Customer Reviews

A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder - How Crammed Closets, Cluttered Offices, and on-the-Fly Planning Make the World a Better Place

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4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'm not kidding. It is not even intended to be such a book, but the research that proves that over-organizing is a costly endeavour and of very little profit is priceless. If you believe that being very organized is always best, you will be shocked when you read this book. You'll discover that there is little to no research proving that you save time by plannig your day, but that there is extensive research showing that you can lose a lot of time by over-planning your day.

That's not all, but I'm actually getting ready to read through the book again with a highlighter. I read it on the plane last time. Or maybe I'll read something else instead so I can get the great benefit of creativity that comes partially from disorganization. I just can't decide! Hmmm....

I think you'll really like this little book. It's an eye opener.

Tom Carpenter, Senior Consultant - SYSEDCO
Helping IT Professionals Succeed

In their book A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder authors Eric Abrahamson (a professor of management at Columbia Business School) and David H. Freedman (a contributing editor at Inc. magazine) question the widespread assumption that organization and neatness are inherently better than disorder and clutter. They argue that in fact some degree of messiness is very often to be preferred to strict order--because the cost of maintaining order can be higher than the benefits accrued from it, for example, because disorder can be the mother of invention, because messy systems can be more efficient and robust than perfectly neat ones. In making their case Abrahamson and Freedman do not confine themselves to domestic mess--the topic that leapt to my mind when I first saw the book's title. Clutter is just one of twelves types into which they categorize messiness. Others include "time sprawl," as when tasks are left unprioritized, and "convolution," which occurs when organizational schemes are illogical. Accordingly, the authors discuss not only messy homes and offices but messy leadership and messy organizations, pathological messiness and artistic messiness.

The topics covered in A Perfect Mess are far reaching--from the suspect claims of professional organizers (for example, that the average person wastes an hour a day looking for things) to Arnold Schwarzenegger's "improvisational lifestyle" (incredibly enough, he doesn't keep a schedule, or didn't, at least, when he was first running for governor), from the Noguchi filing system to natural landscaping to cell phone noise and compulsive hoarding. Throughout, the authors profile people and businesses and systems that have profited from the introduction of some degree of some type of messiness.

"...we argue that there is an optimal level of mess for every aspect of every system. That is in, in any situation there is a type and level of mess at which effectiveness is maximized, and our assertion is that people and organizations frequently err on the side of overorganization. In many cases, they can improve by increasing mess, if it's done in the right way. At a minimum, recognizing the benefits of mess can be a major stress reducer--many of us are already operating at a more-or-less appropriate level of mess but labor under the mistaken belief that we're failing in some way because of it."

A Perfect Mess is an interesting book, written for the general reader in perfectly comprehensible prose. The authors' thesis won't necessarily surprise readers. If you think about it, it's obvious enough that there must be some optimal level of order for every situation. But it's not so much the conclusion that matters here as the guided tour through the messy worlds of city planning and hardware stores and trombone tuning and so on: you'll almost certainly learn something along the way, and in the end you may feel a little better about letting the dishes pile up.

I had read the mixed reviews (the Wall Street Journal wrote one also) so I didn't know what to expect. I was first attracted because, yes, I have a messy home and office. But I was pleasantly surprised to not only read many ways that messiness may help (on a personal level and an organizational level) but also a lot about organizational consultants and "psychological mess" (it turns out that my mess is only Level II on a scale of I to V). I also may have found an organizational scheme that works for me: a Japanese guy recently developed a system where he puts things that come to his desk in a large envelope, writes a label on the end and then stands the envelopes on their sides on a bookshelf. You put new and used items on the left so that new/important items end up on the left and older on the right. The book authors argue that this is very-similar to a pile on your desk where the less-used items gravitate to the bottom, but maybe this will work for me. There are a lot of anecdotes (most reviews are annoyed by this), but I found many to apply to my work (transportation, web searches, need for system engineering (not explicitly labeled as such) in software projects). I also learned a lot about nuclear energy and radioactivity among other surprising topics. One of the Amazon reviews mentions Freakonomics and I wonder if this may be similarly quoted--I'm glad to have read this.

