Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting out of the Box
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About this ebook
Since its original publication in 2000, Leadership and Self-Deception has become an international word-of-mouth phenomenon. Rather than tapering off, it sells more copies every year. The book's central insight—that the key to leadership lies not in what we do but in who we are—has proven to have powerful implications not only for organizational leadership but in readers' personal lives as well.
Leadership and Self-Deception uses an entertaining story everyone can relate to about a man facing challenges at work and at home to expose the fascinating ways that we blind ourselves to our true motivations and unwittingly sabotage the effectiveness of our own efforts to achieve happiness and increase happiness. We trap ourselves in a “box” of endless self-justification. Most importantly, the book shows us the way out. Readers will discover what millions already have learned—how to consistently tap into and act on their innate sense of what's right, dramatically improving all of their relationships.
This third edition includes new research about the self-deception gap in organizations and the keys to closing this gap. The authors offer guidance for how to assess the in-the-box and out-of-the-box mindsets in yourself and in your organization. It also includes a sample of Arbinger's latest bestseller, The Outward Mindset.
The Arbinger Institute
The Arbinger Institute is an international training, consulting, and coaching firm that specializes in conflict resolution and peacemaking―whether in families, in organizations, or between communities or nations. Arbinger's clients range from individuals who are seeking help in their lives to families who are trying to strengthen and rebuild relationships to many of the largest companies and governmental institutions in the world, where Arbinger helps to establish new levels of teamwork and cooperation.
Read more from The Arbinger Institute
The Anatomy of Peace, Fourth Edition: Resolving the Heart of Conflict Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Outward Mindset: How to Change Lives and Transform Organizations Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for Leadership and Self-Deception
215 ratings15 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This book proposes to improve work, personal, and family relationships by treating others as people as opposed to objects and to examine self responsibility for conflict and problems. It is proposed that this change in mindset can improve productivity. I believe that the premise is correct while the concept is simplistic. I strongly recommend the book for management.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Excellent book. Having trouble at work or with relationships. This book may provide some useful food for thought.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book made so much sense. One has to put up with a bit of repition in terms of the concepts, but that is the point. We are all in constant need of getting "out of the box" because we all pretty much are pulled inside of the box on a consistent basis.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
This is the kind of book that has the potential to save relationships, teams and resolve conflicts if taken to heart, but I suspect most who read it feel a brief surge of inspiration (the same you feel after a one day leadership course of some description).
I see several ways this book can impact my relationship with my colleagues at work and even my personal relationships if I take the ideas to heart.
The book is told almost like a fable and would have been a better book with more examples from the main character actually testing out his new knowledge in the workplace.
Readers who are accustomed to reading philosophy or other complex non-fiction books might find the didactic tone in the book troublesome. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5amazing book that helps you take a critical look at your own attitudes
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An engaging presentation in narrative format regarding the difficulties which stem from self-deception and the need for personal justification, blame of others, and the problems these cause. An appeal to find the humanity in others and treat others accordingly.I will not try to unpack the entire presentation of the book because the reader will have a lot of reasons to want to try to avoid the material. It's not the most comfortable process to explore, but very beneficial to do so.The book is presented as a narrative involving a few characters and a corporation, and the reader is invited to go with "Tom" on his journey, and, ideally, engaging in the same kind of self-reflection as "Tom" does. The narrative gets campy at times; the self-aggrandization of the book is a bit much; the lack of personality behind the authorship seems at odds with the core message. Nevertheless, a very necessary even if uncomfortable exploration of the self so that one might live more profitably for him or herself and interact better with others.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A novel which teaches us how we deceive ourselves in order to justify the flaws in our personality. It provides insight into how we can improve our lives through simple choice.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is one of those business books that is told as a story/fable. Tom has been hired as an executive at a company that believes that the relationships between their employees is one of their core competencies. Bud, one of the VPs, meets with all new employees to discuss the company's approach to interacting with one another. Bud and Tom have discussions about prior work event, as well as about their families, and in the course of these conversations, Bud reveals that most leaders are deceiving themselves. They say that people should be treated as people, but they often act as if people are just objects or obstacles to getting things done. When they begin to treat people like this, they deceive themselves and look for justifications for treating people as objects. This is what they call being "in the box." Leaders can do almost anything - give feedback, assign tasks, etc. - as if they are in the box (treating people as objects) or as if they are out of the box (treating people as people). In reading the book, it seemed as though there was more to it than this, and the examples help clarify things a bit, but I didn't end the book with any big aha moments. Still, I heard someone say once that effective leadership may be common sense, but it is not always common practices. So, this book serves as an important reminder that what we know deep down is not always what we do.