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News
BEATING THE SYSTEM...
by
michael Iva
for
Adholes On The Inside
Tuesday, September 11, 2007. 04:43AM
Technorati Tags:
Beating the system Russell L. Ackoff Sheldon Rovin Wharton School of Business Michael Iva quContent Adholes
1,500
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...USING CREATIVITY TO OUTSMART BUREAUCRACIES. Systems are everywhere mankind is. Some are good, necessary, and needed. Many are superfluous, in excess, wasteful, and unwarranted. Sound familiar? The latter is what we should all be most concerned with. These are the systems that plague us, get in our way, and force all of us to deal with them at one time or another in our lives and careers. This is a MUST READ, CANNOT-DO-WITHOUT BOOK for every Adhole interfacing with any type of BS business system, situation, or client. You can utilize the information and approaches in the book to help you learn how to prevail against these various types of everyday abuse. CO-authored by my friends, collaborators, and simpatico mind-sets, Professors Sheldon Rovin and Russell Ackoff, of the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, USA, the book is aptly titled, 'Beating the system: using creativity to outsmart bureaucracies'... Their book is about doing whatever it takes, whatever is necessary, knowing that there is always a way to formulate the correct approach to protect yourself against or prevail over the unnecessary, red-tape-infested, narrow-minded, fear-driven, petty, self-interests of today’s politically- correct, inbred, wasteful corporate or governmental systems. The authors point out how these practices so often result in poor service, watered-down customer value, or customer abuse. This book was music to my anti-BS ears. I read it in one sitting with a Mona Lisa smile on my face, joy in my heart, and chills running up my spine. I have been collecting useful pieces of information about ‘how to successfully fight and beat the system’ from every imaginable source for all of my adult life, but never have I found so much helpful information in one location. I felt like a California forty-niner gold miner, who in 1849 just struck a vein of gold, after this insightful, useful, and enjoyable reading experience. The message of the book can be summed up with one of my favorite principles, cited by one of the authors: "The only rule that can't be broken is this one." -Review by Michael Iva, author of '100 ways to kill a concept; why most ideas get shot down™' Click to Open Web Page ‘BEATING THE SYSTEM: USING CREATIVITY TO OUTSMART BUREAUCRACIES’ books are AVAILABLE AT Click to Open Web Page AND AND ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S): RUSSELL L. ACKOFF, Professor Emeritus of Management Science at the Wharton School, the Center for Organizational Dynamics, and Ackoff Center for Advancement of Systems Approaches, at the University of Pennsylvania is the foremost systems guru in the world. He is the author of 22 books, including Redesigning Society (with Sheldon Rovin), Recreating the Corporation, and Ackoff’s Best. SHELDON ROVIN is a Professor at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and a highly sought after business consultant for corporations, military, and governments. He is the author of eight books, including Redesigning Society (with Russell Ackoff), and Medicine and Business: Bridging the Gap. WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THIS BOOK: “I loved the book and read every blessed word of it, savored it, and recommended it to virtually every sentient person I know who works in an organized setting.” ~ Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Management at USC and author of On Becoming a Leader and Geeks and Geezers “Beating the system is a profession of necessity for most professionals. Best to learn the tips from a master. No one has contributed more to systems thinking in management than Russell Ackoff. Who better to offer a lifetime of insight into how management systems work and how to keep them from preventing creative work? Maybe if there are enough ‘system beaters’ like Ackoff and Rovin, we’ll have more systems that do not need to be beaten.” ~Peter Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline and Founding Chair, Society for Organizational Learning “The stories are real and captivating, the analysis is excellent, and the solutions are powerful and actionable. The reasoning behind everything is profound.” ~Chris Argyris, James Bryant Conant Professor of Education and Organizational Behavior, Harvard Business School "Beating the System is not just informative, it's also fun to read. And for those of us who sometimes let ourselves get pushed around because we don't want to make trouble, this book teaches us how to stop being wimps!” ~Michael Maccoby, author of The Productive Narcissist: the Promise and Peril of Visionary Leadership “The fascinating real life stories in Beating the System reveal the ways the world works and doesn't work through the eyes of the world's preeminent systems thinkers, and gives practical insights and valuable advice on how to stay in control of your life despite the frustrating obstacles created by the complex and often broken systems which surround our daily lives." ~Ray Stata, Chairman of the Board, Analog Devices “Two of the most thoughtful people on Systems Thinking have taken the courageous step of pointing out what you can do when the entity or activity in which you are seeking a product or service is not operating at the level of systemic interaction the authors have spent their lives attempting to create. It would be better if the companies you interact with had listened to them and had become more systemic in how they meet your requirements. However, since the world is not a rational place, this book provides the reader with steps to take while the bureaucratic organizations gets their act together…and in doing so might cause them to act for the better—faster.” ~Vincent P. Barabba, former General Manager, Corporate Strategy and Knowledge Development, General Motors ...a MUST READ, CANNOT-DO-WITHOUT BOOK for every Adhole |
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