Written by top business psychologist Dr Ajit Menon and clinical psychologist Trevor Hough, What Lies Beneath explores how to tackle some of the most complex problems organisations face – from CEO succession to a toxic culture – by humanising the workplace.
Organisations of all sizes often obsessively focus on strategy, systems and structure, believing these elements will determine a business’s success or failure. But this approach only offers leaders a top-level understanding of their organisation, giving them a picture of what is happening above the surface.
What Lies Beneath takes leaders and business owners beyond these metrics. The book shows how, to really understand and solve organisational problems, you need to dive under the surface – to explore the hidden, intangible, immeasurable relational and cultural dynamics that lie beneath.
What is really interesting about the book is how the authors have switched from a traditional theoretical approach to a more compelling storytelling style, telling eight fascinating tales, each following a different business’s journey as they grapple with – and overcome – the most complex, challenging and anxiety-provoking events an organisation can face. This makes the book not only informative but also entertaining, as it takes readers on a fast-paced journey around the globe – from Mumbai to Paris, fashion to finance – while helping you to understand human behaviour and develop a new approach to problem solving.
Business issues are often based on underlying and usually unconscious emotions of fear, anxiety and uncertainty. The book enables readers to understand how these emotions, alongside individual and group dynamics, determine a business’s success or failure. Each story demonstrates how underlying conflicts, power structures, politics, personal agendas and individual ambition really run organisations, empowering leaders to identify and deal with these unseen root causes of business issues.
An invaluable tool for anyone who works in and with organisations – from founders and executives to managers – it enables readers to face the hard choices confronting them, to challenge how things are done within their organisation, reflect on their own biases, identify blind spots and adapt to ensure their business survives and thrives post-pandemic.
What Lies Beneath: How Organisations Really Work by Dr Ajit Menon and Trevor Hough, published by Phoenix Publishing House, is available from Amazon priced from £13.49
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