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is one of the most powerful books that I have ever read. It literally changed the way I look at myself and others in this world.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A very transformational book that will have you thinking about others in a way that is truly freeing. The compelling story that teaches you about in-box , out-box mindsets will have you thinking about how to engage and further the journey.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Talk about perspective change! This is a great book for those looking to better themselves in being more self-aware!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I came into work one day, and this book was on my desk with no note attached. I picked it up, flipped it over, and read the first quote on the back: "Fascinating, thought provoking, and insightful! This book is a wake-up call to all those who think they're good with people..."Wait. What?! Was somebody trying to tell me something? Was this some passive-aggressive attempt at telling me I'm a bear to work with? I could actually feel my heart drop and hit my stomach. I hid the book under my purse and tried to check my email, but I just couldn't concentrate.I peeked into my neighbor's cube and said in just-barely-above-a-whisper, "Hey, I had some book on my desk when I came in. Do you know what that's about?""Oh, yeah. Our boss left them for us. She wants us to read them before our group meeting in 2 weeks."My heart sprung back up to its rightful position in my chest cavity. No secret message from a disgruntled co-worker, hooray!But...assigned reading for work? I have a spreadsheet of 643 book titles I want to read and a stack of 20-ish books from the library all in various stages of being read and flipped through and referenced, and I'm what—just supposed to work this in?I eventually relented though, and I'm glad I did.Don't get me wrong—this is one of those cheesy how-to-be-a-good-leader parables. But the message is a good one, and it's one we could all stand to be reminded of from time to time. Our co-workers deserve our respect and understanding. Self-deception gets in the way of that.Self-deception is the term they use to describe anytime you have an impulse to help another person, but you ignore the impulse and "deceive" yourself into believing you're justified for not honoring the impulse. For example, let's say it's rush hour and you're driving down the highway. Someone in the next lane has their blinker on and is desperately trying to find an open spot to get over. For a split second, you have an impulse to be nice and let them over. But you don't. We've all done that, right? Have you ever noticed that it's only after you've already decided not to let the person over that you start coming up with reasons for why you're justified in your behavior? You're in a hurry, you're gonna be late, they should have planned ahead if they really needed to get in your lane, etc. That's self-deception. It's just a handy label for something we've all experienced.Self-deception happens everywhere—even at work. In a workplace, the consequences of rampant self-deception are more than a little twinge of guilt for not letting someone over on the highway. Self-deception can poison how you view your co-workers, and before you know it you're working against each other instead of with each other towards a common goal.Let me give you an example. When I starting reading this book, I had a meeting at work coming up, which I was going to lead. I had asked all the attendees to send me some information so I could compile it before the meeting. A couple people cut it down to the wire, leaving me only a couple hours to compile their information before the meeting. Because of my part-time work schedule, I almost didn't get it done in time. So you can imagine that I was pretty annoyed.Fast forward a couple weeks. Now one of the people who had given me their information late needed something from me by the end of the week. I knew that it would be unfair of me to send them the information they needed at the last minute. But I had a lot of big things going on that week, and I kept putting off what that person needed from me. And yet, it was only after I made the decision to put it off each time that I thought of what she had done to me a couple weeks prior. I felt justified in putting off what she now needed from me. Was I enhancing her efficiency at work? No. Was I enhancing my own efficiency? Not really, because I still needed to get the work done—it was just a matter of when I would do it. What about the next time I need something from her, and she remembers my behavior? Will she be compelled to help me out?This is just a small example, but imagine this happening every day in every cubicle/office in your workplace. Because it does. Every single person is always making little decisions like this that drag down your collective efficiency and productivity. Worse than that, over time we're also letting self-deception color our opinions of our co-workers. We think they're lazy or stupid or irresponsible. I certainly started to think that person was irresponsible when they didn't send me what I needed when I needed it. Sure—sometimes we have to work with some real doozies. But when you're never satisfied with the abilities of the people who surround you at work and you're always complaining about them, is it really your co-workers who are the problem?If we all began to honor those little impulses to help our co-workers and to work together, not only would we get a lot more done but we'd be a lot happier at work too. I don't know about you, but when I go into work and feel confident in the people who will be working alongside me, I'm in a much better mood than if I feel like I'm surrounded by lazy and/or incompetent people.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5You got five uploads from me but did not give the asked EVA download in return as promised.
