Tipping Sacred Cows: Kick the Bad Work Habits that Masquerade as Virtues
We are all well-acquainted with the sacred cows of the workplace: the conventional wisdom to try hard, work well with others, and focus on producing excellent work. These are cherished nuggets of advice, but in practice, they have a dark side -- blind, unthinking pursuit of these goals leads to inefficiency and a slew of unintended consequences. How can any manager upend conventional wisdom, identify and avoid the dangerous behaviors that masquerade as virtues in traditional work culture, and ultimately lead in the smartest, most productive way possible? Based on the authors extensive coaching experience in Dukes Executive Education programas well as on the latest scientific research in behavioral economics, neuroscience and psychologyTipping Sacred Cows reveals a simple set of steps to avoid the unintended consequences of the various sacred cows that backfire at work. Breeden examines the seven business virtues that can turn into the most powerful, hidden and damaging sacred cows. In their manifestation as sacred cows, these seven qualities show up in workplaces around the world, in every industry, and at every level of leadership. Each has a well-deserved reputation for being good and virtuous. They are the most frequently advocated, widely beloved, and least frequently questioned orthodoxies at work.They are: Balance: Attempting to be all things to all people, without deciding to be anything truly meaningful and distinctive to anyone. Collaboration: Holding too many team meetings and creating a culture of learned helplessness with little individual empowerment and accountability. Creativity: Wasting time and money coming up with an unneeded new idea but ignoring the bottom line. Excellence: Too much investment in producing perfect work instead of developing the quick and dirty solution needed now. Passion: Racing down a path seeking success brings burn-out and disappointment instead. Fairness: Sabotaging each other to ensure no one gets more than their fair share. Preparation: Wasting time in long planning sessions instead of productively working out just-in-time solutions with just the right people. For each of the seven most common sacred cows, Breeden offers 3 simple strategies for overcoming their allure and achieving real results. Tipping Sacred Cows wont advocate that we slaughter sacred cows. Rather it argues that to save these time-tested values by upending the shrouds of conventional wisdom that bog them down. Tipping Sacred Cows shines a light on the hidden traps that lie between good intentions and good results, clearing a path so readers can finally realize their fullest potential at work.
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Tipping Sacred Cows: Kick the Bad Work Habits that Masquerade as Virtues
We are all well-acquainted with the sacred cows of the workplace: the conventional wisdom to try hard, work well with others, and focus on producing excellent work. These are cherished nuggets of advice, but in practice, they have a dark side -- blind, unthinking pursuit of these goals leads to inefficiency and a slew of unintended consequences. How can any manager upend conventional wisdom, identify and avoid the dangerous behaviors that masquerade as virtues in traditional work culture, and ultimately lead in the smartest, most productive way possible? Based on the authors extensive coaching experience in Dukes Executive Education programas well as on the latest scientific research in behavioral economics, neuroscience and psychologyTipping Sacred Cows reveals a simple set of steps to avoid the unintended consequences of the various sacred cows that backfire at work. Breeden examines the seven business virtues that can turn into the most powerful, hidden and damaging sacred cows. In their manifestation as sacred cows, these seven qualities show up in workplaces around the world, in every industry, and at every level of leadership. Each has a well-deserved reputation for being good and virtuous. They are the most frequently advocated, widely beloved, and least frequently questioned orthodoxies at work.They are: Balance: Attempting to be all things to all people, without deciding to be anything truly meaningful and distinctive to anyone. Collaboration: Holding too many team meetings and creating a culture of learned helplessness with little individual empowerment and accountability. Creativity: Wasting time and money coming up with an unneeded new idea but ignoring the bottom line. Excellence: Too much investment in producing perfect work instead of developing the quick and dirty solution needed now. Passion: Racing down a path seeking success brings burn-out and disappointment instead. Fairness: Sabotaging each other to ensure no one gets more than their fair share. Preparation: Wasting time in long planning sessions instead of productively working out just-in-time solutions with just the right people. For each of the seven most common sacred cows, Breeden offers 3 simple strategies for overcoming their allure and achieving real results. Tipping Sacred Cows wont advocate that we slaughter sacred cows. Rather it argues that to save these time-tested values by upending the shrouds of conventional wisdom that bog them down. Tipping Sacred Cows shines a light on the hidden traps that lie between good intentions and good results, clearing a path so readers can finally realize their fullest potential at work.
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Tipping Sacred Cows: Kick the Bad Work Habits that Masquerade as Virtues

