Customer Reviews

The Corporate Shaman: A Business Fable

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

This is not a straightforward business how-to book, but it is one that could be immensely useful for those willing to take a leap into some unknown territory. Richard Whiteley has written the story of what is undoubtedly a very common business issue where the corporate structure has been shaken by a slow-down in top-line business and leadership, rather than looking at the business as a whole, has begun to manage solely by the numbers. Consequently, the company is on the verge of losing it's heart and soul, and ultimately it's place in the market. Enter Jason Hand, a corporate shaman, who begins to work with various members of the company's executive staff and teach them how to access and employ animal spirits to help them solve conventional problems in unconventional ways. This is not a heavy-handed treatise and Richard Whiteley manages to introduce us to some pretty off-the-wall new ways of thinking about commom problems in very unthreatening and even common sense ways. It is also not a book that pretends to create problem-solving miracles. It acknowledges that some problems have such deep roots that it may take time to turn the situation around, but if one relies on more than the conventional, just maybe the turnaround may even have more lasting power. I found it inspirational and look forward to learning more about how these unconventional means can help to create stronger business.

Exactly what is called for in these extraordinarily challenging times...a corporate shaman. With layoffs, acquisitions, dramatically devalued pension funds, and the post 9-11 loneliness and pain, our organizations today and the people in them have taken some serious blows to their spirit. And what makes more sense to deal with this wounding than one who has been trained through the millennia to do exactly that. This is the corporate shaman. An exciting and powerfully relevant read for anyone who works.

Richard Whiteley has written a deeply inspired book no doubt with great help from his own "power animal." It responds to the urgent need for leaders to be silent for awhile, to surrender just a bit, and to listen to the voice of the single intelligence that lies underneath it all. Finally, in an appropriately metaphorical medium, we have a book that will help us wake up. The book's publication could not have come at a better time, a time when the events of 9/11, the collapse of the internet bubble, Enron, Andersen, Afghanistan are causing us, if we're not hoplessly anesthetized, to renew our search for meaning and purpose in our lives.

I loved The Corporate Shaman. Richard Whiteley does a phenomenal job of reintroducing ancient knowledge in practical, logical and understandable terms. Somehow, in the last few hundred years, we have forgotten what we collectively have known
for thousands of years: that all suffering, illness and maliase, whether corporate or individual, is a result of a loss of spirit or soul which them manifest in the body (corpus) or the collective (corporation). In order to regain wholeness and heal the spirit must be reclaimed. For over 15 years, I have seen the profound impact shamanic work has had on individuals but have not been sufficiently brave enough to introduce these concepts and techniques into the corporate environment. Richard Whitely, and his character Jason Hand, have the courage, precise timing and storytelling ability to make the introduction fascinating, realistic, entertaining and powerful.

Different from many business books this book read very easily and quickly, most probably because it was build on a very simple fable. Its crisp clarity captured my attention to read it from cover to cover without stop. Many managers will relate to the business problem addressed in the book. The problem: People being driven by numbers and loosing touch with themselves and their motivation. The hypothesis presented: corporations have lost their spirit.

The answer to the problem: shaman practises of healing or restoring the spirit. I am not sure if all readers will easily accept the solution because it might be too far of the traditional business worldview. The solution however is unique, fresh and certainly potent with potential to provide for the open-minded reader a doorway into a new realm of energy and expectation. On a meta-level, the solution is that leaders in corporations should get in touch with themselves and their inner being. The solution I believe is universal and can be applied irrespective of the beliefs of the reader.

The open-minded reader will get the most out of the book because it has clear detail in terms of how to enter into a drumming journey of discovering words of wisdom and guidance. The author succeeds extremely well to convey the basics of shamanism in a very direct and vivid. There is absolutely no uncertainty in the author that he provides a valid answer. Although the solution is presented in the framework of a fable, the proposed solution is described with clarity.

I felt inspired after reading the book by the pure thrust of potential contained in the fable itself. The book is highly recommended to those who are curious about what shamanism is all about as well as managers that simply feels despondent and out of touch with themselves.

At first blush, The Corporate Shaman is dismissable....Who would believe such a tale of rattles, drums, power animals? But, dig deeper and find the heartbeat of this wonderful book by one of Harvard's own, a consummate businessman and corporate leader. You find a way to connect with the deeper energies of people at work -- something leaders, organizations and all of us crave!!

The Corporate Shaman helps us see what trust, cooperation, synergy, creativity, and tapping into higher potential really mean. It's an allegory -- a story -- like many other business books these days. But the difference is that Shaman practice DOES exist throughout the world. And, it seems to carry with it, a deep-seated knowledge about what makes us tick and how we can connect with each other and higher purpose -- including HIGHER BUSINESS PURPOSE.

Richard Whiteley straddles the mythical and the real in a way that only someone who has been there to produce results without sacrificing soul can do.

How can anyone who leads or influences organizations NOT purchase, read, or find ways to assimilate and act on this book?

Take a risk. Take a chance. Go to the edges. Recognize that the only way we can leap forward is by discovering the heart, soul, and spirit of people. When you do, you will realize that The Corporate Shaman is a fabulous allegory and life myth for making these happen.

I loved Richard Whiteley's new book The Corporate Shaman! It was a great blend of business, intuition and faith. If I had experienced the type of leadership depicted by the Corporate Shaman,I would still be in the business world today!! A must read for anyone who wants to effective lead, motivate and inspire!