The Ape in the Corner Office: Understanding the Workplace Beast in All of Us (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A splendid writer—fresh, clear, uncondescending, and with never a false step.” —New York Times Book Review
  
“The Ape in the Corner Office is an entertaining safari through the commercial jungle, observing the habits of business apes as they swing from branch office to branch office.” —Desmond Morris, author of The Naked Ape
 
“Chockablock with fascinating tales from the juxtaposition of natural history and work. If you’re thoughtful about what you do (and you care about how we got here), this is a page-turner.” —Seth Godin, author of All Marketers Are Liars
 
“Richard Conniff puts the business suit back on Desmond Morris’s The Naked Ape. This book moves beyond the simplistic embrace of aggression by sociobiologists of the past and the management clichés of today. Conniff effortlessly draws upon updated insights from ethology, economics, psychology, and the arts to apply factual insights to current headlines and everyday business life. The law of the jungle turns out to be a complex code of competition and cooperation that Conniff applies to entrepreneurial triumphs, governance collapses, the sharing spirit of inspired work teams, and the sabotage of conspiring colleagues. While this lively research-anchored book rewards the reader with engaging insights into the lives of celebrities, our co-workers, and our neighbors, it never feels like gossipy voyeurism, just vital clairvoyance.” —Professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, associate dean, Yale School of Management
 
 


From the Hardcover edition. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Review

“A splendid writer—fresh, clear, uncondescending, and with never a false step.” —New York Times Book Review
  
“The Ape in the Corner Office is an entertaining safari through the commercial jungle, observing the habits of business apes as they swing from branch office to branch office.” —Desmond Morris, author of The Naked Ape
 
“Chockablock with fascinating tales from the juxtaposition of natural history and work. If you’re thoughtful about what you do (and you care about how we got here), this is a page-turner.” —Seth Godin, author of All Marketers Are Liars
 
“Richard Conniff puts the business suit back on Desmond Morris’s The Naked Ape. This book moves beyond the simplistic embrace of aggression by sociobiologists of the past and the management clichés of today. Conniff effortlessly draws upon updated insights from ethology, economics, psychology, and the arts to apply factual insights to current headlines and everyday business life. The law of the jungle turns out to be a complex code of competition and cooperation that Conniff applies to entrepreneurial triumphs, governance collapses, the sharing spirit of inspired work teams, and the sabotage of conspiring colleagues. While this lively research-anchored book rewards the reader with engaging insights into the lives of celebrities, our co-workers, and our neighbors, it never feels like gossipy voyeurism, just vital clairvoyance.” —Professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, associate dean, Yale School of Management
 
 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Crown Business (September 6, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140005219X
• ISBN-13: 978-1400052196
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #719,460 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Great Ape, December 7, 2005

By	Richard F. Gerson "HEAD coach" (Clearwater, FL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is an excellent treatment of how we behave in organizations. The comparisons and metaphors to apes, tribes and others in the animal kingdom provides a terrific lens through which we can view all sorts of corporate behavior. As a management consultant and executive coach, I am always looking for unique and interesting ways to teach my clients new approaches for performance improvement and organizational effectiveness. Conniff's book gives you all that and more.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great resource!, October 26, 2005

By	armchairinterviews.com (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

The Ape in the Corner Office is an interesting, entertaining and often too truthful a read. It appears we cannot divest ourselves fully from our instinctual ancestors, the Ape and even the Rat. We share too much biological similarities.Richard Conniff has researched and written a credible account of how our ancestral behaviors play an important role in establishing and maintaining a sense of safety, social hierarchy, community and competitive advantage. This could be a terrifying thought, yet, Conniff's storytelling ability, vast business experience (reads like a who's who in business), well-cited research and humor serves to pacify the reader, at least momentarily.

As a trainer and speaker I want to beware The Ape in the Corner Office, lest I become buffaloed by a passive, yet, hostile audience. This is a book I will return to for insights anytime I see the furry face rising in either myself or others.

Conniff candidly shares how his behaviors have at times prevented him from endearing the client and gaining the contract. His advice: if you are going to let your beast roar, compete or fight consciously, be aware of the risks, rewards and lasting implications your instinctual behavior may have. The book is entertaining, thought provoking and a useful tool for people who want to know the human and beastly side of their business.

And we are not out of the woods. Just because humans have verbal communication, a relatively newly acquired form of communication, it only serves to cover up our more instinctual responses. Despite polite words and social appropriate manner it is still our nonverbal communications that reveals the truth.

Armchair Interviews says, after you read The Ape in the Corner office, you'll have a pen handy to jot down any of the great contacts and resources the author gives you to navigate the river of commerce that runs through your office jungle.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book with a bad title, April 7, 2007

By	Dr Cathy Goodwin (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This book would have done even better if the publisher hadn't decided to put a photo of an ape in a suit on the back cover. The title suggests a critique of corporate executives - more like a diatribe or light-weight commentary. Unfortunately comparing people to apes comes across as an insult (to put it mildly) rather than as a scientific statement about the biological basis of behavior.

In fact, the book draws on published research to explain why people behave as they do in the workplace. Conflict and day-to-day hassles just go with the territory. Conniff doesn't give us a lot of guidance for handling sticky situations, but I think many people will benefit from understanding that their own situation is hardly unusual.

As he says, we tend to focus on what's negative, and we tend to behave dysfunctionally. Some examples are chilling: the consultant who went oout of his way to scare a junior consultant just before a big meeting and the angry rant of Andy Grove at a big Intel meeting.

Definitely recommended.