Fatal Illusions: Shredding a Dozen Unrealities That Can Keep Your Organization From Success

Why do our best efforts at change always seem to stall? What stops us from moving forward? As individuals and as organizations, we lay the blame on a lack of time, information, money, or motivation. However, our own illusions are usually the true culprit. As this insightful book will quickly convince you, getting real is the only way to really get ahead. We labor under fatal illusions when we base our behavior on what we wish to be true about our business, or about the marketplace, rather than on what is actually true. We treat our symptoms while core problems fester unchecked. The syndrome is all too common, but there is a remedy. Fatal Illusions shows how to dig out the truth and free yourself for positive action. This book analyzes 12 major illusions with significant power to harm you and your organization. The illusions involve too-comfortable beliefs about mission statements, teamwork, incentives, and other big issues that soak up time and resources--and they may startle you by hitting so close to home. For example:

"Of course our people understand what's important"

"Everybody knows what quality is"

"We don't need passion if we have a good plan"

"Just give people a chance and they'll work together" Throughout the book, self-tests help you pinpoint which fatal illusions are lurking in your organization. Then you'll learn proven, specific techniques for correcting the misperceptions, one by one. You'll discover how to uproot the fallacies that prevent successful implementation of benchmarking, employee empowerment, and other management initiatives. Deeper and more far-reaching than virtually any other management book, Fatal Illusions is your guide to becoming "unstuck" in business and in life. By helping you squarely face "the things you know that just ain't so," it will propel you from your current plateau to brand-new heights of success.