Do you think You can Forcefully make us members? It's Kind of cheating - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Some books do not seem overly compelling while you are reading them but then you find they resonate long after you've finished them. This is such a book. It's an easy read that at times feels a little to pat. However I continually find my self thinking about the concepts. The basic concept being to think of others as people and just vehicles to fill your needs. I strongly recommend taking a little time to read.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I can’t decide how to start the review of Leadership and Self Deception: Getting Out of the Box. I could say this was an easy read which makes it accessible to every reader. I could say that this is one of the most useful books I’ve read in years (including my college years). I could say that this is a powerful book that will change its readers. However, I find it best to say that a friend lent me “Leadership and Self Deception” and it was so good that I bought a copy after reading the book. I even helped sell a few copies as I insisted a few of my friends buy it and read it.I generally dislike leadership books; I don’t have the wall space to write down 12 reminders for leaders or 15 steps to effective leadership. “Leadership and Self Deception” at the end of the story there were a few key ideas to keep in mind but they all boiled down to the simple ideas “getting out of the box” (view people as people) and “self deception.” Even though the key ideas are entombed in the title the book is still a must read. The book chips away at leadership excuses by effectively challenging and building leadership. It pulls leadership out of the personality, quality, skill and talent realm and places it squarely into the accessible realm reaction and choices. “Leadership and Self Deception” is written as humorous story which softens the body blows it often inflects to the reader’s ego. It follows the story of Tom Callum, a new executive at Zagrum who meets with Zagrum’s executive vice president Bud Jefferson. The book follows the course of the meeting as Bud shares with Tom about Leadership and Self Deception and being in the box and how to be out of the box.There aren’t ground breaking principles in this book but the simplicity and accessibility force the reader to acknowledge and desire to act upon the principles.
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Leadership and Self-Deception - The Arbinger Institute
Praise for Leadership and Self-Deception
This is a profound book, with deep and sweeping implications. I couldn’t recommend it more highly.
—Stephen R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
This is the most profound and practical business book I have ever read! Everyone I have recommended this book to has been challenged intellectually and also touched emotionally. It is a must-read that I will give to my kids to read before they begin their careers.
—Tom A. DiDonato, Senior Vice President, Human Resources,
Lear Corporation
I love this book. It identifies the central issue in all organizational performance. Like truth itself, this book reveals more with each re-examination. I highly recommend it.
—Doug Hauth, Business Development Manager, Convio, Inc.
Imagine working in an organization where the aim of your colleagues is to help you achieve your results. I could not believe it possible. After reading this book I just had to bring Arbinger to the UK to teach our people. What an experience! We are all better people for it. This book touches the very foundation of culture, teamwork, and performance.
—Mark Ashworth, President and CEO, Butcher’s Pet Care, UK
It’s rare to find a business book that is good enough to recommend to your boss, your work team, and your friends. The concepts in this book have transformed both the way I work and the way I live.
—Robert W. Edwards, Managing Director, Sales, FedEx
After decades of executive leadership in senior management positions, I’ve finally found in Arbinger what I consider to be the best means of improving every measure of success. From boosting the bottom line to increasing personal joy, this book shows the way.
—Bruce L. Christensen, former President and CEO, PBS
This astonishing book is a MUST-read for every executive or personal and professional coach.
—Laura Whitworth, coauthor of Co-Active Coaching, and cofounder,
The Coaches Training Institute
The concepts in this book are powerful. They are fundamental to success whether on the playing field, in the office, or perhaps most importantly, at home. Read this book and you’ll see what I mean.
