The book “What Were They Thinking?” argues that most managers fail because they diligently follow common management practices that are sometimes flawed to the core. Author Jeffrey Pfeffer challenges managers to throw out conventional wisdom and to think harder and more strategically about what’s right for their companies.
The Idea in Brief Managers have tough jobs: Under intense pressure to make decisions with incomplete information, even the best among us make mistakes. The good news? Evidence abounds to help us make the right choices....
What Were They Thinking? Unconventional Wisdom About Management by Jeffrey Pfeffer, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, Mass., 2007, 241 pp., $25 hardcover [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Based on the "What Works" columns that author Jeffrey Pfeffer wrote for Business 2.0 magazine, What Were They Thinking? Unconventional Wisdom About...
Workstream to Benefit from Dr. Pfeffer's Extensive Experience Researching Organizational Theory and HR Management BURLINGAME, Calif. -- Workstream Inc. (Nasdaq: WSTM), a leading provider of on-demand compensation, performance and talent management solutions, today announced the appointment of Dr. Jeffrey Pfeffer to its board of directors. Dr. Pfeffer is...
The return on incentive pay depends on what the employer wants to gain by paying for performance, says Jeffrey Pfeffer, author and professor of organizational behavior at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Pfeffer maintains that the current management practice of setting up an incentive compensation program can have unintended, undesirable...
The return on incentive pay depends on what the employer wants to gain by paying for performance, says Jeffrey Pfeffer, author and professor of organizational behavior at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Pfeffer maintains that the current management practice of setting up an incentive compensation program...
Byline: Rotman School of Management Management TORONTO, Oct. 16 AScribe Newswire -- If time is money, then people directly paid for their time are less willing to give it up for free, a new study shows. ...
STANFORD, Calif. -- Offering financial incentives to motivate employees and executives has been a common management practice for decades. Car salesmen get higher commissions for selling more automobiles. Teachers get bonuses when their students score higher on standardized tests. Executives get generous stock options for boosting the company's stock price....
Stanford Professor and Aetna Executive Present Strategies for Addressing the Critical Shortfall of Potential Leaders WALTHAM, Mass. -- Authoria, Inc., the leader in integrated talent management solutions, today announced a two-part webcast series designed to help employers recognize and address the critical leadership gaps within their organizations. ...
What Were They Thinking? Unconventional Wisdom About Management. By Jeffrey Pfeffer. Harvard Business School Press, 241 pages. $25. There's a beguiling central theme to this book: conventional management wisdom is frequently all wet. Author Pfeffer, a longtime professor at Stanford Business School and...
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Think you're the next Guy Kawasaki? Can you shout louder and dance better than Steve Ballmer? Do you look cooler in a black turtleneck than Steve Jobs? The Business of Software organization is looking for new Software Idols to speak at its upcoming conference,...
Byline: Allan Schweyer Jan 24, 2007 (Human Resources - ABIX via COMTEX) -- The data-driven approach to human resources HR management provides companies with competitive advantage. Jeffrey Pfeffer, a professor of organisational behaviour at Stanford University, calls this approach "evidence-based management". He...
It's been a long time since I gave a book report, but I just can't resist telling you about the latest volume I've digested. The book is Hard Facts, and it has a few subtitles: Dangerous Half-Truths and Total Nonsense: Profiting from Evidence-Based Management.1 The book is authored by Stanford...
Byline: WENDY LEAVITT e-mail: wleavitt@fleetowner.com Benchmarking, using other companies' performance to help set standards for your own, is as much a part of business as budgeting and strategic planning, and for obvious reasons. Besides the value of understanding your market, it just...
Byline: Stanford Graduate School of Business STANFORD, Calif., Sept. 18 AScribe Newswire -- Modesty is still a virtue, even in the competitive world of business. Try talking about your own accomplishments in any setting, even in a job interview, and you're more likely...
If you have half a memory and think the latest, best, breakthrough bit of management advice has a familiar ring, you're probably right. That's according to Robert Sutton, professor of management science at Stanford Engineering School and author of a bunch of books including Hard Facts, Dangerous...
When looking for ways to enhance performance, Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton counsel gather the facts, look for patterns, and experiment to make things better. Then keep repeating the process. Amplifying their recommendations with engaging anecdotes, they are skeptical of the "latest" breakthroughs and best practices, urging managers, instead, to...
Byline: Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert I Sutton Jun 08, 2006 (The Australian Financial Review - ABIX via COMTEX) -- Strategic planning should not overshadow other aspects of the management of companies. A strategy is thought to improve the performance of an organisation...
Consider the evidence HARD FACTS, DANGEROUS HALF-TRUTHS, AND TOTAL NONSENSE Profiting from Evidence-Based Management By Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert I. Sutton Harvard Business School Press. $27.50. THERE'S NO SHORTAGE OF GENERALLY ACCEPTED strategies, ideas, truths and assorted pearls of wisdom in the world of business management. The ones that...
