarter people. It encourages us to use our intelligence fully for the sake of personal satisfaction, organizational success and the flourishing of society as a whole. --Amazon.com.

Rebels at Work

2014-11-05
Rebels at Work

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  • Author: Lois Kelly
  • Publisher: "O'Reilly Media, Inc."
  • ISBN: 1491903910
  • Category : Business & Economics
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 165

Ready to stand up and create positive change at work, but reluctant to speak up? True leadership doesn’t always come from a position of power or authority. By teaching you skills and providing practical advice, this handbook shows you how to engage your coworkers and bosses and bring your ideas forward so that they are heard, considered, and acted upon. Authors Carmen Medina and Lois Kelly—once rebels themselves—reveal ways to navigate your workplace, avoid common mistakes and traps, and overcome the fears that may be holding you back. You can achieve more success and less frustration, help your organization do better work, and—most important—find more meaning and joy in what you do.

The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity

2021-04-06
The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity

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  • Author: Carlo M. Cipolla
  • Publisher: Doubleday
  • ISBN: 0385546483
  • Category : Humor
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 58

"A masterly book" —Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of The Black Swan "A classic" —Simon Kuper, Financial Times An economist explains five laws that confirm our worst fears: stupid people can and do rule the world Throughout history, a powerful force has hindered the growth of human welfare and happiness. It is more powerful than the Mafia or the military. It has global catastrophic effects and can be found anywhere from the world's most powerful boardrooms to your local bar. It is human stupidity. Carlo M. Cipolla, noted professor of economic history at the UC Berkeley, created this vitally important book in order to detect and neutralize its threat. Both hilarious and dead serious, it will leave you better equipped to confront political realities, unreasonable colleagues, or your next dinner with your in-laws. The Laws: 1. Everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals among us. 2. The probability that a certain person is stupid is independent of any other characteristic of that person. 3. A stupid person is a person who causes losses to another person while deriving no gain and even possibly incurring losses themselves. 4. Non-stupid people always underestimate the damaging power of stupid individuals. 5. A stupid person is the most dangerous type of person.

Business Bullshit

2017-09-11
Business Bullshit

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  • Author: André Spicer
  • Publisher: Routledge
  • ISBN: 1317433289
  • Category : Business & Economics
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 256

Our organizations are flooded with empty talk. We are constantly "going forward" to lands of "deliverables", stopping off on the "journey" to "drill down" into "best practice". Being an expert at using management speak has become more important in corporate life than delivering long lasting results. The upshot is that meaningless corporate jargon is killing our organizations. In this book, management scholar the author argues we need to call this empty talk what it is: bullshit. The book looks at how organizations have become vast machines for manufacturing, distributing and consuming bullshit. It follows how the meaningless language of management has spread through schools, NGOs, politics and the media. Business Bullshit shows you how to spot business bullshit, considers why it is so popular, and outlines the impact it has on organizations and the people who work there. It also outlines what we can do to minimise bullshit at work. The author makes a case for why organizations need to avoid empty talk and reconnect with core activities.

The Personalization Paradox

2021-03-08
The Personalization Paradox

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  • Author: Val Swisher
  • Publisher: XML Press
  • ISBN: 1937434737
  • Category : Computers
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 280

According to Infosys, 86% of consumers surveyed indicated that personalized content has some impact on what they purchase and 25% said that personalization plays a large role in their purchases. And yet, looking at the data, two things stand out: Most companies say that personalizing the customer experience is a critical "must have," and they have the statistics to back it up. Very few companies believe they are delivering enough personalized content, or deliver it well. What's holding these companies back from their personalization goals? And how can you avoid the pitfalls and make personalization possible with your own enterprise content? In this book, global content strategy expert Val Swisher and senior content strategist Regina Lynn Preciado show you exactly what it takes to deliver personalized experiences at scale. You'll learn: Why personalized content is imperative to the enterprise Why so many companies fail to deliver - and how to avoid the pitfalls The five dimensions of content standardization How to bring people, technology, and process together The impact of big data and artificial intelligence The only way to deliver personalized content at scale is to automate the process at the point of delivery. And for that to work, you've got to change how you "do" content. The Personalization Paradox: Why Companies Fail (and How to Succeed) at Delivering Personalized Experiences at Scale shows you how.

The Sizzle Paradox

2022-06-28
The Sizzle Paradox

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  • Author: Lily Menon
  • Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
  • ISBN: 1250801249
  • Category : Fiction
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 200

For fans of The Kiss Quotient and The Love Hypothesis, The Sizzle Paradox is the next sparkling romantic comedy by Lily Menon. Lyric Bishop feels like a fraud – she’s studying sexual chemistry in romantic partners and what makes for a successful long-term relationship, only she can’t seem to figure it out in her own dating life. The science is sound, but how can she give her expert opinion with no real-world experience? In order to complete her doctoral thesis, she must crack the Sizzle Paradox – it seems the more sexually attractive she finds a guy, the less likely it is to come with an emotional connection; but why? – and to do that she must get the help she desperately needs. Kian Montgomery, her best friend, roommate, and fellow grad student, has no trouble bringing both romance and sizzle to his own relationships. When he offers to tutor Lyric on dating tactics to find a good match, she’s certain it will solve her problems, and in exchange she agrees to set long-term-commitment-averse Kian up with someone different to give his romantic life a much-needed shakeup. But once the two progress with their "tutoring sessions," they start to feel less like the academic exercise they were supposed to be as real feelings develop. Which is a problem, because Lyric and Kian are best friends and absolutely, irrefutably nothing else... Right?

The Paradox

2015-08-18
The Paradox

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  • Author: Charlie Fletcher
  • Publisher: Orbit
  • ISBN: 0316279528
  • Category : Fiction
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 418

"Exciting, exhilaring, scary and moving in equal measure, The Oversight is a teeming world of dark deeds and dark magics, brilliantly realized." -- M. R. Carey The Last Hand of the Oversight still patrols the border between the natural and supranatural, holding a candle to the darkness. But this new Hand is unproven, its fresh members untrained, its veterans weary and battle-scarred. Their vulnerability brings new enemies into the city, and surprising new allies from across the sea. But most surprising of all are new revelations about the Oversight's past, revelations that will expose the true peril of the world in which Sharp and Sara are trapped -- the secret of the Black Mirrors, and what lies beyond. And the catastrophic danger that will follow them home, if they ever manage to return. The dark waters rise. The candles are guttering. But the light still remains. For now. . .

A Problematic Paradox

2019-02-05
A Problematic Paradox

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  • Author: Eliot Sappingfield
  • Publisher: Penguin
  • ISBN: 1524738476
  • Category : Juvenile Fiction
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 370

Guardians of the Galaxy meets The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in this wild, warm-hearted, and hilarious sci-fi adventure about a brainy young girl who is recruited for a very special boarding school. Nikola Kross has given up on living in harmony with her classmates and exasperated teachers: she prefers dabbling in experimental chemistry to fitting in. But when her life is axially inverted by a gang of extraterrestrials who kidnap her dad and attempt to recruit her into their service, she discovers he's been keeping a world of secrets from her--including the school for geniuses where she's sent for refuge, a place where classes like Practical Quantum Mechanics are the norm and where students use wormholes to commute to class. For Nikola, the hard part isn't school; it's making friends, especially when the student body isn't (entirely) human. But the most puzzling paradox of all is Nikola herself, who has certain abilities that no one understands--abilities that put her whole school in greater danger than she could have imagined.