Up the Organization: How to Stop the Corporation from Stifling People and Strangling Profits Hardcover – May 25, 2007

4.6 out of 5 stars 464 ratings
ISBN-13: 978-0787987756
ISBN-10: 0787987751
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Condition: Used: Good
Comment: A copy that has been read, but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact. The spine and cover may show signs of wear. Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include "From the library of" labels or previous owner inscriptions. 100% GUARANTEE! Shipped with delivery confirmation, if you're not satisfied with purchase please return item for full refund. A copy that has been read, but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact. The spine and cover may show signs of wear. Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include "From the library of" labels or previous owner inscriptions. 100% GUARANTEE! Shipped with delivery confirmation, if you're not satisfied with purchase please return item for full refund.
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Townsend shouldn't just be read, he should be memorized."
Tom Peters

"The sagest (and even most outrageous) book ever written about how business should be run."
—Harper’s Magazine

"Bob Townsend's words still ring true, truer than they seemed almost 40 years ago."
Warren Bennis

"Robert Townsend's book continues to light up the business world with straightforward and practical management advice that is as pertinent today as when originally published. A must-read for all managers!"
Ray Davis, president and CEO, Umpqua Holdings Corporation

"Townsend proves that the best business wisdom is timeless. In an era filled with business buzzwords and ethical misdirections, Townsend's bluntness makes for refreshing and hilarious reading for the next crop of CEOs."
Ben Casnocha, chairman, Comcate, Inc., author, My Start-Up Life

From the Inside Flap

Up the Organization

"The sagest (and even most outrageous) book ever written about how business should be run."
Harper's Magazine

ALTHOUGH IT WAS FIRST PUBLISHED more than thirty-five years ago, Up the Organization continues to top the lists of best business books by groups as diverse as the American Management Association, strategy+business (Booz Allen Hamilton), and The Wharton Center for Leadership and Change Management. 1-800-CEO-READ ranks Townsend's bestseller first among eighty books that "every manager must read."

This commemorative edition offers a new generation the benefit of Robert Townsend's timeless wisdom as well as reflections on his work and life by those who knew and worked with him. This groundbreaking book continues to remind us not to get mired in all those sacred organizational routines that stifle people and strangle both profits and profitability.

In today's climate of seemingly endless incidents of corporate corruption, government fraud, and personal scandals, Up the Organization is more relevant than ever. Many of Townsend's observations are as witty as they are wise. "There's nothing fundamentally wrong with our country except that the leaders of all our major organizations operate under the wrong assumptions." "One of the most important tasks of a manager is to eliminate his people's excuses for failure." "If you have to have a policy manual, publish the Ten Commandments."

In addition to the book's advice that is striking in its candor, spontaneity, and integrity, this new edition includes essays from such leaders as James O'Toole, Bob Davids, and Robert Gottlieb, as well as a never-before-published transcript of Townsend's Conference Board speech: "Townsend's Third Degree in Leadership."

Read Up the Organization and discover why Robert Townsend served as role model for a generation of corporate activists.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Jossey-Bass; Commemorative edition (May 25, 2007)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0787987751
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0787987756
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.82 x 1.07 x 8.42 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 464 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
464 global ratings

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Top reviews from other countries

VeroUK
5.0 out of 5 stars Old in the tooth but still relevant
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 4, 2016
2 people found this helpful
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corporalbob
5.0 out of 5 stars A critical management manual.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 1, 2017
A. W. Wakefield
5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 30, 2018
DAVID G.
5.0 out of 5 stars This should be a mandate for all senior executives , espeicially National Organisations, like BT!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 29, 2021
N. Barker
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 4, 2017