Training Magazine - June 2008 - (Page 74)

inprint 5555 Beyond Bullsh*t: Straight Talk at Work By Samuel A. Culbert, Stanford Business Books, 143 pp., $24.95 5555 Why Dogs Wag Their Tails: Lessons Leaders Can Learn About Work, Joy, and Life By Sherri McArdle and Jim Ramerman, W Business Books, 201 pp., $19.95 “Parts of the organizational world you inhabit are of your own making, and it’s in your best interest to discover what those elements are.” I want to buy Samuel Culbert a drink, if it’ll just keep him talking. Culbert offers a fun, fast tour of the minefield of workplace communication, particularly that of the bullsh*t variety. Deadon examples support good discussions of distinctions, such as truth-telling vs. straight talk and bullsh*t vs. lying, and phenomena such as the rare “burst of honesty.” What is bullsh*t, exactly? Well, it can take obvious forms, such as name-dropping and credential flaunting, but it also can move onto harder-to-detect, hit-and-run agenda obscuring. Bottom line, and really no surprise: As often as not, the decision drivers in the workplace are self-interests, not organization interests. So what exactly is straight talk? It’s power sharing, acknowledging, and offering the truth-as-I-see-it perspective. It recognizes context and the fact that perception is reality. Culbert offers suggestions for cultivating straight-talk relationships with others, especially the boss, and for structuring straight-talk messages in effective ways. He also, wisely, offers some guidance on when straight talk is not advised. (I especially love the refreshing, no bullsh*t comments on the travesty—er, tragedy?—that is “performance appraisal.”) I don’t know that there’s all that much new here, but as a thought-provoker and validator, or to satisfy a straight-talk craving, this book is worth your time. And maybe, oh, please, he’ll take on teams next. I’ll drink to that. —JB “People perform at high levels when they have good relationships with their bosses.” O.K., everybody who owns a dog, raise your hands. This book says there are more than 74 million of you out there. Now, raise your hands if you can’t stand your bosses. Common sense tells us there are many more than 74 million of you out there. If you have your hand up, you should go buy this book. Coauthors Sherri McArdle and Jim Ramerman are apparently successful leadership consultants who own dogs, and have some insightful things to say about how to create good, sound work environments for today’s employees. The dog stories they include, along with the people stories, add extra humor and credibility to the book. It’s full of stories to which we can relate our own. If your boss doesn’t get it after reading this, go find a new boss. In fact, finding a new boss is the subject of my favorite chapter of the book, No. 5, which is to the point, like the other 20 chapters. There is a section of Chapter 5 entitled, “Is It Time to Change Your Boss?” that poses a tough question to ponder, both because it often is a difficult thing to do, and is, at other times, the most necessary thing to do to keep your sanity. In this section, there are two lists of characteristics all of us should consider when interviewing our potential bosses while they are interviewing us. If we all did this, we’d make our work and personal lives much easier. So buy the book, take your time with it, and learn —SC how to help create a better work life in simple ways. YOUR REVIEWERS SKIP CORSINI Independent Consultant San Francisco, CA MELISSA F. THOMPSON Project Manager/ Instructional Designer Innovative Print and Media Group Phoenixville, PA JANE BOZARTH E-Learning Coordinator N.C. Office of State Personnel/ HR Development Group Raleigh, NC 74 | JUNE 2008 t r a i n i n g w w w. t r a i n i n g m a g . c o m http://www.trainingmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Training Magazine - June 2008

Training Magazine - June 2008 Contents Online TOC Editor’s Note Live & Online Training Today Soapbox How-To World View Changes With Penguins Keeping Forced Ranking Out of Court Across the Board Certify Me Meetings CPR How Secure Is Your Data? Training Leadership Summit Wrap-Up Tools of the Trade Inprint Questions for Covey

Training Magazine - June 2008

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