From Publishers Weekly
Peterson, cofounder of the Work Itself Group, and Nielson, cofounder of the Ascent Group, seek to answer why people spend so much time doing so little real work—what they term a fake work phenomenon that mires employees in redundant tasks that result in low morale, cost overruns and organizational stagnation. While the authors nimbly dissect the problem, they fail to provide a road map for what they say is the most basic ingredient to doing real work, which is
strategy; they reiterate the importance of a organizational strategy and keeping priorities, but fail to provide any sort of blueprint for floundering organizations to develop that strategy. Instead, the authors cover a number of irrelevant topics—how to be a good listener, how to be a good manager and how to maneuver in corporate culture. This overambitious book wants to be all things to all people: advice to workers and tactics for managers, but after the tests and stories and steps, there is little analysis to uncover better practices and processes.
(Jan.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"'Synergy' means the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. These two authors have produced a superior, synergistic product on a subject of immense importance." -- Stephen R. Covey, author of
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People"Read this book and get real!" -- Ken Blanchard, coauthor of
The One Minute Manager® and
The One Minute Entrepreneur™"
Fake Work powerfully diagnoses why most organizations and people are overworked and yet are underperforming, being trapped in the thick of thin things. It will forever change how you and your organization look at work -- and better yet, how real work is identified and done, and the results that follow." -- Stephen M. R. Covey,
New York Times bestselling author of
The Speed of Trust"It is refreshing to be exposed to some new ideas with enormous practical relevance. Better yet, the authors propose actionable cures for this silent disease of fake work that most businesses don't recognize they have." -- Jack Zenger, CEO of Zenger Folkman and coauthor of the bestselling
The Extraordinary Leader"A must-read for anyone who works. The concepts within these pages will change your view of work and inspire you to focus on what's really important to the strategies of your company." -- Hyrum Smith, co-founder of FranklinCovey, CEO of Galileo
"The damage fake work does to our organizations is incalculable. Leaders who care passionately about both performance and people should pay close attention to this important book." -- Craig Swenson, president, Argosy University
"
Fake Work masterfully helps you diagnose the symptoms and spot the root causes of fake work, and put your people on the path to work that really matters. An organization pays a heavy price when its bright, capable people quit and leave. But it's even more costly when bright, capable people quit and stay." -- Rodger Dean Duncan, author of
ChangeSmarts: Engaging People's Heads, Hearts, and Hopes"This remarkable book, backed by years of research, is a how-to-do-it road map leading to peak performance." -- Dr. Charles R. Hobbs, president, Unified Power, LLC
"Peterson and Nielson explore the depth and breadth of a subtle yet intriguing phenomenon that plagues contemporary work life. No one can afford to be without this book." -- R. Wayne Pace, Ph.D., founding president, Academy of Human Resource Development