—Steve Young, two-time NFL Most Valuable Player
Rarely has a book had such an immediate and profound impact on the hundreds of CEOs of fast-growth firms we work with through our MIT/Inc./EO Executive Program. And it’s one of those rare books that touches both the personal as well as professional lives of these leaders.
—Verne Harnish, cofounder, Entrepreneurs’ Organization, and CEO, Gazelles, Inc.
"Leadership and Self-Deception is a touchstone for authentic leadership. Arbinger’s innovative exploration of what lies beneath behavior uplifts, enlightens, and transforms. We’ve wholeheartedly adopted Leadership and Self-Deception as the foundational material for our administrator development program."
—Troy S. Buer, Educational Program Director,
University of Virginia School of Medicine
This is probably the most outstanding book that directs us to soul searching and introspection. It teaches us to take accountability for our lives and our destinies in a down-to-earth and bluntly practical manner. The lessons in this book have helped me personally, as well as other people I love.
—Kalyan Banerjee, cofounder and Senior Vice President, MindTree
"The principles of Leadership and Self-Deception provide the groundwork for our success as individuals and organizations. I recommend it highly to my fellow board members and to global networks, corporate clients, entrepreneurs, and individuals alike."
—Heidi Forbes Öste, CEO and founder, 2BalanceU, and Public Relations, Europe Region, Business and Professional Women International
While reading, I reviewed my life, and, sure enough, what successes there were in it were based on Arbinger’s principles. This book is a tool that could transform and elevate the way government functions!
—Mark W. Cannon, former Administrative Assistant to the Chief Justice of the United States, and Staff Director, Commission on the Bicentennial of the US Constitution
"Because it distills important leadership, spiritual, and life principles into one profound and impossible-to-put-down book, Leadership and Self-Deception is a treasure. MBA students in my classes share my enthusiasm for this rare book. You will surely return to this book again and again; and each time you do, it will be as penetrating a learning experience as the first time."
—Barry Brownstein, CSX Chair in Leadership, University of Baltimore
The leadership principles in this book have had a greater impact on the quality of leadership in our company than anything we have ever implemented. They have been extraordinarily important in helping make our company a great place to work while at the same time helping us focus on results and increase productivity as never before.
—Michael Stapley, President and CEO, DMBA
Simple … clear … powerful. With many years of experience in leadership, organizational development, and training I was surprised to find something strike me with such impact.
—Janet Steinwedel, President, Leader’s Insight
As a therapist I was pleasantly surprised to find that a book geared toward managers could have such far-reaching implications in my life and the lives of my clients. I believe the ideas in this book could transform the counseling profession. It is now required reading for all my clients.
—Jason Beard, family therapist
Are you relating to the world anxiously or angrily, not comprehending why you hold judgmental attitudes, feel uncontrollable fear, or unleash explosions of temper against your colleagues without being able to explain why? Do you feel hopeless and unable to change? Learn the practical tools provided in this fascinating book and eliminate this problem at its source right now!
—Marcos Cajina Heinzkill, Certified Coach and Facilitator, founder and President, Renewal, Spain
Remarkable. Arbinger possesses the hidden key to productivity and creativity. Do whatever you can to get your hands on this material.
—Dave Browne, former President and CEO, LensCrafters
This book is a rare gem that is treasured by all who have read it. The organization for which I work has passed this book to so many people, and it is amazing to watch people’s attitudes and behaviors toward each other changing. Each day everyone gives a little more, making us better leaders, but more importantly, better people.
—Nuala Murphy, Senior Vice President, Global Financial Services Company
"Leadership and Self-Deception holds up a brutally honest mirror to behavior in which we all indulge to justify our shortcomings. The result is not self-remorse or punishment but a glimpse of a life to be lived with integrity and freed of the boundaries and constraints we inflict upon ourselves and others. I am always excited to watch Arbinger’s thinking help my clients to unlock painful family disputes and lead them to resolution."
—Neil Denny, family lawyer, Wiltshire, UK
A remarkable book. It can be valuable to your understanding of why so many people create their own problems, are unable and/or unwilling to see that they are creating their own problems, and then resist any attempts by others to help them stop creating those problems.
