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Overcoming the 'tyranny of shoulds' |
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Written by Laurie Blake
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Thursday, 27 March 2008 |
Moose on the table: A Novel Approach to Communications @ Work
By Jim Clemmer
Bastian Books; $19.95(CAN)
 Pete Leonard, the hero of Jim Clemmer’s new book Moose on the Table, is an overweight, over-medicated, underachieving, middle-aged middle manager — hardly hero material. But a hero Pete becomes when through a series of near failures, management training, consultant – and elf (yes, the magical kind) – mentoring, he takes on the quest to face up to the ‘moose on the table’ and free his organization from a bully manager and the trolls of departmental silos and organizational apathy.
I don’t think it would be giving away too much to note that Clemmer’s moose on the table (or, for those in warmer climes, the ‘elephant in the corner’) arise from the inability to communicate about the pressing problems facing companies and individuals. In fact, says the Canadian management coach, we do our best to ignore them and pretend they don’t exist. Facing our fears and examining those moose is the only way to make them disappear.
Clemmer’s business fable presents an optimistic view — some might even say simplistic — of personal and organizational realignment. Yet, as you read through chapters with names such as “Running on Empty,” “The Dread POETS (Piss-on-Everything-Till-Sunrise) Society,” “Of Moose and Managers,” “Facing the Bull,” and “Two Steps Forward, Four Hooves Back,” most will recognize the real frustrations and challenges of a corporation, and a life, trying to pull itself back from disaster. I found myself thinking about my actions, or lack thereof, in similar situations from my past and wondering if I, too, could overcome my fear of moose on the table and lead change.
Easy and fun to read, Moose on the Table might be just the tale for those about to embark on a quest for change in their own lives or organizations.
For more information, visit www.bastianbooks.com.
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