Book Summary: What Is The Emperor Wearing?
This article is based on the following book: What Is The Emperor Wearing?
Truth-Telling In Business Relationships
Butterworth-Heinneman
ISBN 0-7506-9872-1
217 pages This book is inspired by the popular tale "The Emperor's New Clothes". It provides stories of ordinary individuals in the workplace who are in the predicament of confronting the unlikely benefits of "deception" and steering away from the risks and dangers of "truth-telling". Unfortunately, "truth-telling" is justifiably perceived to be difficult, risky, and unrewarding. More often than not, others will try to invalidate your truth with what they believe is true rather than discover the true nature of the problem. Take the case of Rita. She tried to tell the truth to her manager, Kerwin, but he refused to listen. Her predictions were correct, but it was only after the scandal broke out in the media that Kerwin realized it. Clearly, Rita's truth was ignored. Robert, however, was reluctant to accept that his store manager was stealing supplies from his dry cleaning establishment. Robert lost money in a store that seemed to be doing very good business simply because he'd rather not know what the truth is. Truth-telling has become more risky and difficult to some of the characters in the book. Basically, they had hard times telling the truth when: - the truth is bad news
- the truths collide-that is, when your truth gets fabricated along the way
- you'd be happier if you know what the truth is
- you're not sure if your truth is really true
- your integrity is sacrificed
- it makes better sense not to tell the truth
The genuine stories of Rita, Robert and the other characters of the book proved the profitable side of truth-telling. In the long run, it has become obvious that truth-telling is always more beneficial than "deception". To practice the skill the following is recommended: - Examine Assumptions. With the fear of jeopardizing her position by confronting the manager, Kathleen decided to carefully examine her opinion that her boss is behaving inappropriately at meetings they attended. Eventually, it dawned on her that her objectives are different from his.
- Know Yourself First. Irwin, a telecommunications executive, was not aware of his alcohol problems. It took near disaster before he realized this. Looking back, Irwin identified that incident as a major turning point in his life and career.
- Use Your Intuition to Guide You. Elizabeth rarely understood the reason for crying at meetings. When the team examined the situation more carefully, they discovered that Elizabeth's intuition was warning them when something subtle was wrong with some proposed action.
- The Truth Will Set You Free, but First It May Make You Mad. Pete's team confronted him on his ineffective leadership style. It was difficult to hear the negative feedback, but as he listened and responded, the team members' animosity changed to offers of help and support.
- Get the Information You Need Without Being Gullible or Paranoid.
- Ask Questions with Grace and Skill.
- Tell Your Truth with Compassion for Yourself and Others. Valerie struggled with herself about how to inform her client that she suspected he was using drugs. As she prepared him for job interviews, she started to think that other interviewers might notice the subtle symptoms and mannerisms she had observed in him. She carefully examined her own internal conversation and her fear of alienating her client. Her commitment to her own integrity helped her find an appropriate way to take the necessary risk while continuing to support her client.
- The "What I Feel Like Saying" Process. Staff meetings were becoming a waste of time in Monica's mortgage banking office. Staff members would come late, leave early, and barely pretend to participate. Introducing a simple exercise at the start of each weekly meeting allowed everyone to gradually learn to work together more effectively.
- Is Something Sinister Going On? Everyone at the meeting was frustrated. People were repeating their points several times, but they were not reaching any resolution. A simple matter that should have taken five minutes had been debated for an hour. After a brief recess, Barry raised a new issue that concerned everyone. When the discussion of the new topic was completed, they went back to considering the original issue, and they reached agreement on a solution almost immediately.
- Using Agreements to Create Dialogue Instead of Conflict. It is important for any truth teller to realize that your truth is not THE TRUTH, and neither is anyone else's. Exploring different perspectives on the truth instead of arguing about which is correct can best be accomplished in a safe environment. A variety of organizations use an ever-evolving set of agreements to create and maintain a context in which truth-telling can occur.
