Paul Culmsee's Books

The Heretic's Guide to Best Practices

The Reality of Managing Complex Problems in Organisations

By: Paul Culmsee,Kailash Awati

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The Heretic's Guide to Best Practices

The Reality of Managing Complex Problems in Organisations

By: Paul Culmsee,Kailash Awati

When it comes to solving complex problems, we often perform elaborate rituals in the guise of best practices that promise a world of order, certainty, and control. But reality paints a far different picture, which practitioners are often reluctant to discuss. A witty yet rigorous journey through the seedy underbelly of organisational problem solving, The Heretic’s Guide to Best Practices pinpoints the reasons why best practices don’t work as advertised and what can be done about it. “Hugely enjoyable, deeply reflective, and intensely practical. This book is about weaving human artistry and improvisation, with appropriate methods and technologies, in order to pool collective intelligence and wisdom under pressure.” —Simon Buckingham Shum, Knowledge Media Institute, The Open University, UK “This is a terrific piece of work: important, insightful, and very entertaining. Culmsee and Awati have produced a refreshing take on the problems that plague organisations... If you’re trying to deal with wicked problems in your organisation, then drop everything and read this book.” —Tim Van Gelder, Principal Consultant, Austhink Consulting

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Page Count

419

Publisher

iUniverse Star

Published Date

ISBN 10

1938908406

ISBN 13

9781938908408

Heretic's Guide To Management

By: Paul Culmsee

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Heretic's Guide To Management

By: Paul Culmsee

Management techniques such as strategic planning, project management or operational budgeting, aim to reduce ambiguity and provide clarity. So it is one of the great ironies of modern corporate life that these techniques often end up doing the opposite: increasing ambiguity rather than reducing it.It is easy enough to understand why: organizations are complex entities and it is unreasonable to expect management models, such as those that fit neatly into a 2*2 matrix or a predetermined checklist, to work in the real world. Indeed, expecting them to work as advertised is akin to colouring a paint-by-numbers Mona Lisa with the expectation of recreating Da Vinci's masterpiece. Ambiguity has not been tamed: reality will still impose itself no matter how alluring the model is.Unfortunately, most of us have a deep aversion to situations that involve even a hint of ambiguity. Recent research in neuroscience has revealed the reason for this: ambiguity is processed in the parts of the brain which regulate our emotional responses. As a result, many people associate ambiguity with feelings of anxiety. When kids feel anxious, they turn to transitional objects such as teddy bears or security blankets, providing them with a sense of stability when situations or events seem overwhelming. We contend that as grown-ups, we don't actually stop using teddy bears - they take a different form. Backed by research, we illustrate that management models, fads and frameworks are akin to teddy bears . They provide the same sense of comfort and certainty to corporate managers and minions as real teddies do to distressed kids. This is not a problem in many cases. Children usually outgrow their need for a teddy, unless if development is disrupted or arrested in some way. If this happens, the transitional object can become a fetish - an object that is held on to with a pathological intensity, simply for the comfort that it offers in the face of ambiguity. The corporate reliance on simplistic solutions for the complex challenges faced is akin to little Johnny believing that everything will be OK provided he clings on to Teddy.Ambiguity is a primal force that drives much of our behaviour. It is typically viewed negatively - something to be avoided or to be controlled. The truth however, is that it is a force that can be used in positive ways too. The Force that gave the Dark Side their power in the Star Wars movies was harnessed by the Jedi in positive ways. Similarly, this new management book shows how ambiguous situations, so common in the corporate world, are processed by the brain, and the behaviours that often arise as a consequence. More importantly, though, it shows you how to harness that ambiguity to achieve outstanding results.

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Page Count

208

Publisher

eBook Partnership

Published Date

ISBN 10

0994631405

ISBN 13

9780994631404

Historical Atlas of Central Europe

Third Revised and Expanded Edition

By: Paul Robert Magocsi

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Historical Atlas of Central Europe

Third Revised and Expanded Edition

By: Paul Robert Magocsi

Central Europe remains a region of ongoing change and continuing significance in the contemporary world. This third, fully revised edition of the Historical Atlas of Central Europe takes into consideration recent changes in the region. The 120 full-colour maps, each accompanied by an explanatory text, provide a concise visual survey of political, economic, demographic, cultural, and religious developments from the fall of the Roman Empire in the early fifth century to the present. No less than 19 countries are the subject of this atlas. In terms of today's borders, those countries include Lithuania, Poland, and Belarus in the north; the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, and Slovakia in the Danubian Basin; and Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, and Greece in the Balkans. Much attention is also given to areas immediately adjacent to the central European core: historic Prussia, Venetia, western Anatolia, and Ukraine west of the Dnieper River. Embedded in the text are 48 updated administrative and statistical tables. The value of the Historical Atlas of Central Europe as an authoritative reference tool is further enhanced by an extensive bibliography and a gazetteer of place names - in up to 29 language variants - that appear on the maps and in the text. The Historical Atlas of Central Europe is an invaluable resource for scholars, students, journalists, and general readers who wish to have a fuller understanding of this critical area, with its many peoples, languages, and continued political upheaval.

