Up the Organization: How to Stop the Corporation from Stifling People and Strangling Profits

197 Pages·2007·0.84 MB·English

by  Robert C. Townsend

Table of Contents

Title Page
Copyright Page
A WARREN BENNIS BOOK
BOOKS IN THE WARREN BENNIS SIGNATURE SERIES
Foreword
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
Robert Townsend’s Cure for Management Heartburn
How Robert Townsend Talked Me out of Getting an MBA
Up the Publisher: On Editing Robert Townsend
Dedication
Epigraph
WHAT THIS BOOK IS
MEMORANDUM
A
ADVERTISING
ALPHABETICAL ORDER
ASSISTANTS-TO AND MAKE-WORKING
B
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BIG WHEELS IN LITTLE COMPANIES
BOSS, HOW TO RETIRE THE
BUDGETS
C
CALL YOURSELF UP
CHAIRMAN OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
COMPROMISE AND KING SOLOMON
COMPUTERS AND THEIR PRIESTS
CONFERENCE BOARD: WHAT OTHERS DID, DON’T
CONFLICT WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION
CONTACTS
CONTROLLERS AND ACCOUNTING
CONVICTION VS. EGO
D
DECISIONS
DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY
DIRECTORS, BOARD OF: THE BACK-SEAT DRIVERS
DISOBEDIENCE AND ITS NECESSITY
E
EJACULATION, PREMATURE
EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS AND WHY NOT
EPAULETS FOR THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE
EXCELLENCE: OR WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?
EXCUSES
EXPENSE ACCOUNTS: THEORY X DISEASE
F
FAIRNESS, JUSTICE, AND OTHER ODDITIES
FAMILY BAGGAGE
FIRING PEOPLE
G
GEOGRAPHY, RESPECT FOR
GIFTS FROM SUPPLIERS
GOING A LITTLE BIT PUBLIC
H
HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL
HEADHUNTERS
HUBRIS, THE SIN OF
I
INCENTIVE COMPENSATION AND PROFIT SHARING
INDIRECTION: DON’T NEGLECT IT
INSTITUTION, ON NOT BECOMING AN
INVESTMENT BANKERS
INVESTORS: KEEPING THEM INFORMED
J
JOB DESCRIPTIONS—STRAIT JACKETS
K
KILLING THINGS, V.P. IN CHARGE OF
L
LABOR UNIONS
LAWYERS CAN BE LIABILITIES
LEADERSHIP
M
MANAGEMENT AND “TOP” MANAGEMENT
MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS
MARKETING
MARS, MAN FROM
MEETINGS
MEMORANDUM, THE LAST
MERGERS, CONGLOBULATIONS, AND JOINT FAILURES
MESSAGE TO CHIEF EXECUTIVES
MISTAKES
MISTRESSES
MOONLIGHTING
MOVING THE HEAD OFFICE
N
NEPOTISM, THE SMELL OF
NO-NO’S
O
OBJECTIVES
OFFICE HOURS
OFFICE PARTY, HOW NOT TO DO THE ANNUAL
ORGANIZATION CHARTS: RIGOR MORTIS
P
PEOPLE
PERSONNEL (PEOPLE VS.)
PLANNING, LONG-RANGE: A HAPPENING
POLICY MANUALS
P.R. DEPARTMENT, ABOLITION OF
PRESIDENT’S SALARY (IS HE REALLY WORTH $250,000?)
PROMISES
PROMOTION, FROM WITHIN
PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS AND THE AUDIT COMMITTEE
PURCHASING DEPARTMENT
PUTTING ON WEIGHT
R
RACISM
REORGANIZING
RETIREMENT, MANDATORY
S
SALARY REVIEW: ANNUAL ENCOUNTER GROUP
SALESMEN
SECRECY: A CHILD’S GARDEN OF DISEASES
SECRETARY, FREEDOM FROM A
SMALL COMPANIES
STAFF SERVICES (STENO POOL)
STOCKHOLDERS
STOCK OPTIONS AND DEMOCRACY
T
TAX ADVICE
TEAMS, TWO-MAN—GOOD AND BAD
TELEPHONE OPERATORS
THANKS
TIME: THREE THOUGHTS ON IT
TITLES ARE HANDY TOOLS
TOO MUCH VS. TOO LITTLE
TRAINING
U
UNDERPAID
V
VACATION POLICY: GO WHEN YOU PLEASE
W
WASHINGTON, D.C., RELATIONS WITH
WEARING OUT YOUR WELCOME
APPENDIX: RATE YOUR BOSS AS A LEADER - Score each characteristic
from 0 to 10
Appendix A: Townsend’s Third Degree in Leadership
Appendix B: No Reserved Parking: The Guerrilla Life of Robert Townsend
FURTHER “UP THE ORGANIZATION”
Acknowledgments

Copyright © 2007 by the Townsend Family Trust. All rights reserved.

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The chapter titled “Further ‘Up the Organization’” was originally published in the July 1970 issue of
Playboy.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Townsend, Robert, 1920-1998
Up the organization : how to stop the corporation from stifling people and strangling profits / Robert
Townsend ; foreword by Warren Bennis.—Commemorative ed.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-7879-8775-6 (cloth) 1. Management. I. Title.
HD31.T67 2007
658—dc22
2007007195
HB Printing
A WARREN BENNIS BOOK

This collection of books is devoted exclusively to new and exemplary
contributions to management thought and practice. The books in this series are
addressed to thoughtful leaders, executives, and managers of all organizations
who are struggling with and committed to responsible change. My hope and goal
is to spark new intellectual capital by sharing ideas positioned at an angle to
conventional thought—in short, to publish books that disturb the present in the
service of a better future.