Further Up the Organization: How Groups of People Working Together for a Common Purpose Ought to Conduct Themselves . . .

by Robert C. Townsend

Book Overview

Townsend's freshly irreverent, punchy chapters are packed with uncompromising straight talk as they revamp tired thinking on such daily business concerns as corporate image, the business lunch, how to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060971363
• ISBN13: 9780060971366
• Release Date: January 1988
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 293 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.3" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Yes its worth buying

There are many books out their on how to take over the world, but few that contain any realistic approaches to effective professional conduct. Although the author is a little brash and self-promoting his insight and practical assessments of the work environment are a fantastic reference/guide to sound corporate conduct and management.

The Only Worthwhile Book on Management

It's a great shame that this book is out of print.It's well worth the trouble of finding a copy. I make a point of re-reading it at least once a year to keep my feet on the ground and my head out of the clouds and other unfortunate places.Townsend is a very sensible person who has sterling credentials as a succesful manager; we should all do half as well as he did. He believes in the power of doing simple things very well and allowing your staff to do what they know how to do."In Search Of Excellence" and "Who Moved My Cheese" and all the great morass of poor, high faulutin' salve for the over-inflated but tender and insecure egos of senior managers should be immediately put into the trash ... shame on you if you ever attend another Hammer-esque seminar. You don't need seminars and the tricks don't work. What works in management is what works everywhere in life, in the long run: humility, hard work, loyalty downwards, rewarding success and knowing how to define it.In a sense, nobody should need a book to tell them these things, but life is complicated and the world is full of charlatans, so we all need to be reminded from time to time to take a step back and laugh at ourselves.

My most be-loved management book for 15 years.

I first read Up The Organisation by Robert Townsend in 1984 when I was still in college. It started to help me establish my very own management style and ways of doing things. I lent the book to a good friend of mine 2 years later and have never seen the book again. Then in the 90's, I were so happy to find Further Up The Organisation, an updated version of the one I lost and I bought 2 copies. So far I have only worked for 2 organisations during the last 14 years but have received 6 promotions so far, now already the Chief Executive since 1995 at the age of 32. Thanks to Robert Townsend. The books offer solutions on various subjects at work, but more importantly stimulate the readers to agree or to disagree to the ideas and prompt them to think or re-think how and why they are doing that way. Until a few years ago, everytime when I was in a bookstore, I would go to the relevant section to look for further updates of the book.The publisher should re-print the book and sell them again.

You can build a successful "people business" from this!

As a beginning PhD business man (1973) I read and used Up the Organization to build a successful PhD managed, high tech analytical lab. The insights added in Further Up the Organization stand today as the critical backdrop to leading your people and organization through rapid change and growth. This serves as a compatible platform for initiating JIT, TQM and other management fads that might work "if-you-do-it-right". The section on computers and their priests plays as well in the desktop world as it did in the mainframe world. Unfortunately we cannot stop Microsoft from givings features we don't need but which eat memory and CPU cycles.The sections on PEOPLE, TOO MUCH, LEADERSHP, MISTRESSES, FIRING PEOPLE, AND INCENTIVE COMPSENSATION are classics which remain as useful today as in 1970. You would never know that this book is almost 30 years old. When I have a difficult management or people problem, I review the relevant sections for a grounding in common sense. I have tried to order a copy for each of my employees, but it is out of print. Let us hope that Robert Townsend puts a few updates on this commen sense book and saves more business folks from themselves!HINT! HINT!

the finest business book i have ever read

whenever i have had a tough problem in my 17 year business career, i pick up "up the organization" and lo and behold, there's the answer. it has been my business bible and it is amazing how it never gets outdated. i am thankful i chanced on to this book early in my career.