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Page Count

297

Publisher

University of Toronto Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1487523319

ISBN 13

9781487523312

Bullecourt 1917

Breaching the Hindenburg Line

By: Paul Kendall

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Bullecourt 1917

Breaching the Hindenburg Line

By: Paul Kendall

In the spring of 1917 the Arras offensive was begun to break the stalemate of the Western Front by piercing the formidable German defences of the Hindenburg Line. The village of Bullecourt lay at the southern end of the battle front, and the fighting there over a period of six weeks from 11 April until late May 1917, epitomised the awful trench warfare of World War I. In Bullecourt 1917, Paul Kendall tells the stories of the fierce battles fought by three British and three Australian divisions in an attempt to aid Allenby's Third Army break out from Arras. Approximately 10,000 Australian and 7,000 British soldiers died, many of whom were listed as missing and have no known grave. The battle caused much consternation due to the failure of British tanks in supporting Australian infantry on 11 April, but despite the lack of tank and artillery support the Australian infantry valiantly fought their way into the German trenches. It took a further six weeks for British and Australian infantry to capture the village. This book tells the story of this bitter battle and pays tribute to the men who took part. Crucially, Paul Kendall has contacted as many of the surviving relatives of the combatants as he could, to gain new insight into those terrible events on the Hindenburg Line.

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Page Count

897

Publisher

The History Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0750962526

ISBN 13

9780750962520

The Neurology of AIDS

By: Howard E. Gendelman, MD,Igor Grant, MD,Ian Paul Everall, MD, PhD,Howard S. Fox, MD, PhD,Harris A. Gelbard, MD, PhD,Stuart A. Lipton, MD, PhD,Susan Swindells, MBBS

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The Neurology of AIDS

By: Howard E. Gendelman, MD,Igor Grant, MD,Ian Paul Everall, MD, PhD,Howard S. Fox, MD, PhD,Harris A. Gelbard, MD, PhD,Stuart A. Lipton, MD, PhD,Susan Swindells, MBBS

From basic science to clinical care, to epidemiological disease patters, The Neurology of AIDS is the only complete textbook available on AIDS neurology and the only one comprehensive enough to stand alone in each segment of study in brain disorders affected by the human immunodeficiency virus. It is an indispensable resource for students, resident physicians, practicing physicians, and for researchers and experts in the HIV/AIDS field. Oxford Clinical Neuroscience is a comprehensive, cross-searchable collection of resources offering quick and easy access to eleven of Oxford University Press's prestigious neuroscience texts. Joining Oxford Medicine Online these resources offer students, specialists and clinical researchers the best quality content in an easy-to-access format.

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Page Count

1156

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0199875553

ISBN 13

9780199875559

The Heretic's Guide to Best Practices

The Reality of Managing Complex Problems in Organisations

By: Paul Culmsee

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The Heretic's Guide to Best Practices

The Reality of Managing Complex Problems in Organisations

By: Paul Culmsee

When it comes to solving complex problems, we often perform elaborate rituals in the guise of best practices that promise a world of order, certainty, and control. But reality paints a far different picture, which practitioners are often reluctant to discuss. A witty yet rigorous journey through the seedy underbelly of organisational problem solving, The Heretics Guide to Best Practices pinpoints the reasons why best practices dont work as advertised and what can be done about it. Hugely enjoyable, deeply reflective, and intensely practical. This book is about weaving human artistry and improvisation, with appropriate methods and technologies, in order to pool collective intelligence and wisdom under pressure. Simon Buckingham Shum, Knowledge Media Institute, The Open University, UK This is a terrific piece of work: important, insightful, and very entertaining. Culmsee and Awati have produced a refreshing take on the problems that plague organisations... If youre trying to deal with wicked problems in your organisation, then drop everything and read this book. Tim Van Gelder, Principal Consultant, Austhink Consulting

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Solve jigsaw puzzle

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Page Count

416

Publisher

iUniverse

Published Date

ISBN 10

1938908414

ISBN 13

9781938908415

Book's by Paul Culmsee

The Heretic's Guide to Best Practices

The Heretic's Guide to Best Practices

Heretic's Guide To Management

Heretic's Guide To Management

Historical Atlas of Central Europe

Historical Atlas of Central Europe

Bullecourt 1917

Bullecourt 1917

The Neurology of AIDS

The Neurology of AIDS

The Heretic's Guide to Best Practices

The Heretic's Guide to Best Practices

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