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The Heretic's Guide To Management: The Art of Harnessing Ambiguity

Paul Culmsee (Goodreads Author),

Kailash Awati,

Ashlee Culmsee (Illustrator)

4.26 · Rating details · 19 ratings · 3 reviews

Management techniques such as strategic planning, project management or operational budgeting, aim to reduce ambiguity and provide clarity. So it is one of the great ironies of modern corporate life that these techniques often end up doing the opposite: increasing ambiguity rather than reducing it.

It is easy enough to understand why: organizations are complex entities an Management techniques such as strategic planning, project management or operational budgeting, aim to reduce ambiguity and provide clarity. So it is one of the great ironies of modern corporate life that these techniques often end up doing the opposite: increasing ambiguity rather than reducing it.

It is easy enough to understand why: organizations are complex entities and it is unreasonable to expect management models, such as those that fit neatly into a 2*2 matrix or a predetermined checklist, to work in the real world. Indeed, expecting them to work as advertised is akin to colouring a paint-by-numbers Mona Lisa with the expectation of recreating Da Vinci’s masterpiece. Ambiguity has not been tamed: reality will still impose itself no matter how alluring the model is.

Unfortunately, most of us have a deep aversion to situations that involve even a hint of ambiguity. Recent research in neuroscience has revealed the reason for this: ambiguity is processed in the parts of the brain which regulate our emotional responses. As a result, many people associate ambiguity with feelings of anxiety.

When kids feel anxious, they turn to transitional objects such as teddy bears or security blankets, providing them with a sense of stability when situations or events seem overwhelming. We contend that as grown-ups, we don’t actually stop using teddy bears - they take a different form. Backed by research, we illustrate that management models, fads and frameworks are akin to teddy bears . They provide the same sense of comfort and certainty to corporate managers and minions as real teddies do to distressed kids.

This is not a problem in many cases. Children usually outgrow their need for a teddy, unless if development is disrupted or arrested in some way. If this happens, the transitional object can become a fetish – an object that is held on to with a pathological intensity, simply for the comfort that it offers in the face of ambiguity. The corporate reliance on simplistic solutions for the complex challenges faced is akin to little Johnny believing that everything will be OK provided he clings on to Teddy.

Ambiguity is a primal force that drives much of our behaviour. It is typically viewed negatively - something to be avoided or to be controlled. The truth however, is that it is a force that can be used in positive ways too. The Force that gave the Dark Side their power in the Star Wars movies was harnessed by the Jedi in positive ways. Similarly, this new management book shows how ambiguous situations, so common in the corporate world, are processed by the brain, and the behaviours that often arise as a consequence. More importantly, though, it shows you how to harness that ambiguity to achieve outstanding results. ...more

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Kindle Edition, 260 pages

Published July 7th 2016 by Heretics Guide Press

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Sep 03, 2016 Craig rated it it was amazing

TL/DR - It’s a great, entertaining book on managing people in a complex world. Buy it and read it today.

I am really happy Paul and Kailash wrote a follow up to their 2011 book The Heretic's’ Guide to Best Practices. That was a book with great storytelling weaving together 50 years of management academia.

It told the story of how work is inherently complex and you can’t just treat it like a game with a simple rule book. They showed how and why the simplistic approach to work of best practices is ...more

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Apr 11, 2018 Rick rated it liked it

Good, but it got a bit convoluted, and didn't address the concept of ambiguity as I understand it. Probably worth a re-read to really drive in the concepts to see if I simply missed something. ...more

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Mar 27, 2017 Robert Bogue rated it it was amazing

Years ago I came to understand how learning worked in the trades model. The apprentice was – literally – following the instructions of a journeyman or master to complete small repeatable tasks. The journeyman would start to detach from the small repeatable tasks. The journeyman would realize that there are multiple ways to get to the goal. The master became fluent in multiple approaches. The result was the ability to move fluidly between completely different techniques. The master recognizes the ...more

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