Management, Processes & Infrastructure, Human Resources & Personnel Management, Human Resources 

Every day companies and their leaders fail to capitalize on opportunities because they misunderstand the real sources of business success.

Based on his popular column in Business 2.0, Jeffrey Pfeffer delivers wise and timely business commentary that challenges conventional wisdom while providing data and insights to help companies make smarter decisions. The book contains a series of short chapters filled with examples, data, and insights that challenge questionable assumptions and much conventional management wisdom. Each chapter also provides guidelines about how to think more deeply and intelligently about critical management issues. Covering topics ranging from managing people to leadership to measurement and strategy, it’s good organizational advice, delivered by Dr. Pfeffer himself. 

Chapter 1. What Were They Thinking? Avoiding Common Management
Mistakes
PART I. PEOPLE-CENTERED STRATEGIES
Chapter 2. The Face of Your Business: It¿s People, Not Software, that Build
Customer Relationships
Chapter 3. Making Companies More Like Communities
Chapter 4. A Blueprint for Success: Spend More on Training
Chapter 5. How Companies Get Smarter: Taking Chances and Making Mistakes
Chapter 6. Why Employees Should Lead Themselves
PART II. PEOPLE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
Chapter 7. Stop Picking Employees¿ Pockets¿It Seldom Fixes Anything
Chapter 8. Let Workers Work: The Downsides of Having People Manage
their Own Benefits
Chapter 9. Why Spy on Your Employees? Building Trust in the Workplace
Chapter 10. All Work, No Play? Maybe Long Hours Doesn¿t Pay
Chapter 11. Sins of Commission: Fixing Incentives
Chapter 12. More Mr. Nice Guy: Why Cutting Benefits is a Bad Idea
Chapter 13. Resumes Don¿t Tell: Pick People for What They Can Do, Not What
They May Have Done
PART III. LEADERSHIP: BUILDING AND EFFECTIVELY EXERCISING INFLUENCE
Chapter 14. The Courage to Rise Above: Don¿t Be Afraid to Stand Out
Chapter 15. Executive-in-Chief: The Importance of Framing and Repetition

Chapter 16. How to Turn on the Charm: Building Influence through Real Human
Interaction for a Change
Chapter 17. A Field Day for Executives: The Benefits of Knowing What Your
Organization Actually Does
Chapter 18. The Whole Truth and Nothing But
Chapter 19. Refuse to Lose: Persistence Pays
Chapter 20. No More Excuses
PART IV. MANAGING ORGANIZATONS: MEASUREMENT AND STRATEGY
Chapter 21. The Real Budget Crisis: Stop Rewarding Forecasting and
Negotiating Instead of Real Performance
Chapter 22. Shareholder Return is the Wrong Measure of Performance
Chapter 23. Dare to be Different
Chapter 24. Curbing the Urge to Merge
Chapter 25. Don¿t Believe the Hype About Strategy
PART V. PEOPLE MANAGEMENT AND PUBLIC POLICY
Chapter 26. In Praise of Organized Labor: What Unions Really Do
Chapter 27. What to Do¿and Not Do¿About Executive Pay
Chapter 28. Stopping Corporate Misdeeds: How We Teach the Wrong Lessons
Acknowledgements
 

Includes bibliographical references (p. [195]-211) and index.