The Stupidity Paradox

By Mats Alvesson, Andre Spicer,

Book cover of The Stupidity Paradox: The Power and Pitfalls of Functional Stupidity at Work

Book description

Functional stupidity can be catastrophic. It can cause organisational collapse, financial meltdown and technical disaster. And there are countless, more everyday examples of organisations accepting the dubious, the absurd and the downright idiotic, from unsustainable management fads to the cult of leadership or an over-reliance on brand and image. And…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Stupidity Paradox as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Much work on management talks of talent and people being the most important asset, whose ideas and skills should be fully utilized.

This book points to another side of organizations, where stupidity and idiocy reign despite the presence of smart workers (think of people who have important information to convey but are quiet at meetings as they are worried about not being seen as team players). This can help organisations in the short run (less conflict and everyone getting on with the job) but in the long run is problematic.

The authors point to how top-down management marginalizes critical voices…

From Adrian's list on managing people and working lives.

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