I was able to do a lot of reading during the past year – now with two brand new titanium hip joints, I’m back in the fray back with tons of energy and a few book reviews! Mats Alvesson is a favourite author of mine. Have you ever found yourself at work wondering why certain problem areas or people were ignored? Where the social norm was to not raise problems and don’t tell people bad news that they don’t want to hear? Asking too many questions and spending a moment too long reflecting on a situation can make you unpopular. Or, worse, a target. If you persist in asking tough questions, it can become a career limiting move. Its a brutal work environment that leads eventually to bad outcomes – hopefully sooner rather than later so some corrective action will be taken and the damage can be reduced.
Alvesson and Spicer address this very topic. Why are so many of our organizations and/or management ‘functionally stupid’? Why do so many supposedly smart people play dumb so the status quo survives, existing power structures are maintained and the organization heads towards a disaster. What is going on? Read The Stupidity Paradox and find out.
The Stupidity Paradox: The Power and Pitfalls of Functional Stupidity at Work