I have a feeling reviewers of this book will be self-selected. You're drawn to A Perfect Mess if you're living in clutter now and are tired of being told to "Just get organized." Judging by this book's amazon rank, that's a lot of us.

I can remember having the messiest desk in my grade school class and then the messiest office in my building when I was a college professor. My home office is cluttered. But when I try to get organized, I just end up losing things.

Besides, I love reading books that question our basic, taken-for-granted assumptions.

The best parts of the book are those that call attention to the cultural aspects of messiness. Countries have different definitions of order. The Japanese (possibly because they live in small spaces) tend to take a high level of neatness for granted. Parking garages won't accept motorcycles because they don't fit the definition of cars, according to the authors.

Secondly, the authors spell out the astronomically high value Americans place on organization. Professional organizers flourish. We spend millions on closet organization. Many people (and even more organizations) associate messiness with incompetence.

The authors carried out their own informal interviews, but they could have cited research. About 20 years ago a professor at Arizona State University, Mary Jo Bitner, conducted experiments where she showed airline passengers photos of a travel agent's desk. One group got the "messy" version and others got the "neat" version. Passengers were prepared to blame the "messy" agent for all sorts of errors, even those beyond the agent's control.

Around the same time, I recall reading a newspaper article addressing the reactions of freshmen at UC Berkeley to their "unkempt" professors. Some (especially those from uniform-wearing private schools) had to be convinced that a messy person could be smart.

On a micro level, we learn that people have different styles of organization. The authors introduce us to Judith Kollberg, who recognizes people who can't work with standard categorization systems. She identifies their strengths as she defines unique programs for each one. I suspect I'd fit this definition. When I create my own ad hoc systems, I stay organized more than when I try to follow others.

Naturally, I was drawn to the chapters citing the negative elements of organizing. Lawns make no sense in arid climates, yet homeowners' associations encourage them. I particularly liked the 7 ineffective habits of time management: personally I think "focus" can be overrated, especially in early stages of an enterprise.

The chapter on the history of mess and order is priceless. "God was the first professional organizer." It's not about religion: it's the notion that humans have always sought to bring order out of chaos.

A Perfect Mess does get messy in places (as other reviewers have noted). The authors express their philosophy as they create this book. They never say, "Here's precisely what we're discussing." They never define. So some scenarios seem to relate more to customer service, randomness or ad hoc responsiveness than to messiness.

On the plus side, we readers get an amusing book that's thought-provoking, well-written and fun to read. On the negative side, we get a jumble. Some case studies are really about customer service and randomness rather than messiness.

In the end, ironically, the messiness of the book supports its own message. The only boring part of the book comes in the chapter on classifying the messy and the mess.

Messiness triumphs. Earlier the authors show how messiness creates unexpected connections: a scientist picks up two papers from his messy desk, makes a connection and creates a blazing new discovery. Here, some topics can be neutralized because they're discussed in the context of messiness.

For example, the authors show that we are hard wired to see order even where none exists. We try to tidy up our memories. We believe that bad things happen because people deserve them (the famous "just world" theory). While this section has a questionable place in the book, I wish the authors had said more rather than less. For example, a lot of New Age beliefs like "Things happen for a reason" can be traced to this mental pattern.

If these topics had been relegated properly to a psychology book, many readers would never learn about them. Yet everyone who relies on memories to make decisions (as as juries in legal systems) should understand the way our minds work. Presenting these concepts in relation to messiness takes away much of the emotional charge and makes readers more willing to listen.

Bottom line: Despite a few flaws, I am delighted to see this book. It's high time we recognized the subtle discrimination pervading society against the organizationally challenged. Here's a great first step. Let's see some bumper stickers with the red "no" slash against the word "organization."

Cathy Goodwin [...]

