Beyond Bullsh*t
Straight-Talk at Work
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Straight-talk at work! Grumblings in offices everywhere suggest that we crave more, but don't get often enough of it. 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 commitment. There's no greater contribution to operational effectiveness and success than conversations in which people with conflicting viewpoints discuss their differences forthrightly.
Readers will be engaged and delighted as the text demystifies the obstacles to getting beyond bullsh*t and guides them in developing straight-talk relationships. Further details are available at www.straighttalkatwork.com.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this sober guide to understanding and moving past "bullsh*t" at work, author and management professor Culbert (Don't Kill the Bosses!) explains the value of and strategy behind "straight-talk relationships" in the office. Culbert takes the first few chapters to look at the situation-specific, self-reflexive, persuasive subspecies of lying in all its permutations: "insincere to sincere, nonsensical to serious, innocuous to harmful, tactical to strategic, tension reducing to tension raising." Unlike others who have tackled the subject (most notably Harry Frankfurt), Culbert emphasizes bullsh*t's vital role in many situations; bullsh*t becomes a problem, he asserts, when it gives the weight of objectivity, authority or rationality to self-serving proposals meant to advance a personal agenda, often to the detriment of the bullsh*tee. Culbert then explores the straight-talk relationship, in which parties openly admit their self-interest and work with honesty, trust and mutual understanding to achieve common goals for themselves and the organization. Culbert looks at "I-speak," a familiar but powerful communication technique, as well as specific strategies for improving relationships with the boss (calling for an end to the annual pay-and-performance review), creating new straight-talk relationships and understanding others through "truth-finding." Though at times he pushes the jargon a bit too hard, Culbert includes just enough real-world anecdotal backup to make his direct, perceptive appeal for practical workplace honesty a no-brainer.
