I kid you not. That’s the actual title of research reported in the Journal of Management Studies. One of the authors, Mats Alvesson, has a long history of ground-breaking research. And this is another feather in his cap. Not quirky, it’s really, really smart and very useful research. It's a metaphor with a lot of wings and both personal and organizational applications.
This is one of those studies which tell you more than you want to know about how organizations actually work. The researchers don’t screw around. They nail organizational BS to the wall. What’s unique about the research are the insights around stupidity and the use of power to achieve strategic imperatives. In many cases outright stupidity is supported by organizational norms and used to facilitate smooth interactions. Used this way, it can be helpful in producing results and creating a sense of certainty. But this is a big issue that also creates significant risks for both individuals and the organization. The fact is, however, that organizational and personal success is not inevitably built on smooth interactions: success often means disrupting people and processes.
But in this blog. . .