Freedman and Abrahamson make a marvelous case for driving the burgeoning legions of neatniks and professional organizers out of town (think Jesus and the moneylenders here).
Feel guilty about being a little messy and disorganized? Don't. Einstein was, and he got by nicely. Ditto Bill Gates. The authors debunk the "dangers" of a range of messiness from simple closet clutter (so, remember those baseball cards you tossed 50 years ago that now would be worth a Duke Snider-ish ransom?) to socio-political disorganization (Arnold Schwartzenegger, of all people, - a slob? Yo, what gives?)
What gives is very simple - sometimes it takes, (ugh!) poop, to make things bud, grow and flourish. Creative types have a history of being a bit disorganized (hey, remember, no mess in Alexander Flemings' lab, no penicillin, and think about that the next time you're down for the count with a terminal case of the sneezies.)
Rigid organization and planning? Fine and dandy concepts, indeed, but the authors sprinkle more than a few grains of salty resiliency and flexibilty on 'em. The pro organizers may be appalled by seat-of-the-chinos, on-the-fly planning but the Marines (Yup, THOSE Marines!) have a saying - "plan too far ahead - plan twice". You gonna call a Marine an undisciplined, messy thinker, not me, pal.
Freedman and Abrahamson trace the history of mess from medeival times to the present (and hope for more of it in the future).
After reading "A Perfect Mess:", I casually tossed it aside - and left it there. The authors would have understood perfectly.

Like my desk. Like my closet. Like my shed. Truly validating. The authors show how messiness is a form of creativity and they give examples of how messy conditions led to great discoveries in science, art, music, etc.

There are some sections that seem rather messy but hey, that's the point! In our perfect world with our perfect lawns and our impeccable desire for tidiness and order aren't we missing something?

What's the biggest mess that you can think of? Did you say Iraq? The authors suggest that one of our greatest failings in Iraq is that we are TOO ORGANIZED. The insurgents are messy. Al Qaida is messy. So, maybe we should take the hint and start thinking OUTSIDE the box?

Food for thought. A valuable book.

(also available as audio download)

Imagine a world without mess. Did you imagine Utopia, a land of absolute order? Your perfect world? I'll bet you didn't imagine it without penicillin, Brownian motion or a successful Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In A Perfect Mess the authors delve into mess, what makes it, and how it isn't always a catastrophe if there is a little disorder in our lives. For example, a desk piled with papers usually self-sorts into urgent and less necessary just by the nature of the user anyway, making filing a time waster. And did you know that the chemicals we use to keep our homes "sanitary" are often more likely to cause respiratory problems in our children than the germs we are trying to eradicate? However, this isn't only a book about why we don't have to clean (because sometimes disorder can become downright dangerous), it is an in-depth look at many of the successes of this, and previous generations that are due in large part to thinking outside of the orderly method to which we have become accustomed.

Let me make a suggestion. If January is the month that you typically get the urge to become organized, and, let's face it, it often is, wait to read this book until February. I found myself walking through the stores with all of their January "get organized" paraphernalia for sale, and scoffing. I'm not sure my husband is pleased. I highly recommend this book whether you are a businessman trying to maintain the clean-desk policy or a homemaker beating yourself up over the clutter in the kitchen. Even if you are an organizational freak, you'll rip through these pages if only to find something to disagree with (yes Mom, this line is for you).

Armchair Interviews says: A Perfect Mess is a fascinating look into "the hidden benefits of disorder."

If you are already living a cluttered, messy existence and it ISN'T working, don't buy this book to justify your lifestyle. But if your life is basically working but you feel guilty because your closets are messy, you don't plan WAY ahead and think you aren't "normal" this book could explain what you probably instinctively know...that your way of living can be efficient, can work and that there is not ONE right way that works for everyone. In fact, Abrahamson makes the point that spending TOO much time on trying to be organized can result in just the opposite. There is room for creativity and experimentation (and yes, messiness) in life.
This is an intriguing book but it should be kept in perspective. You'll either recognize yourself as one of those who can maintain your life with a certain amount of disorder in it - or you can't. I do worry that people will buy this book looking as it to justify their chaotic lifestyle but I hope that it reaches both those who are overly obsessive about organization and those who've felt needlessly guilty for leading a "disordered" life that works.

