The Corporate Shaman: A Business Fable [Hardcover]

Richard Whiteley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 19, 2002

Shaman "-- a Siberian word for "one who sees in the dark" -- refers to healers who for over 40,000 years have entered an altered state of mind at will and journeyed to other worlds, using the power, wisdom, and energies of those worlds to create positive change in people and the environments in which they live. Since shamanic practices are aimed at healing individuals and since business organizations are nothing more than groups of individuals, it follows that these powerful methods are successful when used to heal and restore spirit to businesses. Out of this idea emerges the corporate shaman, a consultant who recognizes the business as organism, not machine, and reestablishes healthy internal environments in corporations."

PRIMETEC is a midsize company in crisis. Without realizing that he is a major part of the problem, CEO Leon King is pointing the finger at his executives, managers, and just about everyone else. As a result, the company's executives are caught in a stranglehold, preoccupied with thoughts of quitting or being fired, as the company quickly spins out of control. Only with the aid of Jason Hand, the corporate shaman -- a man well versed in ancient shamanic traditions and modern corporate culture -- can the organization hope to turn itself around.

Jason's knowledge and use of animal totems that empower people begin the healing process for PRIMETEC. Working with and understanding animal spirits enable Leon's beleaguered staff to envision and implement unconventional solutions to chronic problems and renew their enthusiasm. And finally, Leon King himself must confront his own role in the failing business. With the help of the corporate shaman, King begins todevelop the awareness and compassion required to salvage his floundering company. After first stumbling as he embraces his new leadership behavior, King successfully begins the arduous healing process that promises to bring his company back to prominence.

In the tradition of "The One Minute Manager" and "Who Moved My Cheese?, The Corporate Shaman" is a business fable, one that depicts the high-stress organizational environments that many employees experience today and how an ancient system for healing and rejuvenation can transform such stress into productive activity. PRIMETEC is a composite of many real organizations and mirrors real-life results of integrating spirituality into the workplace. Engrossing, involving, and right on time to feed a spiritually hungry workforce, "The Corporate Shaman" offers recognizable characters and powerful insights into the difficulties of balancing the private and professional self and the nature of leadership, change, and growth. Through the inspirational lessons this book teaches, business leaders will learn how to restore the souls -- and profits -- of their corporations.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Richard Whiteley believes the mystical healing power of a shaman can be harnessed for use in the business world, and in The Corporate Shaman he explains his philosophy--along with ways these traditional seers might actually function in such an environment. Whiteley, an entrepreneur, speaker, and author involved in the practice himself for the past decade, describes a shaman as "one who enters an altered state of mind, at will, and journeys to other worlds and uses the power, wisdom, and energies of those worlds to create positive change in people and the environments in which they live." Recognizing that this concept will be alien to many in his intended audience, Whiteley couches it in the currently popular form of a business fable. Using a composite of common situations and easily recognizable people that, in this case, populate a fictional company missing its numbers and threatening to pull everyone into a downward spiral, he introduces the basics and shows how they could be employed in the workplace. An addendum offers additional details for those who wish to test the ideas themselves. Readers open to new routes for personal and professional growth should find this intriguing and potentially useful. --Howard Rothman

Review

"An engaging and important read for anyone in business.no matter what level in the organization." (--Connie Duckworth, advisory director, Goldman Sachs )

"A stimulating and creative application of shamanism to modern life." (Michael Harner, PhD., author of The Way of the Shaman )

"An engaging illustration of how the wisdom gained throughout the ages has powerful relevance to modern business dilemmas." (Deepak Chopra, author of The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success and The Way of the Wizard )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: HarperBusiness; 1 edition (February 19, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060008393
• ISBN-13: 978-0060008390
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,295,815 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Save Your Money, March 20, 2006

By 

William Corsair "Will" (Leavenworth County, KS USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Corporate Shaman: A Business Fable (Hardcover)

There's precious little in this book about the application of shamanism in the workplace. The "fable" borders on the preposterous. The basic story line: a shaman guides the COO and the CEO on discovery journeys and, poof, their company's problems begin to dissolve.

While I think that shamanism may have a future in the workplace, this simplistic story does little to promote that future. Substitute the phrase "spirituality in the workplace" or "emotional healing in the workplace" and you understand just how difficult it will be to have these kinds of alternatives accepted and implemented.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Find the Fire Within, March 3, 2002

By 

Catherine Luchini Gerson (Newton, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Corporate Shaman: A Business Fable (Hardcover)

It has been said that the most glowing successes are but a reflection of an inner fire. Richard Whiteley's fable magically awakens us to the fire within each one of us and rekindles our spirit for living a life of wholeness. The characters and situations he describes in PRIMETEC are all too familiar to anyone who has worked in an organization going through hard times.

The book is a page turner...I couldn't put it down.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful Practices for Contemporary Business Problems, March 8, 2002

By 

Ann Leigh (Newton Center, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Corporate Shaman: A Business Fable (Hardcover)

The Corporate Shaman is a page turner. It grabbed my attention and wouldn'let it go. It is appropriate for anyone who works, no matter what level in the organization. PRIMETEC, the company described in the book brings back memories of organizations of which I have been a part and the characters represent co-workers I have know in the past as well. This is an excellent description of how the powerful practices of healers who have been around
for over 40 thousand years can be applied to alleviate contemporary business problems.