“Puttin’ Cologne on The Rickshaw: A Guide to Dysfunctional Management and The Evil Workplace Environments They Create” by William Bouffard (CreateSpace, $29.95).
Bouffard rightly likens the workplace to the TV show Survivor. Workers and managers with various skills, talents, personalities and agendas are brought together to face group and individual challenges. Through collaborative competition, departments vie for scarce resources. Concurrently, individuals work to build alliances and gain advantage over opponents. Each well-completed task provides a measure of immunity (i.e. job security) and prizes (i.e. raises, promotions, authority and power). Like Survivor, the workplace brings out the best and often the worst of human nature.
It’s the worst that most concerns Bouffard. The bad boss bears the brunt of his criticism: Doesn’t lead and motivate, finds fault, plays favorites, doesn’t appreciate or provide feedback, etc. But the failings of bad bosses reveal an indictment of a dysfunctional organizational culture and processes. The workplace often falls prey to Einstein’s definition of insanity: “Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Processes and procedures must be followed. If workers challenge them, find workarounds or don’t follow them, they’re called on the carpet. The results: Convergent thinking and drone-like behavior.
The effects of “do what you’re told” are highlighted in Chapter 7, Farce Majeure. Workers adapt to their workforce environment. In a dysfunctional environment, they come to work, perform their function, and go home. The organizationally-enforced “it is what it is” approach keeps workers and the organization from exploring “what if” opportunities. With brains in neutral, drones work in “psychic prisons”. The workers who think are considered losers. They eventually leave for greener pastures and the organization continues promoting mediocrity.
“Puttin’ cologne on the rickshaw” is Bouffard’s way of saying “You can’t get to better without going through different.” Get out of the organizational box and out of the employees’ way.
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“The Crowdfunding Revolution: How to Raise Venture Capital Using Social Media” by Kevin Lawton and Dan Marom (McGraw-Hill, $35).
Business has recognized the depth and breadth of the crowd as it searches for connect-the-dots information and innovative solutions. Web-based businesses like Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, RocketHub and Ulele saw the crowd as a way to fill another void — the entrepreneur’s need for capital. Instead of looking to traditional venture capitalists for funding, entrepreneurs use the crowd to tap small amounts of money from those believing in the worth and value of their ideas and projects.
In addition to funding, the crowd provides access to a mass audience as investors create buzz about the project, and the reasons they backed it. Making a dollar profit isn’t usually one of the reasons. So why invest? Emotional profit; they want to fund projects that make a difference to them. As the authors point out, “Anyone can push ‘Like’; people with some level of engagement push ‘Fund’.”
From the business’ standpoint, crowdfunding “should turn contributors into marketers by continually engaging people in ways that add value to their lives.” When you add value, people want to help you increase that value. Keeping people informed about the crowdfunded project deepens the engagement.
Example: Filmmaker Chris Jones invited contributors to the set of his Gone Fishing film. During the filming of a very emotional scene, the lead actress started crying on cue. Jones looked around and saw a contributor with tears streaming down her face. For her small contribution, she got far more than she imagined.
Crowdfunding also allows a company to test the waters for a project’s acceptance before committing to larger campaigns. Engagement provides feedback — which engages customers in the why behind the project.
Jim Pawlak is a nationally syndicated book reviewer.
