Publisher's Synopsis
"This book shows a master at work: Kets de Vries approaches organizations like an Eskimo approaches snow with a sixth sense for the subtle differences, hidden dangers, and surprising opportunities. His writing is lucid and his examples very much to the point. This book brings together in one place the fruits of his vast experiences, and every executive will find at least one chapter that speaks directly to the challenges he or she faces this week."
Professor Jonathan Gosling, Director of the Centre for Leadership Studies University of Exeter.
"Manfred Kets de Vries is an extraordinarily sharp analyst. Putting his finger on exactly the core problems of an organization or team, Kets de Vries illustrates that what happens to one in life is in the end subject to explained processes, which often come from human behavior, and can therefore be influenced. Leaders wrestle with core human questions as well as core human characteristics and values that have a much larger influence on behavior and business decisions that we are often willing to rationalize. By combining psychoanalysis with a deep and broad practical experience, as well as a continuous focus o the purpose of life, he creates a holistic approach to the human factors and characteristics that drive business processes."
Toine Knipping, Founder & CEO, Amicorp Group
"Important reading for leaders and managers entrusted with creating organizations, Manfred´s uncanny insight into the murky unconscious processes affecting the psyche of leaders, coupled with his anecdotal writing style, makes this a very potent book for individuals seeking self-improvement or those wishing t bring about organizational change."
Robert Geneid, Property Developer, Malaysia
"Over more than 30 years, Manfred Kets de Vries has become one of the most renowned management experts of this era. This book brings together four decades of the author´s research and expertise inot one perfectly readable summary. If you buy only one book about this subject, this should be the one."
René Warmerdam, Managing Director, Speakers Academy--Bringing Knowledge to the World
"Manfred Kets de Vries has written a splendid and pragmatic book illuminating how concealed individual and group dynamics impact business plans, decisions, and implementation. In his jargon-free and lucid style, Kets de Vries focuses on group dynamics as they play out and compromise leadership behavior and organizational change. He then details how leaders at all levels of the organization can identify and address these covert issues in the service of developing an ´authentizotic´ organization heanlthy, nimble, robust, and profitable. An invaluable approach to how they and their organizations can succeed in today´s highly competitive and tumultuous business world."
Adjunct Associate Professor Howard E. Book, University of Toronto, Department of Psychiatry
"This book is not good or bad management practices. Yet, Manfred de Vries unveils a deep understanding of leadership behaviors that make organizations either unhappy or creative and adaptive workplace. He explains in simple words how leaders can amplify or solve many organizational dramas. This book serves as an essential and exceptional guide to ´authentizotic´ management practices that go beyond the quick fix."
Alain Noël, Professor of Strategy and International Business, HEC Montréal
"Too often organizations are described through charts and job titles. Manfred Kets de Vries looks at organizations as a networks of individuals and the importance of trust, common shared goals, and a sense of mutuality for the creation of a thriving organization. This book should be read by leaders who want to lead their organizations better."
Rolf Addon, CEO & Founder Abdon Mills
