Dim Sum for Managers: Advice and Ideas for the Hungry Mind

305 Pages·2007·1.1 MB·English

by  Adrian Furnham

Dim Sum for Managers

Dim Sum for Managers
Advice and Ideas for the
Hungry Mind
Adrian Furnham
Copyright © 2008 Adrian Furnham
First published in 2008 by:
Cyan Communications Limited
Fifth Floor (Marshall Cavendish)
32–38 Saffron Hill
London EC1N 8FH
United Kingdom
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www.cyanbooks.com
The right of Adrian Furnham to be identified as the author of this work
has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means including photo-
copying, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the
prior written permission of the rights holders, application for which
must be made to the publisher.
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN-13 978-1-904879-94-7
ISBN-10 1-904879-94-2
Typeset by Phoenix Photosetting, Chatham, Kent
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
CPI Bookmarque, Croydon CR0 4TD
Contents
Introduction 1
Absence makes you wonder 12
Accentuate the positive 15
Advice for young managers 18
Management desiderata 22
Business alumni 25
Business placebo 28
Business self-help 31
Chronic email disorder 34
Compulsive buying 37
Consumer profiling 40
Control at work 43
Cults and mind control 46
Attitude surveys 52
Deluded dimwits, demure dunces 56
Demons, drivers, and defenses 59
Depressive realism 62
Devising new courses 65
Dysfunctional consumer behavior 68
Ethics committees 71
Evaluation 74
Executive teams 77
Fantastic futures 81
Bullying at work 84
Generations at work 87
Going into sales 90
Guru-busting 93
v
Dim Sum for Managers
Happiness myths 96
Hidden persuaders 99
Hitting targets 102
How to become a guru 105
Humor at work 108
Idealists and ideologies 111
Impulsivity 114
Just do it! 117
Burnout, out but opulent 120
Management desiderata 122
Marketing maladies 125
Meeting mumbo-jumbo 128
Meta-perception 130
Methods of payment 133
Morning prayers and evening vespers 136
Muzak while you spend 138
Non-executive directors 141
Organizational amnesia 143
Organizational death 146
Personal risk assessment 148
Personality and income 151
Jocks, loners, druggies, and nerds 154
Pester power 157
Pluralistic ignorance 160
Prioritizing the Priory 163
Proactive people and sales performance 166
Psychogrammar 169
Rugged individualists 172
Sales ethics 175
Schadenfreude 178
Scientist in residence 181
vi
Contents
Multiple consultant disorder 184
Selling events 188
Selling to oldies 191
Sentence completion 194
Service with a snarl 197
Seven selling secrets 199
Sex at work 202
Shop ‘til you drop 205
Stress and strain 208
Super sales staff 211
The advertising surround 214
Pro-tirement 216
The anatomy of derailment 218
The business beauty parade 221
The F-word 224
The joy of shopping 227
The narcissism business 230
The office party 234
The package 236
The paradox of new products 239
The psychology of gossip and the grapevine 242
Protecting vulnerable customers 246
The psychology of red tape 250
The sales manager 253
The trouble with targets 256
The unlearning organization 259
Three of the worst 262
Trainer-mania 265
Typical and maximal performance 269
Sex, violence, and car chases 272
Uncertainty avoidance 274
vii
Dim Sum for Managers
Undercover marketing 277
Volunteering 280
Work and longevity 283
Work bribes and incentives 286
Work is good for you 289
Introduction
’Shall we get together for dim sum? Tapas? Sushi? Meze?’
Many cultures, it seems, have the same concept: a range of
dishes offered in small helpings, each with its individual
taste, which, taken as a whole, make a substantial meal. They
are a celebration of variety, of difference, but also of compat-
ibility. They are often attractively served. They can be taken
at any time of day. And because eating is always, and in every
culture, a social event, the idea is that the food nourishes the
body and the convivial company nourishes the mind.
Dim sum is food for all seasons. It can be obtained from
home or bought in. Or one can find it in the bustle of a busy
restaurant. It is fuel to sustain life; but it is always attractively
presented.
While there is no total agreement about the history and
meaning of dim sum, there are few people who do not
believe this sort of Chinese brunch is a wonderful invention.
It originated in the province of Canton. It is dien sing in
Mandarin. It has been variously described as ‘small choices
of the heart’ or ‘heart’s delight.’ Some say it means ‘pointing
to your heart’s desires’ as carts of tempting food pass by. The
dishes maximize flavor and variety. They are of different
shapes and textures: some sweet, some savory, some salty. It
is believed that, since the tenth century, as many as 2000
different varieties of dim sum have evolved.
In many Chinese restaurants dim sum is served most of
the day, often to people in large groups at large tables.
Restaurants are constantly busy and noisy, with continual
throughput. Frequently, servers push carts or trolleys full of
carry trays with their hot, freshly cooked wares. Each has a
set price and their check/card might be stamped by the
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