—Robert Morris, Amazon Top 50 Reviewer
"I’ve been in the book publishing business for twenty-five years. Rarely have I read a book as profound and life-changing as Leadership and Self-Deception."
—David Sanford, Literary Agent, Credo Communications
This book was recommended to me at an annual strategic planning session. I was stunned by the truth of it and the simple solution. Our entire management has now read it. It has been a building block for our personal and organizational development.
—Rick Chalk, CEO, Cal-Tex Protective Coatings
My business partners and I built a health-care company on the ideas in this book. We are amazed at what it has helped us achieve. Careful reading and rereading of this book has proven better than any productivity, team-building, or leadership training we’ve encountered.
—Mark Ballif, CEO, Plum Healthcare
LEADERSHIP AND SELF-DECEPTION
Getting Out of the Box
THE ARBINGER INSTITUTE
Leadership and Self-Deception
Copyright © 2000, 2010, 2018 by Arbinger Properties, LLC.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed Attention: Permissions Coordinator,
at the address below.
Ordering information for print editions
Quantity sales. Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the Special Sales Department
at the Berrett-Koehler address above.
Individual sales. Berrett-Koehler publications are available through most bookstores. They can also be ordered directly from Berrett-Koehler: Tel: (800) 929-2929; Fax: (802) 864-7626; www.bkconnection.com Orders for college textbook/course adoption use. Please contact BerrettKoehler: Tel: (800) 929-2929; Fax: (802) 864-7626.
Distributed to the U.S. trade and internationally by Penguin Random House Publisher Services.
Berrett-Koehler and the BK logo are registered trademarks of Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
Third Edition
Paperback print edition ISBN 978-1-5230-9780-7
PDF e-book ISBN 978-1-5230-9781-4
IDPF e-book ISBN 978-1-5230-9782-1
2018-1
Copyediting and proofreading: PeopleSpeak
Production: Marin Bookworks
Interior illustrations and cover design: Michael Brown
It is in the darkness of their eyes that men get lost.
—Black Elk
Contents
Preface
Part I Self-Deception and the Box
1 Bud
2 A Problem
3 Self-Deception
4 The Problem beneath Other Problems
5 Beneath Effective Leadership
6 The Deep Choice That Determines Influence
7 People or Objects
8 Doubt
Part II How We Get in the Box
9 Kate
10 Questions
11 Self-Betrayal
12 Characteristics of Self-Betrayal
13 Life in the Box
14 Collusion
15 Box Focus
16 Box Problems
Part III How We Get out of the Box
17 Lou
18 Leadership in the Box
19 Toward Being out of the Box
20 Dead Ends
21 The Way Out
22 Leadership out of the Box
23 Birth of a Leader
24 Another Chance
Appendix: Resources for Readers
Research about Self-Deception in Organizations
From Way-of-Being Change to Mindset Change
How to Use Leadership and Self-Deception
Introducing The Anatomy of Peace
An Excerpt from The Outward Mindset
Index
About the Arbinger Institute
Preface
For too long, the issue of self-deception has been the realm of deep-thinking philosophers, academics, and scholars working on the central questions of the human sciences. The public remains generally unaware of the issue. That would be fine except that self-deception is so pervasive that it touches every aspect of life. Touches
is perhaps too gentle a word to describe its influence. Self-deception actually determines one’s experience in every aspect of life. The extent to which it does that—and in particular the extent to which it determines the nature of one’s influence on, and experience of, others—is the subject of this book.
To give you an idea of what’s at stake, consider the following analogy. An infant is learning how to crawl. She begins by pushing herself backward around the house. Backing herself around, she gets lodged beneath the furniture. There she thrashes about, crying and banging her little head against the sides and undersides of the pieces. She is stuck and hates it. So she does the only thing she can think of to get herself out—she pushes even harder, which only worsens her problem. She’s more stuck than ever.
If this infant could talk, she would blame the furniture for her troubles. After all, she is doing everything she can think of. The problem couldn’t be hers. But of course the problem is hers, even though she can’t see it. While it’s true that she’s doing everything she can think of, the problem is precisely that she can’t see how she’s the problem. Having the problem she has, nothing she can think of will be a solution.