Tipping Sacred Cows: Kick the Bad Work Habits that Masquerade as Virtues

by Jake Breeden

Narrated by Mike Murray

Unabridged — 6 hours, 36 minutes

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Tipping Sacred Cows: Kick the Bad Work Habits that Masquerade as Virtues
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Tipping Sacred Cows: Kick the Bad Work Habits that Masquerade as Virtues

Tipping Sacred Cows: Kick the Bad Work Habits that Masquerade as Virtues

by Jake Breeden

Narrated by Mike Murray

Unabridged — 6 hours, 36 minutes

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Overview

We are all well-acquainted with the sacred cows of the workplace: the conventional wisdom to try hard, work well with others, and focus on producing excellent work. These are cherished nuggets of advice, but in practice, they have a dark side -- blind, unthinking pursuit of these goals leads to inefficiency and a slew of unintended consequences. How can any manager upend conventional wisdom, identify and avoid the dangerous behaviors that masquerade as virtues in traditional work culture, and ultimately lead in the smartest, most productive way possible? Based on the authors extensive coaching experience in Dukes Executive Education programas well as on the latest scientific research in behavioral economics, neuroscience and psychologyTipping Sacred Cows reveals a simple set of steps to avoid the unintended consequences of the various sacred cows that backfire at work. Breeden examines the seven business virtues that can turn into the most powerful, hidden and damaging sacred cows. In their manifestation as sacred cows, these seven qualities show up in workplaces around the world, in every industry, and at every level of leadership. Each has a well-deserved reputation for being good and virtuous. They are the most frequently advocated, widely beloved, and least frequently questioned orthodoxies at work.They are: Balance: Attempting to be all things to all people, without deciding to be anything truly meaningful and distinctive to anyone. Collaboration: Holding too many team meetings and creating a culture of learned helplessness with little individual empowerment and accountability. Creativity: Wasting time and money coming up with an unneeded new idea but ignoring the bottom line. Excellence: Too much investment in producing perfect work instead of developing the quick and dirty solution needed now. Passion: Racing down a path seeking success brings burn-out and disappointment instead. Fairness: Sabotaging each other to ensure no one gets more than their fair share. Preparation: Wasting time in long planning sessions instead of productively working out just-in-time solutions with just the right people. For each of the seven most common sacred cows, Breeden offers 3 simple strategies for overcoming their allure and achieving real results. Tipping Sacred Cows wont advocate that we slaughter sacred cows. Rather it argues that to save these time-tested values by upending the shrouds of conventional wisdom that bog them down. Tipping Sacred Cows shines a light on the hidden traps that lie between good intentions and good results, clearing a path so readers can finally realize their fullest potential at work.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"This is a very sensible book that offers plenty of good, practical advice about examining behaviour we often take for granted." (Business Life, May 2013)

"Many of his arguments will come as a breath of fresh air...overall a powerful look at how what we perceive as the right thing to do is not always the best thing to do." (HR, May 2013)

"Well written and well researched...this very readable book might make you question some of your own organisation's 'sacred cows'". (The CA, April 2013)

"How well do we know ourselves? So many roles and identities shape individual lives that it's easy to be confused about what is authentically 'us.' Rohr, a Franciscan priest and founding director of the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, N.Mex., leads a narrative excursion to the 'True Self,' the core of character that lies like a diamond buried within. Writing for secular seekers, the author claims that individuals need to allow the false self to fall away in order to get in touch with the true self, allowing it to breathe and flourish. Grasping onto the superficial identities of the false self, such as job, class, race, or accomplishments, can keep people from being the loving and generous conduits of the Divine that they are meant to be. God is always communicating with humans, but those who cling to ego and social position can't hear these divine messages. The author makes clear that it is not easy to shed this falseness for truth in the inner life, but it is a spiritual path well worth the effort. (Jan.) (Publishers Weekly, December 2012)

Product Details

BN ID: 2940177884738
Publisher: Ascent Audio
Publication date: 07/20/2020
Edition description: Unabridged

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