by John Putzier
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Product Description
"The author has hit on something here; particularly the fact that it is high time we quit thinking that treating everyone the same is somehow fair. Like it or not, the realities uncovered in this book are just that...real! And if you plan to be a significant player in the workplace of the future, I suggest you take them seriously, because your success depends on it. As John says, 'As goes the world, so goes the workplace.'" --Richard Irwin, President and CEO, IntegraCare Corporation"John captures a refreshing, winning formula in a practical, simple context to leverage weirdness into creativity and innovation, the core of sustainable competitive advantage and success. Rejoice in and celebrate our weirdos!" --James E. Hoffman, Jr., President, Catalyst Consultants, LLC, and the CEO Forum of Pittsburgh"To hear John Putzier tell it, there are so many 'weirdos in the workplace' that you're almost weird if you're...not. But if you're a manager, don't let how weird someone is distract you from what really matters--how well they're performing. Here's help for jumping to the right conclusions about people."--Maureen Anderson, Host, "The Career Clinic(R)" radio program"This book gives a dose of medicine to cure the 'paradigm bug' that plagues most of us in the business world. The author takes complex situations and concepts and boils them down to their bare essence. I just wish I could have him by my side when they happen to me! I guess having this book is the next best thing." --Mark A. Treat, Client Services Organization Development, Acxiom Corporation, CMTII Group"Putzier has nailed the American paradox: the tension between individuality and the need for organized group effort. His decision-making and problem-solving tools help to resolve this classic cultural conflict: the value of 'weird' thinking, diversity, and individuality pushing the bounds of what is normal, versus the utility of social norms in groups. His book is a primer for designing organizations, departments, or teams to maximize off-center behavior. This balance, already a rare one, will increase in importance as work becomes delocalized, cross-disciplinary, and global. This book provides basic knowledge for any company committed to innovation or excellence--or just competitive advantage." --Margaret J. King, Ph.D., Director, The Center for Cultural Studies & Analysis, American Creativity AssociationSurviving and Thriving in the Age of the Individual One employee always wears the same outfit to work, another talks to herself all day, another moonlights as a stripper, another has fierce body odor, and still another adorns his cubicle with hateful messages about his boss. As a manager, what should you do about such behavior? The best answers aren't obvious! Your most innovative and productive people are often your strangest, and while weirdness can be rooted in brilliance, it can also be a real annoyance that serves no purpose. Like it or not, as modern culture embraces the individual, weirdos--anyone different from you!--become more commonplace. In Weirdos in the Workplace, top human resources consultant John Putzier explains how managers can harness the natural weirdness often found in high performers at every level, while curbing behavior that's disruptive. Putzier presents 32 fascinating, real-world case studies to illustrate the legal, human resources, and business ramifications of unusual behavior in the workplace, and which solutions are most effective.This book explains how to *Manage unconventional people by understanding why they behave as they do, and what to do about it *Migrate toward a high-performing organization built around the individual, and foster an environment that attracts, motivates, and retains the best and brightest *Tap your own natural weirdness and find your niche by integrating your abilities, interests, and the market Weirdos in the Workplace is for every manager, human resources professional, or coworker who deals with unorthodox employees and their behaviors. This book also helps you maximize your performance and value by recognizing your own inner weirdo.
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Interesting new take on HT and people management, 2005-01-06
At first I didn't know what to make of this book. It's a short book that has a jovial style. It presents topics in that almost too enthusiastic HR style that has an unceasingly positive tone, lots of too-clever acronyms, and recipe answers for any problem. That's what you expect though. This is an HR book after all.
What I like about this book is that it presents a totally new style which is the antitheses of books like 'Who moved my cheese?' This book is all about nurturing the talents and uniqueness of the individual. Balancing individual needs against those of the larger company but with the emphasis tilted more towards individualism.
