Table of Contents About the Author Publisher's acknowledgements Introduction: The monkey story 1: Management happens Forced to be stupid Collective inertia - if you don't join them, you can beat them! Pharma - the devil is in the detailing The Abilene Paradox Same same but different Selection bias Numbers and strategy - do they mix? Inebriated cyclists Deciding stuff - that's the easy bit How well do you know your company? (My guess is not very well at all...) How to make a compelling corporate strategy in six easy steps Wanna play strategy? Get a board game Framing contests: What really happens in strategy meetings It looks like we don't have a strategy... 2: The Success trap (and some ideas how to get out of it) Why good companies go bad The Icarus paradox Tunnel vision - in the end, there is only flux Operation Market Garden Mental models - let's all think within the same box A creosote bush: how exploitation drives out exploration A bitter pill Framing something as a threat or an opportunity dramatically alters what we choose In a downturn, manage your revenues, not your costs In a crisis, innovate Is your company brave enough to survive? 3: The urge to conquer How big is your yam? (not that it matters) Deal-eager executives - tribal instincts CEOs, marriage, mergers, geriatric millionaires, and blushing brides When acquisitions take over Time compression diseconomies - too much, too fast Seeds and fertilizer - how to build a firm I've won... I've won Most acquisitions fail - really! Heerlijk, helder, Heineken Toads and acquisitions - where does CEO hubris come from? 4: Gods and villains The heroes of our time Narcissus versus humble bloke - and the winner is? Are overconfident CEOs born or made? Hang the hero Celebrity CEOs and the burden of expectation Successful managers - incompetent for sure Executives: superhuman after all... Over the hill and far away, top managers are here to stay Chief story teller Managers and leaders: are they different? Women on top 5: Liaisons and intrigues Fact over fiction Analysts, astrologers, and lemmings - three of a kind? Conflicts of interest - do analysts rate their bank's clients' stock more favorably? Banks' blurry categorizations - have your cake and eat it too Analysts rule the waves (whether we like it or not) Sirens and investment bankers - birds of a feather How to tame an analyst Advice or influence? Why firms ask government officials to be directors Boards of directors: cliques and elites Board-cloning - a rewarding habit Boardroom friends CEOs and their stock options (oh please) Stock options, risk, and manipulations Too hot to handle: explaining excessive top management remuneration How to justify paying top managers too much CEOs do seek advice - if you pay them for it Dirty laundry: who is hiding the bad stuff? 6: Myths in management No stranger than fiction Say you will - that'll do Right again! Managers and their self-fulfilling prophecies Your expectations manage you Reverse causality - sorry, but life's not that simple Eating Uncle Ed - don't worry, its called downsizing Does downsizing ever work? Who can downsize without detriment? What management bandwagons bring Remember this one: total quality management? ISO 9000 makes you reliable, myopi