About The Author Summary By: Regine P. Azurin, http://www.bizsum.com "A Lot Of Great Books....Too Little Time To Read" Free Book Summaries Of Latest Bestsellers for Busy Executives and Entrepreneurs, Mailto:freearticle@bizsum.com BusinessSummaries is a BusinessSummaries.com service. (c) Copyright 2001-2002, BusinessSummaries.com - Wisdom In A Nutshell samantha@bizsum.com
Related News
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Young, Fabulous and Broke? Suze Orman Has Debt Relief & Financial Freedom Advice Books for You!
Are you a parent that has all the financial responsibility in the world on your shoulders and living paycheck to paycheck? Does it seem like there is no way out of this endless cycle of working just to pay your bills? Well, I certainly felt this way. I have been in consumer credit counseling, which was very helpful, but I still felt like a financial idiot. What was I supposed to do to get ahead? How was I going to ensure that my family was going to get the best they deserve which includes the finer things in life AND me? Well, I was sitting at home one day contemplating this and watching my local PBS station when an infomercial came on that was an real eye opener.
Straight from the Gut - A Different Take on Business
Jack Welsh, the recently retired CEO of General Electric, presents a rare glimpse into how to build a successful organization in his book, "Straight from the Gut." His honesty and openness is refreshing and reaffirms that success is sometimes built from failure, but more often from calculated planning and the willingness to take risks.
Blues Clues for Success - AchieveMax® Top Ten Book Review
Blue's Clues for Success: The 8 Secrets Behind A Phenomenal Business by Diane Tracy
Niche Site Confessions Revealed ? An Unbiased Ebook Review
If you're like me then chances are when it comes to purchasing ebooks online you want to make sure you get your moneys worth. As someone who is trying to establish a home-based Internet business within 4 years before I retire trust me when I tell you that Niche Site Confessions Revealed is easily the best ebook to come out in a long time.
Spiders Big Catch
When I was in college, Spider McGee, Charlie Fox, and I loved to fish off the log boom in the river near my house on summer afternoons. We'd sit and talk about life, drink hot chocolate, and occasionally catch a fish or two. But one day, Spider yelled, "Hey, I got something, and it feels big!"
Nice Girls Don?t Get the Corner Office 101 - A Book Summary
Dr. Frankel clearly identifies the common mistakes ?101 in
all-that women commit unconsciously to sabotage their
careers. This book provides revolutionary guides to help
the women of today eliminate the girl-like behaviors they
became accustomed with, which hold them back professionally.
Kashmir: Behind the Vale
Kashmir has been a reason for at least three wars between India and Pakistan. Over the past 15 years, the name Kashmir has become synonymous with violence and terrorism. Where is Kashmir and why has it been the reason of so many wars? What is happening in Kashmir? Why are India and Pakistan fighting over Kashmir?
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - A Review
If writing was a religion, it shall be easy to deem 'Harry Potter and the half-blood prince' as the penultimate blasphemy, an utmost sacrilege. A book that discredits its own magnitude, it is a joke in the Queens' English that bravely illustrates the argument for its painful ineptitude.
J.K. Rowling seems to have found the ostentatious airs of a billion dollar grandeur luxurious and tempting, and so overtly has this affected her capability as an author that after scraping off powerful authoritative fictional successes like "The order of the phoenix" and "The Goblet of Fire", she has downgraded her own standards of preferential fiction. "Harry Potter and the half-blood prince", ironically speaking, lacks the magic.
Rowling underscores maturity in her characters and this maturity seems to accompany an intricate and moodily interesting loss of realism. Or is it artistic failure? The dialogues come out as surrealistic even for a surrealistic world like Hogwarts. The book seems to be dependant more on the ratio of its popularity versus its compatibility as a novel. It lacks the individual integrity that places a novel in conjunction with what authors relate to as a total mortality in script; the aggressiveness and energy is averted thoroughly and Rowling seems to be postponing the ideas or concocting ideas that postpone the entire strength of the story-line to what we might perceive will be the subsequent edition. The book seems to be a mere pillar poising the life and breath of the seventh Potter venture. It fails to rejuvenate interest stirred by the earlier specimens, and has more of an exhausted inclination to incite sheer pity for a wasted six hundred pages and a gracious lot of unlimbered bucks.
