Management of the Absurd: Paradoxes in Leadership

Psychologist, management consultant, former CEO and college dean, and currently head of the International Design Conference in Aspen, Farson has put together a challenging, irritating, galvanizing manual designed to help managers cope with the paradoxes, organizational logjams and interpersonal dynamics of corporate, business and institutional life. In 33 short, conversational chapters, he delivers a series of Zen-like injunctions to jolt readers out of well-worn grooves of thought and action. Some of these prescriptions have a counterintuitive appeal (""Lost causes are the only ones worth fighting for."" ""Once you find a management technique that works, give it up""). Others exude Confucian wisdom (""Every great strength is a great weakness""), and still others sound potentially dangerous if misapplied (""Praising people does not motivate them""). This pithy guide is an armchair workshop in participative management. (Mar.)