Biblio

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Book
Schaef, A. W. (1992).  Beyond Therapy, Beyond Science : A New Model for Healing the Whole Person.
"Dr. Diane Fassel and I wrote The Addictive Organization. Since the publication of that book, thousands of people have spoken or written to us about their recovery and what has happened to them in their addictive organizations as a result of their personal recovery. Their words differ, and the stories are essentially the same. They go like this: 'I'm an addict [alcoholic, workaholic—whatever kind of addict, it doesn't matter]. I am in recovery and I feel good about my recovery. It's going well. My life has really improved and I basically feel happy. Because of my recovery and, I believe, the changes in me, my family is changing. We are all actually getting better. But...I am not sure that I can maintain my sobriety and continue to work in my addictive workplace. If I really put my sobriety first, I cannot continue to work where I do." Often, I suggest to these people that they attend Al-Anon, with the workplace as the addict in their lives." (p. 192)
Godin, S. (2005).  The Big Moo: stop trying to be perfect and start being remarkable.
"Remarkable artists are always trying to find ways to put their own signatures on their work. They try to tell their own story. They simply can't perform like everyone else. The message: Be like an artist. Better still, be an artist." (p. 71)
Melville, H. (2009).  Billy Budd.
"Now envy and antipathy, passions irreconcilable in reason, nevertheless in fact may spring conjoined like Chang and Eng in one birth. Is Envy then such a monster? Well, though many an arraigned mortal has in hopes of mitigated penalty pleaded guilty to horrible actions, did ever anybody seriously confess to envy? Something there is in it universally felt to be more shameful than even felonious crime. And not only does everybody disown it, but the better sort are inclined to incredulity when it is in earnest imputed to an intelligent man. But since its lodgement is in the heart not the brain, no degree of intellect supplies a guarantee against it."
Schmaltz, D. (2003).  The Blind Men and the Elephant: Mastering Project Work.
"Much of what we call 'project management' stands upon Taylor's flat-earth perspectives. When applied to repeatable manufacturing situations, his primitive notions have great utility. The same ideas fall apart when applied in more human, less mechanical contexts." (p. 7)
Carse, J. P. (1995).  Breakfast at the Victory : The Mysticism of Ordinary Experience.
"When you need a teacher, the Hindus say, a teacher will appear. But we can't know in advance what we need to learn, else we would not need to learn it. Therefore, we won't know who our teachers are until we have been taught. As a result, every teaching is a surprise." (p. 40)
Mintle, L. (2002).  Breaking Free from Stress: How to Find Peace When Life's Pressures Overwhelm You.
"People fear losing their jobs and worry about their performances. Too many leave their employment feeling drained and used up. Obviously this leaves little to give to others, particularly family." (p. 63)
Savishinsky, J. S. (2000).  Breaking the Watch: The Meanings of Retirement in America.
"For most individuals, the formal and public recognition of retirement is commonly marred by the pale content of the official rites mean to dramatize it. These ceremonies tend to be formulaic, predictable, and cliched...
The private and informal ceremonies created for retirees prove to be more fulfilling because of their style, their substance, their process, and their audience. They allow people to leave work on a good note, and give them a sense of control over this transition." (p. 54)
Rubenstein, H. R., & Grundy T. (1999).  Breakthrough Inc. : High Growth Strategies for Entreneurial Organizations.
"Conversation is the most powerful peacetime business and organizational tool ever devised....While others stress the word communication, to us the word conversation is the better approach for two reasons. First, communication, as the word is normally used in everyday life, is usually one-sided. Second, conversation implies an exchange of views, or as Julio Olalla says, 'a changing together'. Third, communication focuses on the act of getting an already designed and known message out, while conversation implies two or more people jointly seeking some knowledge, truth, or strategy that they individually have not figured out entirely." (p. 153)
Rothenberg, L. (2003).  Breathing For A Living.
"A team is a team because of their spirit, not always because they play perfectly together all the time." (p. 189)
McGinnis, A. L. (1985).  Bringing Out the Best in People: How to Enjoy Helping Others Excel.
"Management by Encouragement
Scudder N. Parker once said, 'People have a way of becoming what you encourage them to be—not what you nag them to be.' It is a very basic human need to have someone encourage us and spur us on to higher things." (p. 89)
Dostoyevsky, F. (1922).  The Brothers Karamazov: a novel in four parts and an epilogue.
"He did no one any harm, but 'Why do they think him so saintly?' And that question alone gradually repeated gave rise at last to an intense, insatiable hatred toward him. That I believe was why many people were extremely delighted at the smell of decomposition which came so quickly, for not a day had passed since his death." (p. 352)
Hornstein, H. A. (1996).  Brutal Bosses and Their Prey.
"Bosses can make or break your day, your month, your year, your career. They have the power to ease or intensify adverse reactions to normal organizational stress. Empirical evidence broadcasts a consistent message: People reporting to more considerate bosses are less likely to suffer the ravages of burnout and more likely to experience work satisfaction than those reporting to less considerate bosses. In fact, as an innoculation against burnout, respect from a boss offers more protection than salary. Conversely, there is solid evidence that working for unsupportive bosses is associated with higher levels of anxiety, depression, and even heart disease." (p. 69)
Manning, G., Curtis K., & McMillen S. (1995).  Building Community: The Human Side of Work.
"The best organizations consider the unique characteristics of each person: the needs of some for stability and others for variety; the needs of some for latitude and others for structure; the dependable delivery of some and the creative ideas of others; the open-mindedness of some and the rigid allegiances of others. What is consistent is that all people are treated with respect and dignity."
Collins, J., & Porras J. I. (1994).  Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies.
"When we began our research project, we speculated that our evidence would show the visionary companies to be great places to work (or at least better places to work than the comparison companies). However, we didn't find this to be the case—at least not for everyone." (p. 121)
Namie, G., & Namie R. (2000).  The bully at work: what you can do to stop the hurt and reclaim your dignity on the job.
"Groupthink is George Orwell's term from 19841, the dark futuristic novel. Psychologists borrowed the term to describe a group incapable of critically assessing the pros and cons of a decision. Because the group members feel so tightly connected, so cohesive, they prefer to see only one side of an issue. They are easily led by a forceful leader and busy themselves by falling in line behind the boss and kissing up to stay in good favor. They become a mindless, overprotective clique when assembled as a group, putting the political goal of squashing dissent above all other matters."2
  • 1. Orwell, G. (1949).  1984.
  • 2. According to the Wikipedia entry on groupthink, it wasn't Orwell, but rather William H. Whyte, Jr., who coined the term, as he writes in 1952:
    "Groupthink being a coinage — and, admittedly, a loaded one — a working definition is in order. We are not talking about mere instinctive conformity — it is, after all, a perennial failing of mankind. What we are talking about is a rationalized conformity — an open, articulate philosophy which holds that group values are not only expedient but right and good as well."
    Wikipedia: groupthink
Field, T. (1996).  Bully in Sight: How to Predict, Resist, Challenge and Combat Workplace Bullying.
"Stress can be defined, albeit rather vaguely, as any form of physical, emotional, or psychological pressure, and its endemic presence in the modern workplace probably owes much to insecurity and coercion.
An alternative view of stress is a consequence of the degree to which people feel they lack control of themselves, their situation, and their life. If a person feels they cannot influence or control events in their life, they will feel anxious, and hence feel insecure and afraid." (p. 174)

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