The premise of the book seems to be that most of us cherish neatness and organization more than we should. We buy lots of organizational products, make endless lists, and fret about what the neighbors would think if they could see into the closets. The authors suggest that disorganization (or at least not rigidly imposed organization) has lots of unexpected payoffs in terms of time-savings, unsuspected synergies, and the joy of sheer discovery. Case in point - Pencillin was invented largely because the researcher hadn't cleaned out the petri dishes before going on vacation.

I'm amused, however, when I compare the book's thesis to its actual structure. The authors lay out their premise chapter-by-chapter, beginning with an overview of their goals, progressing through a number of examples in a variety of contexts, and ultimately reaching a conclusion. The book also contains an index that closely links each concept and topic to the specific page where a reader can find it.

If the book applied the same premises that it advocates, it wouldn't begin somewhere in the middle, place the examples and case studies in somewhat random order, and not reach a conclusion because that's something that the reader will discover in the course of non-directed perusal. Naturally, the authors felt they couldn't practice what they preach if they hoped to sell many copies. . .

I liked the book a lot. It provides some much-needed ammunition to counter the Martha Stewarts of the world and suggests that almost everyone can be more flexible in how he receives and processes information. But I'm going to take the book for what it's worth - - while still continuing to make to-do lists.

This book is absolutely delightful! My friend Tami told me that she had heard something about this book on public radio and was planning on getting it; her description of the contents sounded encouraging. I have been under a lot of stress for over the past year, and like many individuals in that situation, I find I'm probably messier than I've ever been in my life. It was really starting to get me down, and I was already depressed! So when Tami mentioned the book, I decided I needed HELP!

The authors pointed out several interesting facts about "messiness" that were very beneficial, at least to me. Even just knowing that the rest of the world is not necessarily less messy than I am helped, as did the concept that "mess" is in the eye of the beholder. Their introduction of positive outcomes from at least a little bit of mess was very helpful too. It made me notice that despite the mess induced stress, I am being more original and more creative than I have been in years. Maybe a little mess is a good thing after all. I looked at my often compulsive neatness in the past and realized that I was always getting ready to do something creative, but other than obtain the materials, buy some books about what I wanted to do, and set up a place to do it, nothing really ever got created! On the other hand, I also learned that things don't necessarily have to be "finished" right away, either; just because there's a mess on the dining room table does not mean that one has or should tidy up the "work in progress". It certainly saves a lot of time if you don't, and it keeps the project visible to you so that it doesn't fall off the "to do" list.

The authors have a lovely readable style. They discuss mess and messiness so delightfully and so comically, one can't help laughing over some of the points they make. Partly because they're so true, and partly because you could see yourself doing many of them. I found myself laughing so often, my Great Danes thought something was wrong with me! The male Tempo constantly put his face into mine to try to understand, and the female Scherazadh just looked worried.

The book doesn't condone messiness outright; in fact the authors offer some of their own suggestions about dealing with clutter, and introduce some on how to incorporate some types of mess while suppressing other kinds. There are several very entertaining--not to mention surprising--illustrative personal tales of the success of mess, and even the art of mess.

Probably the most eye opening examples, though, are those that point out that businesses that stick to a rigid mode of organization and "planning for the future," among other things, can actually be the least successful. (See if the company or institution that you work for does any of them. Mine does many of them.) The very rigidity makes them less responsive or less rapidly responsive to changes in their market or in the world at large. Essentially the authors point out that standing the concept of structure on its head can yield a much more flexible institution, can encourage employees to be more creative, and can reduce the stress in the work environment.

I'd advise anyone suffering from the stress of mess to read this book. Certainly those who feel that they are somehow not quite as good as others because of the messiness of their home, car, office, etc. will find considerable comfort in these pages. I know I did.