Product Description

"Interdependence is ten times more challenging than independence, but it is the only viable long-term solution for effectiveness in our relationships at work and at home. This is brilliantly illustrated in Unshrink."

is a new word. It means to restore something to its natural dimensions. It leads to radical change without going back to the beginning. For ourselves, for other people, for businesses.

And that’s necessary argue Max McKeown and Philip Whiteley, because people and businesses have been shrunk. And to be all we can be – fulfilled, successful decent people who work in profitable, sustainable, successful businesses, we need to bust the myths that are keeping us and our companies shrunk.

Our shrinking myths tell us that we are what we do, that work is more important than life, that capital creates value, that people are stupid, that people do as they are told, that all change is good, that plans must be kept secret, and that the organisation is a machine.

To replace the myths we will need new principles to give us back our sleep and self-respect while at the same time increasing passion and profitability. These principles will help us deal with our world, our ever more complex world,the way it is. Clear principles and truths help us to understand unclear events and situations.

From these principles we discover that we are not what we do, but what we can become. That work does not come first, it should only serve life. That we are all are human, boss and employee alike. That the plan must stop being secret so that it can unify everyone. That only good change is good. That our organisations and our world are communities not machines. That they are only improved as we share. And that sharing will only happen as trust is built not as the number of rules is increased.

Does this mean anarchy? Far from it. But it does mean not treating employees like criminals, sheep, rats, half-wits, or naughty children. It means a workplace for grown-up, complete people with families, brains, unfulfilled ambitions, and pride. People who will follow willingly when they understand the principles, believe in them, and are permitted the freedom to follow their own initiative in so doing. Unshrunk people make better employees and better citizens. Unshrunk businesses make better employers and increased profit.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #169199 in Books
• Published on: 2002-07-25
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 152 pages

Review

"Interpendence is ten times more challenging than independence, but it is the only viable long-term solution for effectiveness in our relationships at work and at home. This is brilliantly illustrated in Unshrink."

Dr Stephen Covey, author, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

People Management
An important and unusual little book"

Seth Godin
"Audacious & Timely"

Customer Reviews

A passionate articulation of fundamental truths
Written with passion and humanity this short book cogently articulates fundamental truths. Most importantly for me, it challenges organisations to recognise and embrace complexity rather than impose dehumanising mechanistic structures and processes. The authors accurately identify the entrenched attitudes, behaviours and events that destroy self-esteem, stifle potential and ultimately inhibit performance. They also present an alternative way for those who are brave enough to acknowledge the false premises of much conventional wisdom. This book should be essential reading for all business managers who aspire to engage their people in the enterprise.

Powerful message
'Unshrink' contains a powerful message, the relevance of which goes far beyond the world of business. Drawing on examples from film, literature and history as well as the world of business, sport and politics this book challenges our assumptions about 'the way things are'. It invites us to question our perception of our abilities and ourselves and offers ways we might re-connect with our true potential - in other words, discover 'what we may be'.

Illustrating how we become 'shrunk' in the first place 'Unshrink' uncovers the way in which our lives and our selves can become limited. The authors hold up to scrutiny the myths and the assumptions that underpin them which shape our daily lives. In so doing they challenge the structures and the authority by which we live and work.

'Unshrink' offers a new way forward in the form of 'principles' based on mutual respect, co-operation and trust - principles that foster self-esteem and increase our 'passion' as well as 'profitability'. They challenge the 'dog eat dog' world of business and offer a framework within which we can live and succeed. They turn conventional hierarchies (so often built into organisations) on their head and in doing so prioritise trust and self-expression over control, interdepencence over independence, community over the individual, openness over concealment and people rather than resources.

McKeown & Whiteley illustrate the power of language, drawing our attention to the way it can be used to mystify, mislead or conceal. 'Unshrink' demonstrates the power of jargon-free communication. In clear, understandable language, with touches of humour and analogies drawn from business and everyday life, the authors speak directly to the reader communicating radical ideas in a lively and yet down to earth way.

The implications of 'Unshrink' go further than the workplace, management, touching all aspects of daily life. To 'unshrink' we need the space in which to grow - by exposing the shrinking myths for what they are it begins to create just such a space - and surely this can only be good for business!

Unshrunk - a brave new title for a brave new book
Bringing together practical insights into the world of work, quizzical reflections on modern corporate life and philosophical conjecture based on complexity, Unshrunk will make a valuable contribution to stimulating thinking about how modern corporate life could be - if managers can break out of dilemma-based thinking and find ways of reconciling paradoxes often of their own making.The two authors complement each others' thinking and writing styles to perfection.