Dr. Spencer Johnson is a surgeon, not a management guru; and that is one of the reasons his ideas and solutions to problems are more relevant to ordinary people than what would have been the case if a dozen management gurus put their heads together and dished out some management crap that would have, anyway, gone over the heads of most people.
Personally, I am not terribly interested in self help or self development books. Most of these books contain advices which look good on paper but lack practical value. Yes, they make a good read though. In my opinion, most of these books benefit the authors(in terms of enhancing their bank balances) and not the poor harassed reader. But, Dr. Johnson’s books are different in this context. His approach and advice is sincere and unpretentious.
If you look at what ails today’s gargantuan organizations you will be surprised to note that the major problem is not one of lack of resources, skill, or motivation. The management of these behemoths looks up everything and everyone while searching for the elusive problem but commits the cardinal mistake of not looking at itself. In most cases, the problem lies with the management and in most cases the management is blind to this fact. The holier than thou mindset is what that brings the seemingly invincible CEO to his knees.
The management is always tempted to seek cost prohibitive and complicated solutions to generic problems instead of relying more on simple, easy, and effective alternatives. Most CEO’s and MDs are literally afraid of implementing the simple and the obvious and instead, pursue the intricate and the abstract. They prefer to adopt complicated and costly methods that look impressive but seldom serve the purpose. In other words, they simply hate the word ‘Simple.’ They are guilty of regularly mouthing the phrase “Keep it Simple” but never, themselves, implement it in practice.
Most CEOs, with a management degree from a reputed Business School in hand, prefer to flirt with complicated and expensive solutions instead of adopting simple and cost effective methods that could fetch much better results. They are paranoid that their contemporaries and peers and all the people in their social circle will look down upon them if they are seen to be simple minded. Jack Welch, considered by many to be one of the most effective CEOs once remarked “insecure managers create complexity. You can’t believe how hard it is for people to be simple, how much they fear being simple. They worry that they will seem simple-minded. The most clear, tough-minded people are always the most simple." No one said so much in so few words.
The individual worker is a microcosm of the larger organization in which he or she works. Therefore, what is applicable at the macro level(organization) does percolate down to the micro level(individual). When there is something wrong in the individual’s ‘work sphere, ’ the individual tends to think and act in the same way like the management of an organization does. He tends to look for scapegoats or tries to shift the blame on others for the maladies affecting him. He never for a moment stops to think “Hey, now wait a minute, I think I know where the problem lies… maybe it’s me.”
This is where the Spencer Johnson’s book, “The Present, ” comes in. Dr. Johnson, in this book, attempts to target the individual worker rather than the bloated organizations. He deals with Man’s eternal quest for that magic touch that can make him most successful in his sphere of work and at the same time allowing him to be a part of and at peace with the surrounding chaos.
Dr. Johnson uses a major part of the book to put forth an absorbing parable which keeps one glued to the book till the end. It’s an interesting and effective way to convey to the readers what he has to say. The book itself is not voluminous. The main story begins from page 11 and ends on page 104. In between, there are a lot of open spaces acting like air lungs in a congested neighbourhood. So, it is definitely very easy on the reader. This book can be completed within an hour or two at the most, but the value addition is enormous.
Since, the book is in the form of an interesting parable and the end being just as compelling, I have no wish to dwell on the story except providing you with an aperitif.
Liz Michaels is a successful career woman. She has come up the hard way and now enjoys a senior position. But, far from happy, Liz is in a state of mess. Promotion has brought her more work and more stress. She realizes she is not enjoying her job anymore and feels it’s getting near impossible for her to get the job done.
One day Liz contacts her ex office mate Bill Green who she learns has been extremely successful in his new job and enjoying it too. She arranges to meet him for lunch the next day…
Liz: You look good.
Bill: I am good…
Liz: Oh? Did your job change.
Bill: No, but it feels like it…
Liz: What happened?
Bill: Well I’ve learned a few things… we’re getting better results, faster and with less stress. And to top it off, I am enjoying life more.
Liz: What happened?
Bill: If I told you, you probably wouldn’t believe it.
Liz: Try me.
Bill: I heard a story from a good friend of mine. It turned out to be a real gift. In fact, the story is called The Present.
Liz Michaels heard the story and was fascinated by it. She couldn’t trust herself to believe that such a simple story can change her life forever. But she believed in herself and whole heartedly decided to make the story her own. It was the best decision of her life and from then on she never looked back.
Don’t you think you ought to know the story too?
mbfarookh