Customer Reviews

The Art of Demotivation - Manager Edition: A Visionary Guide for Transforming Your Company's Least Valuable Asset - Your Employees

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As an MBA student I have been exposed to a majority of the business approaches available. Dr. Kersten uses his depth of knowledge in Business gained at Harvard to deconstuct everything you ever learned about management. While I believe the general thrust is comedy and it certainly delivers, you wil be amazed at how much useful information is available in this book.

The author is the creator of the Despair posters. He uses sarcasm to bring out truth in management practice. This book does the same.

As I read, I found myself imagining some other executives I've worked with nodding their heads as they read the book and mumbling to themselves, "Yeah, that's right I should just tell them to shut up or I'll replace you." It's easy to imagine "the other guy" doing all these things. Just like as we read the usual leadership or management book we consider that we pretty much already do all that stuff anyway but maybe could apply a point or two. That's the trouble with humans, we easily see the faults of others but evaluate ourselves as pretty much okay.

Here's where the book got me... I starting seeing my own actions in Kersten's parody. I cringed and thought, "Oh, I do that!" Humbling. And instructive. I found it highly motivational and funny!

The Art of Demotivation is still in print and available. The author's web site also features hilarious video vignettes demonstrating the art of demotivation.

Dr. Kersten has made a tidy business out of ripping the motivational industry a new one. I had thought that his riff would have run its course by now, but it sure seems to be going strong.

And that's something Dr. K earned. If all you know about [...] is the poster series, this (apparently hard-to-find) book will change your mind. Dr. K helps us understand that this generation of Human Resources practitioners have accepted an "Age of Shamans." Somehow we've been induced to accept buzzwords and platitudes as acceptable, or even desirable substitutes for common sense in treating people, not to mention the golden rule.

Take it from me, the guy's got something to say which you'd benefit hearing. He's not just about irony and cynicism [although I confess to enjoying that, too].

Don't read it unless you are strong at resisting satire and paradoxical intentions. If it sounds like the real thing, and it makes you want to hide, you are probably living it, and you are probably so melted into it that you will need to get depressed but you will also get the opportunity to be "reborn" if you work with it. After 3 years I have figured out how it pulled me into a cocoon out of which I had to get out and experience adult growing pains. Do not read this book if you cannot get help from a counselor to coach you through the devastation and rebuilding of your attitude toward yourself and others. Great heavy duty insight therapy! I just wish the author would make a statement to this effect: Insight therapy hurts, you should use a more prominent warning label Mr. Kersten.
Linda

You have to know www.despair.com to fully appreciate this book. It reads very droll, very matter-of-fact...but is an hilarious send up about management style....I laughed until I cried....I cried because I realized that this was PRECISELY the managament style of MY corporate master!!! Even though this is 'disguised' as a true management book....[it even comes with an alternate cover "cloaking device" to disguise the actual cover lest employees learn that their management has truly has a calculated approach for demoralizing and devaluing them!]....but, did I mention that it is funny...unless you're being treated at your own work with the methods described in this book. Did I mention that it's funny?

Here is the latest response from the publisher of this book - "Unfortunately, we're completely out of The Art of Demotivation. The manager edition might make an appearance after the beginning of the year [2009], but the executive edition probably won't be back in stock until the
2nd edition prints later in 2009."

Whether you read this book in the first or the second degree, you will love it. Work weasels, beware!

I bought the book, when it came out in 2005, hoping for a laugh. I was only able to read half the book because I found it devastating rather than funny. I agreed with everything that the author said about me as an employee, so I proceeded to buy my time and retire a year early, and eliminate my job as well when I left; just as the author recommended.

I still have the bookmark on page 162 where I stopped reading and got busy doing what was needed. I look forward to someday reading the rest of the book and seeing if it actually is funny. If they do come out with a second edition as rumored, reflecting events of the past year, I will buy it.

BTW, I got out a year before the crash, safe. All I can say is, thank you, E. L. Kersten.

E.L. Kersten is the co-founder of [...]. He published a book a few years ago that takes a contrarian view of motivational industry in business. The book is very well written, filled with keen insight and parody. It's a very funny read. The book was initially available through the [...], but is now out of print. Fortunately, there are secondary sellers of this gem on the Internet. One needs a dry sense of humor to appreciate this work.

But after just a few pages it is clear (and I should have known that you don't start a company just for the fun of it) Dr. K is making a bit more money pointing our the emperor has no clothes and is dead serious. The whole motivation scheme is just a bunch of *&#$! I have a company of my own and I swear that I have watched many of my employees caught in the 'de-motivation' cycle leading to dispair. Humans are just a crack up. Always another diet, financial plan, or new boyfriend is going to fix their lives. I laughed my backside off. Oh, yeah, the posters are great. I even sent one to a competitor as a christmas card (the one with the sinking ship). I told him I was just kidding though...