Beware – Monsters at Work is not your typical management guide—it's gooey, graphic, and downright monstrous. Ever been ambushed by the Yes Yeti or cornered at the coffee machine by an Energy Draining Dracula? Learn how to slay it at work by facing the monsters within and around you. A laugh-out-loud guide to mastering the most monstrous of management challenges.
Aimed at leaders, managers, and anyone seeking improvement in their work lives, the book is structured into three sections: monsters lurking within us, those pretending to be our colleagues, and the omnipresent bureaucracy beasts. Delight in meeting the overpowering Yes Yeti or the mischievous Time Trolls. Learn how to fend off the Draining Dracula or the Multitask Medusa and dare to kill the Strategy Chimera or the Project Zombie.
By the end, you'll be equipped with a practical manual to help you discover and address your very own professional monsters, turning your work villains into allies and finding ways to subdue even the mightiest beasts of bureaucracy and corporate life.
Table of Contents:
INTRODUCTION: Slaying It at Work
THE MONSTERS WITHIN US: Creatures of Self-Sabotage
- The Yes Yeti
- Sirens of Self-Doubt
- Time Trolls
- The Procrastination Phoenix
- The Anxiety Alien
- Monominded Mermaids
- Demons of Despair
- Bias Beasts: Overconfidence Critters, Confirmation Centaurs, and Availability
- Apparitions
THE MONSTERS IN OTHERS: Creepy Colleague Creatures
- The Creativity Crushing Cyclops
- The Worry Werewolf
- The Energy-Draining Dracula
- The Oblivious Ogre
- The Politicoraptor
- The Toxic Tyrannosaurus
- Groupthink Goblins
- Meeting Monsters: Talk Titans, Multitasking Medusas, and Detail Devils
THE MONSTERS IN THE ORGANIZATION: Bureaucracy Beasts
- Presentation Phantoms
- Disinformation Dragons
- Strategy Chimeras
- Project Zombies
- Not Invented Here Nemean Lions
- Status Quo Slime
- Open Office Orcas
- Corporate Creatures: Lean Skeletons, Legal Leviathans, and Hierarchy Harpies
A TALE OF TEN MONSTERS: On a Stroll with the Work Slayers
MONSTERS IN THE MAKING: Design and Defy Your Own Monsters
FAREWELL AND A CALL TO ARMS: Taking It All to Work
About the Author :
Prof. Dr. Martin Eppler is the author of more than two hundred academic papers and twenty-four books, including How to Talk about Data (FT Publishing), of which several have won awards such as "International Business Book of the Year," "HR Book of the Year," and "Career Book of the Year." He has won numerous best papers and teaching awards, and his research has been featured in Inc. Magazine, the Harvard Business Review, Ted.com, BusinessWeek, the MIT Technology Review, and others. He is the inventor of the periodic table of visualization methods, the let's-focus software suite, the synergy map method, and the nudging approach to meetings. In addition to his university role (where he led an MBA program for many years), he is an advisor to organizations such as the United Nations, the European Central Bank, Porsche, Swiss Re, the Anti-Tobacco Fund, Salesforce, and others. He's been a guest professor at institutions such as Cambridge University, Georgia Tech, Simon Fraser University, and CUFE Beijing.
Andri Hinnen, MA is the Founder of Zense, a consultancy and agency that specializes in reframing complexity and communicating change. Andri is also a lecturer on storytelling and visualization at the University of St. Gallen.
