Bedtime Stories for Managers

Author: Henry Mintzberg

As you turn the pages of this book, I want you to wonder what you will find in it, and I will give you a hint: a barrage of analogies and a flood of metaphors. In addition to cows and gardens, cookie cutters and scrambled eggs, prepare yourself for the legend of the maestro in management, the soft belly of tangible data, the board of directors as bees, and downsizing as cupping. Just try not to get angry at anything you read; because some of my most infuriating ideas have turned out to be my best ideas, but they just need time to become clear. This book may be about management, but do not expect any magic recipes, as I leave these magic recipes to books that complicate the problem before solving it. Instead, I want you to await unexpected insights, then fall asleep so you can get up, and after eating some scrambled eggs the right way, set about dealing with the disturbances of management chaos. And then you and your colleagues, and perhaps your family too, might live a little bit more happily ever after. Sweet dreams!