The Invisible Powers: The Language of Business

by John J. Clancy

Overview

In this wide-ranging and original book, John J. Clancy examines the history and current state of corporate America from a new perspective, looking at business not as a matter of economics, marketing, and management, but as a cultural artifact. The Invisible Powers examines language, imagery, values, and deeply held beliefs and the impact they all have in determining the role business plays in society. Drawing from the writings and speeches of some of the most influential business leaders of the past two hundred years—Frederick Taylor, Henry Ford, Jay Gould, and Lee Iacocca, among others—Clancy describes the evolution and transformation of influential metaphors and demonstrates the very real power the "invisible" forces of metaphor exercise in our world. Finding support in such diverse thinkers as Aristotle, Engels, and Darwin, Clancy then calls for a new set of images and paradigms that will enable us to deal more successfully with the economic, cultural, and environmental crises of our times.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780739100738
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	05/12/1999
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.94(d)

About the Author

John J. Clancy is an information systems industry executive who spent twenty-five years with a major corporation in R&D, sales, marketing, and general management.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction
Part 2 Metaphor in Business
Chapter 3 The Web of Language
Chapter 4 The Bearer of Truth
Chapter 5 The Journey: Leadership and le Voyage sans But
Chapter 6 The Game: The Playing Fields of Business
Chapter 7 War: Soldiers in Pinstripes
Chapter 8 The Machine: Taylor and Positivism
Chapter 9 The Organism: Evolution and the Good Shepherd
Chapter 10 The Society: Shamans and Statesmen
Part 11 Purpose in Business
Chapter 12 Purposes and Paradigms
Chapter 13 The New Messiah: The Paradigm of Production
Chapter 14 Treasures upon Earth: Paradigm of Wealth
Chapter 15 Stonecutters Fighting Time: The Paradigm of the Institution
Chapter 16 Fin de Siecle
Chapter 17 Voyaging, Voyaging, Voyaging
Chapter 18 Notes
Chapter 19 Bibliography
Chapter 20 Index
Chapter 21 About the Author

Editorial Reviews

This is an erudite book about business. If you believe that the purpose of business—your business—is obvious, you need to read this book to broaden and deepen your thinking. As you read, you will feel challenged to decide if these different ways of looking at business (paradigms) are somehow compatible or are mutually exclusive as Clancy contends. If one blind man (any one of us) were to examine an elephant (business) from three different approaches (paradigms), what opinion about the nature of elephants (business) would result? Written by a thoughtful businessman who appreciates the importance of business, this book helps us to think about [this question]: What is the real justification for business to exist?

Armand C. Stalnaker

John Clancy has provided the unexpected. He has written a literate businessman's guide to the language of business. In addition to being an enjoyable read, it should sharpen the ability of executives to communicate.

Murray Weidenbaum

A very rare book by a very rare man—a thorough, careful scholar and a highly successful executive. Clancy advances our understanding of organizations and their leaders through an impressive synthesis of knowledge. Both academics and professional managers will enjoy and learn from his efforts.

Walter Nord

For those who enjoy the ebb and flow of the business world and live by its tides, Clancy has written a fascinating book. From metaphors to mergers, from metaphysics to megabucks, he presents an interesting insight into the jargon of the trade. For the thinking people in the business world, and for all those who would like to join that elite group, The Invisible Powers has all the earmarks of a classic cult work. It's a twenty-game winner. Don't miss it.

J. Frank Cashen

John Clancy has provided the unexpected. He has written a literate businessman's guide to the language of business. In addition to being an enjoyable read, it should sharpen the ability of executives to communicate.--Murray Weidenbaum, Director of the Center for Study of American Business, St. Louis

For those who enjoy the ebb and flow of the business world and live by its tides, Clancy has written a fascinating book. From metaphors to mergers, from metaphysics to megabucks, he presents an interesting insight into the jargon of the trade. For the thinking people in the business world, and for all those who would like to join that elite group, The Invisible Powers has all the earmarks of a classic cult work. It's a twenty-game winner. Don't miss it.--J. Frank Cashen, Executive Vice President, General Manager, and Chief Operating Officer, New York Mets

A very rare book by a very rare man--a thorough, careful scholar and a highly successful executive. Clancy advances our understanding of organizations and their leaders through an impressive synthesis of knowledge. Both academics and professional managers will enjoy and learn from his efforts.--Walter Nord, Professor of Organization Psychology at the John M. Olin School of Business

From the Publisher