The Global Wolf Pack
Description:
Your Flight Questions Answered
Whether you are an experienced air traveler or a novice, John Cronin's book, "Your Flight Questions Answered," has a little bit of something for everyone.
Entrepreneurs Reach Record Income Levels Using New EBook on Adsense and Adword Techniques
The "Rich Jerk" has created quite a stir on the Internet about his new ebook revealing secrets on how to use use Google Adwords and Adsense for big profits. He has recently sold a website on eBay for $390,000 that had a $900,000 annual return. It only took him nine months to reach that sky-rocketing figure.
Why They Launched Harry Potter At 12:01 Midnight
A missionary and his family were forced to camp
outside on a hill. They had money with them and
were fearful of an attack by roving thieves.
Book Excerpt: Give Me a Home Where the Dairy Cows Roam -- 5
May-Day!
Book Review: If You Are Over Fifty, You Are Entitled To Some Very Interesting Discounts On Travel:
Title: Unbelievably Good Deals and Great Adventures That You Absolutely Can't Get Unless You're Over 50 (2005-2006
Author: Joan Rattner Heilman
ISBN: 0071438297
Publishers: McGraw-Hill:
Book Summary: The E-Myth Revisited
Ever wonder why most small businesses-- no matter how huge effort they put in their endeavor--still fail? Micheal Gerber reveals the answers in this book. Accordingly, the future of small businesses revolve in only three philosophies: the e-myth (entrepreneurial myth), the turn-key revolution, and the business development process.
The Little Mornings - Book Review
The Little Mornings, by C M Albrecht is a murder mystery
with 262 absolutely absorbing pages. We have three main
characters here ? the grandfather, an alcoholic of
questionable character, a slightly off balance woman
(Angie) and an impressionable young man (Darcy) who
becomes mixed up in a whirlwind of events. Murder, thievery
and lies keep the unsteady relationship between Darcy and
Angie on edge. Keeping a secret is no easy task, especially
when someone else pops into the scene with inside
knowledge to the truth. Darcy, unable to control the events,
becomes another person entirely from the one we knew in
the first few pages of the book.
Until Youve Walked the Path!
From the depths of despair to the heights of hope. That is the inspiring journey traveled by author Paul Shearstone in his new book Until You've Walked The Path.
Profitable Growth Is Everyones Business - A Book Summary
The days of ruthless downsizing and drastic cost cutting are long gone. Nowadays, companies have realized that the best way to earn profit is only through growth ? profitable growth. In this book, author Ram Charan provides 10 tools anyone can use to hurdle obstacles and achieve profitable growth.
Albany, NY Family History Reference Now Available Thanks To Author Joseph Yakel
"Personal research references, especially for families who once lived in the South End area of Albany, are very difficult to come by", said Yakel. "Lower Albany had a very strong mix of European immigrants, especially Germans, throughout the 19th century. These were spirited, hard working people, that helped to build the city's distinction through their values and all kinds of family run businesses", he explained. "Unfortunately, unlike other parts of the city, such as the Central Avenue thoroughfare and the downtown district of Pearl Street, documentation relative to much of the South End, especially around the Second Avenue area, is far and few between."
Jason Seeleys War - Book Review
"Jason Seeley's War" is centered in the heart of a small
American town where two youth are deeply in love, and have
been since high-school. Jason and Natalie's love runs with
a flexible strength that endures her recovery from a horrible
drug addiction. A very promising athlete and student, Jason
is welcomed to University, but Natalie won't let him go
without extracting a promise from him to stay faithful to the
love of his life. This promise ? he meant to keep. But then
the Vietnam War happened and Jason was assigned a draft
number just before graduation. He knew government
agents were about to collect.
|