This is the ideal book for engineers to use to convince their managers to be flexible and healthier work environment that will bring better productivity and happier employees.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
The weirdo's manifesto..., 2004-12-18
So, what do you do when you're on a five hour red-eye flight and can't sleep? If you're me, you end up reading. And this flight was spent reading Weirdos in the Workplace - The New Normal... Thriving In The Age Of The Individual by John Putzier (FT-Prentice Hall). This is an interesting read on how to effective manage "weirdo" talent in today's workplace.
Chapter List: How Did We Get Here, and Where Are We Going?; Individuality from Soup to Nuts; What's IN with High Performers?; Tools and Techniques to Change Others, Organizations, and Yourself; Conclusions and Universal Truths; About the Author; Weirdisms; Index
Putzier's premise is that "as society goes, so goes the workplace". Today's society values the individual, and the highly talented individual is allowed to be as "weird" as they want because the value they deliver is needed. In the workplace, these people can contribute greatly to the organization, but they challenge the "normal" methods of management which have worked in the past. This book does a great job of explaining the traits that make up the "weird" individual, and how those traits need to be managed. With a little foresight and understanding, today's manager can effectively lead a department of these people and look like a miracle worker. Putzier considers himself a weirdo also, and his writing style is irreverent and fun to read.
If you think you might be a "weirdo", you need to read this to understand how the workplace is changing. And if you manage a group of "weirdos", you absolutely need to read this in order to maintain your sanity.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Offbeat and Educational, 2004-09-29
The title of this book alone will catch your attention...and probably plant a seed in your mind that this is not a book you want to waste your time with. Weirdos? This sounds like a negative term, but it's actually not. Putzier, an experienced and respected human resources professional, consultant, and professional speaker, defines "weirdos" as people who are not like you. This assessment means that they are abnormal...if we assume that you are normal.
The first section of this book is devoted to presenting a foundation-setting perspective that the workplace is a microcosm of society. Society is in the process of change, moving through the four stages of Stifling, Tolerating, Accepting, and Rejoicing. This same progression occurs in the workplace, seen as The Age of the Organization Man, The Age of Diversity, The Age of the New Economy, and The Age of the Individual. Those of us who have watched the shifts in attitudes and relationships have observed the shift from conformity to expansion and inclusion, to an honoring of expertise and performance. Now, with varying degrees of comfort, we are moving jerkily into an honoring of individuality
In the second section, Putzier describes over thirty different people that could easily be categorized as "weird." Another descriptor might be "unique." The colorful pictures he paints will stir memories in the minds of the readers, reminding them of the unusual co-workers we have all encountered over the years. Putzier takes diversity to a whole new level. In his vignettes, our author observes that each of these people-and many more that we might call weird-have something significant to contribute. And they all have the potential to be high performers, though not always in the same way that mainstream employees are superior achievers.
The weirdos are presented in a way that catches your attention and may cause you to smile, shake your head, or roll your eyes. And human resource professionals will bob their heads, recognizing similar situations. But Putzier goes further. Each description is a accompanied by an analysis that includes perspective and advice that stimulates thinking and may influence some more appropriate responses to unusual behavior in the workplace.
The book continues with insights into high performers...an understanding of what makes weirdos tick and accomplish so much. Behavioral change maps guide the reader in valuable methodologies. This is a book that will introduce you to what the author calls "the new normal." Indeed, the workforce is changing and will be populated by more free agents...and regular employees who will certainly be recognized as individuals-in every sense of the word. Understand how weirdness is a positive and you'll change your perspective on the world of work.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
This book is my new bible, 2004-08-29
This book is a must read for anyone who has lived through being a high performer at work and been shafted at raise time for not being a "team player". Any HR manager, anyone in management and anyone in general in the workplace needs to read this book. Lots of new content and food for thought here, but also very cathartic for those dogged by corporate American "process" for "process sake".
John puts into very simple and powerful concepts, even corporate common sense, things that I have found myself muttering under my breath for years. John's concepts would engender a competitive and productive American workforce and a truly "free job market" where talent and skill are rewarded and the "pencil pushers" and "clock watchers" and bad managers are moved on. I long for the day.
Killer book, must read....buy it now.
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