Self-deception is like this. It blinds us to the true causes of problems, and once we’re blind, all the solutions
we can think of will actually make matters worse. Whether at work or at home, self-deception obscures the truth about ourselves, corrupts our view of others and our circumstances, and inhibits our ability to make wise and helpful decisions. To the extent that we are self-deceived, both our happiness and our leadership are undermined at every turn, and not because of the furniture.
We have written this book to educate people about a solution to this most central of problems. Our experience in teaching about self-deception and its solution is that people find this knowledge liberating. It sharpens vision, reduces feelings of conflict, enlivens the desire for teamwork, redoubles accountability, magnifies the capacity to achieve results, and deepens satisfaction and happiness. This is true whether we are sharing these ideas with corporate executives in New York, governmental leaders in Beijing, community activists on the West Bank, or parenting groups in Brazil. Members of every culture participate to one degree or another in their own individual and cultural self-deceptions. The discovery of a way out of those self-deceptions is the discovery of hope and the birth of new possibilities and lasting solutions.
This book was first published in 2000. In this new third edition, published in 2018, the text has been updated, and we have added new sections at the end that describe research into the magnitude of self-deception in organizations, how to measure the extent of self-deception in organizations, and various uses people have made of the book and its ideas over the nearly two decades since it was first published.
Initially, some readers are surprised to find that the book unfolds as a story. Although fictional, the characters’ experiences are drawn from our own and our clients’ actual experiences, so the story rings true, and most readers tell us that they see themselves in it. Because of this, the book delivers not just conceptual but also practical understanding of the problem of self-deception and its solution.
The resulting impact has made Leadership and Self-Deception one of the bestselling leadership books of all time. The book’s sequel, The Anatomy of Peace, originally published in 2006, builds on both the story and the ideas developed in Leadership and Self-Deception. It has occupied the number one position on the bestseller lists in the categories of War and Peace and Conflict Resolution for over a decade. Our most recent bestseller, The Outward Mindset, shows how organizations can successfully implement the ideas first introduced in Leadership and Self-Deception. Individually and together, these books help readers to see their work lives and home situations in entirely new ways and to discover practical and powerful solutions to problems they were sure were someone else’s.
We couldn’t have foreseen what would happen with Leadership and Self-Deception. Few people had ever heard of the Arbinger Institute when the book was first published, and our choice to publish in the name of the company bucked industry norms. But the book blazed a trail. It is now an enduring classic with a message as important and relevant as ever. We are confident that this introduction to the self-deception problem and solution will give you new and helpful leverage both personally and professionally—leverage to see yourself, others, and your challenges differently, and to solve problems that have stubbornly resisted solution.
PART I
Self-Deception and the Box
1 Bud
It was a brilliant summer morning shortly before nine, and I was hurrying to the most important meeting of my new job at Zagrum Company. As I walked across the tree-lined grounds, I recalled the day two months earlier when I had first entered the secluded campus-style headquarters to interview for a senior management position. I had been watching the company for more than a decade from my perch at one of its competitors and had tired of finishing second. After eight interviews and three weeks spent doubting myself and waiting for news, I was hired to lead one of Zagrum’s product lines.
Now, four weeks later, I was about to be introduced to a senior management ritual peculiar to Zagrum: a daylong one-on-one meeting with the executive vice president, Bud Jefferson. Bud was the right-hand man to Zagrum’s president, Kate Stenarude. And due to a shift within the executive team, he was about to become my new boss.
I had tried to find out what this meeting was all about, but my colleagues’ explanations confused me. They mentioned a discovery that solves people problems
; how no one really focuses on results; and that something about the Bud Meeting,
as it was called, and strategies that evidently follow from it, are key to Zagrum’s incredible success. I had no idea what they were talking about, but I was eager to meet, and impress, my new boss.
Bud Jefferson was a youngish-looking 50-year-old combination of odd-fitting characteristics: a wealthy man who drove around in an economy car without hubcaps; a near–high school dropout with law and business degrees, summa cum laude, from Harvard; a connoisseur of the arts who was hooked on the Beatles. Despite his apparent contradictions, and perhaps partly because of them, Bud was revered as something of an icon. He was universally admired in the company.
It took 12 minutes on foot to cover the distance from my office in Building 8 to the lobby