Samuel A. Culbert

Straight-talk at work! Grumblings in offices everywhere suggest that there is not much that we crave more, but don't get often enough. Beyond Bullsh*t reveals the dynamics of bullsh*t and why it has become the corporate etiquette of choice. It also explains how telling it straight contributes to personal well-being and business success. After decades of research and consulting, Samuel A. Culbert is convinced that straight-talk at work is possible. But it requires more than luck and willing people. Straight-talk is the product of thoughtful, caring relationships built upon trust and a commitment to look out for one another's success. Culbert describes this brand of truthfulness as "a caring, other-sensitive, candor-on-demand, loyalty-producing, intimacy-escalating, give-and-take relationship, leading to enhanced personal and organizational productivity." From an organizational perspective, there's no greater contribution to operational effectiveness and success than conversations in which people with conflicting viewpoints discuss their differences forthrightly. Readers will find this book personal—which is unusual for a "business book"; they will think that many of the stories are about them. They will be engaged and delighted as the text demystifies the obstacles to getting beyond bullsh*t and guides them in developing straight-talk relationships at work. More at the author's website www.straighttalkatwork.com

Straight-talk at Work

Beyond Bullsh*t

John B. Ullmen

The boss/subordinate relationship is an age-old problem cited in almost every management book and on-the-job survey as an area rife with dishonesty and inefficiency. All too often, subordinates spin the truth for those above while bosses fail to establish the conditions required for subordinates to tell it to them straight. The end result is warped communication, corrupt internal politics, illusionary teamwork, pass-the-buck accountability, and personal dispiriting-and the company is always the big loser. Don't Kill the Bosses! reveals the "trap" created when people fail to differentiate between the positives of hierarchical structure and the negatives of hierarchical relationships. Far from being opposed to hierarchy, the authors believe strongly that an accurate and cleanly defined organization chart is vital. But they show how to implement an alternative model of hierarchy: two-sided accountability. Drawing on case studies from their consulting practice, Culbert and Ullmen show how this new model leads to a freer flow of information, more creative problem-solving, and quicker response to changing conditions. Unlike other books that acknowledge boss/subordinate relationships as a systematic, continuing problem and offer skill development suggestions for dealing with it, Don't Kill the Bosses! tells how to think about the problem in a way that will enable readers to understand the steps they need to take to change things. It diagnoses what's missing in boss/subordinate relationships, connects what's wrong with them to personal and organizational outcomes, and defines the whole new mentality required to make them work successfully.

Escaping the Hierarchy Trap

Don't Kill the Bosses!

The performance review. It is one of the most insidious, most damaging, and yet most ubiquitous of corporate activities. We all hate it. And yet nobody does anything about it. Until now... Straight-talking Sam Culbert, management guru and UCLA professor, minces no words as he puts managers on notice that -- with the performance review as their weapon of choice -- they have built a corporate culture based on intimidation and fear. Teaming up with Wall Street Journal Senior Editor Lawrence Rout, he shows us why performance reviews are bogus and how they undermine both creativity and productivity. And he puts a good deal of the blame squarely on human resources professionals, who perpetuate the very practice that they should be trying to eliminate. But Culbert does more than merely tear down. He also offers a substitute -- the performance preview -- that will actually accomplish the tasks that performance reviews were supposed to, but never will: holding people accountable for their actions and their results, and giving managers and their employees the kind of feedback they need for improving their skills and to give the company more of what it needs. With passion, humor, and a rare insight into what motivates all of us to do our best, Culbert offers all of us a chance to be better managers, better employees and, indeed, better people. Culbert has long said his goal is to make the world of work fit for human consumption. "Get Rid of the Performance Review!" shows us how to do just that.

How Companies Can Stop Intimidating, Start Managing--and Focus on What Really Matters

Get Rid of the Performance Review!

You can follow any business guru you want, be it Peter Drucker or Tom Peters. You can adopt any new management concept, from reengineering to "empowering people." But Samuel A. Culbert has one caveat: no matter what managerial "religion" you choose--and there are many sound ones--before you can lead, manage, or team up effectively, you must comprehend the mind-sets that direct the people with whom you are interacting. In Mind-Set Management, Culbert provides a model for thinking about other people--about their self-interested motives and about their biased views of work events--as he shows managers at all levels how to use psychology instead of manipulation in giving valid, even great, advice. The essence of leading and managing, says Culbert, is "staging the conditions for others to be effective," which today entails giving advice and feedback, not issuing directives. This is particularly true with today's "empowering" management styles. But, as most managers know all too well, advice is often resisted, resented, and ignored. The problem, Culbert contends, is that managers don't have the other person in focus: When they formulate advice, they think they are attuned to the other person, but in fact the person they have listened to most is themselves. Mind-Set Management will help you focus on the person you want to advise, explaining what you need to learn and to know in order to give advice that is great because it is advice that actually gets used. It will prompt you to ask yourself (and will help you answer) such questions as: Why do people insist on seeing events with their own particular biases and distortions? Why do they resist my best ideas and advice about how they can function most effectively? Why can't I get people to change how they reason and think? Why do people have so much difficulty putting internal politics aside? What's needed for people to trust one another and listen to advice? Why are some people blind to the obvious logic behind the feedback and advice they receive? Culbert has packed the book with vivid case illustrations and stories that people, whether CEOs or project staff, will identify with--weaving the concepts and stories together to present evidence that makes the lessons personally compelling. With these lessons, you will find yourself reading essential, previously unseen dimensions of what is critical in the other person's thinking. You will be better able to see where other people's interests lie and how they view the corporation and the task at hand, and you will be able to give great advice, advice that will be followed because it serves the interests of the person who receives it even as it advances the company's goals. Today there are many new and progressive ideas about how to manage more effectively, but without the psychological component that Samuel Culbert provides in Mind-Set Management, you are simply putting old wine in new bottles--as what seems "new" quickly becomes business as usual. Thus this is an important, groundbreaking work. Indeed, Warren Bennis, in the Foreword, calls it "one of the lasting contributions to our understanding of corporations, the psychology of people who work in them, and perhaps most of all, a contribution to understanding ourselves."

The Heart of Leadership

Mind-Set Management

Professor of Management and Organizations Samuel A Culbert

John Joseph McDonough

Pursuing Self-interests at Work

The Invisible War

There's far more bad management behavior taking place today than the well-intentioned doling it out realize... and even more than those on the receiving end are aware of! There's little mystery about what good management entails; the biggest mystery is why people are calling this bad behavior -good enough.- Today's managers work in a success and self-preservation mindset, which doesn't always translate to a productive and mission-oriented environment. Too many erroneous assumptions are involved when following the mainstream tenets of work culture, which sap morale, well-being, and performance at both the individual and organizational levels. In Good People, Bad Managers: How Work Culture Corrupts Good Intentions, author Samuel A. Culbert makes readers aware of what bad habits are routinely followed by well-intended managers. Managers need to understand the causes for their constant distraction, become more aware of the negatives they inadvertently inflict, and the hollowness of the rationales they use to justify what they do. Company leaders, CEOs, and top tier managers need to become more aware of the ever-present concerns of their own workforce, implementing the management mentality they want in their company and then teaching their managerial employees how to absorb it. Culbert offers practical advice for effecting this necessary cultural change in the workplace. Peppered with illuminating and helpful case studies throughout, this is the perfect guide for showing managers exactly how to conduct themselves more intelligently, and, as opportunities arise, in a manner that contributes to the common good.

Samuel A. Culbert

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