In the tradition of Robert Fulghum, this wonderful collection of essays is a spiritual voyage on incorporating 'small decencies' into our daily work interactions so that we can live richer, more meaningful lives. A 'chronic storyteller', businessman, husband, father, sailor, John Cowan weaves a rich tapestry of essays that are appropriate for these times when we are searching for new, more human ways to approach our jobs and live our lives. His canvas is huge: it is business, and all of life. A sailboat ride on Lake Superior becomes a talk on how to manage by using the 'enormous wind (that) has been blowing since the beginning of humankind. It is that force that insists we improve as a race.'. Time spent sitting on the ground becomes a call to managers to have 'their own sacred plot of dirt. One they could sit on regularly, getting grass stains on their shorts, stray ants on their backs, and a little bark from the tree in their hair. A spot where, if they sit for an hour or two, they can remember who they are, and see the world for what it is'. Buying a boat that is two feet shorter than his previous boat becomes a dialogue on the need to pay only for what we really want, rather than what we think we want. Watching his son's hockey game becomes a chautauqua on the joyful challenges of playing the game of work, from scoring goals to being bounced on the ice by a worthy opponent. With gentle assurance and honest insight, Small Decencies reminds us that we can be true to our values both at home and at work, and that the more humanely we treat one another, the better we will be as people, and the better we will be in doing our life's work.

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Bibliographic Details

Title: Small Decencies : Reflections And Meditations On Being Human At Work
Publisher: HarperBusiness
Publication Date: 1992
Language: English
ISBN 10: 0887305598
ISBN 13: 9780887305597
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: New

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Synopsis

A collection of essays exploring how to incorporate small decencies into daily business interactions, making work, life, and other aspects of life more meaningful and celebratory. 15,000 first printing.

Reviews

Cowan, once a working priest, now a management guru, presents more than two score sermonettes advocating general probity in the world of mammon. Doffing his Roman collar to join the suits, the quondam cleric successively joined the Ordinance Division of Honeywell, a consulting firm, and then Control Data before finally becoming a self-employed ``facilitator'' and consultant on leadership, teamwork, and goodness in commerce. Rather than a punchy action program, Cowan offers easy philosophy, often wrapped in platitudes, rarely in attitudes. He is to fierce self-promotion what Barry Manilow is to M.C. Hammer, with a smooth, folksy style, digestible if not taken in one gulp. Unfortunately, the text is more about the author and his Deep Thoughts than an organized guide for the perplexed about their niche in the marketplace. ``Give me the tiller every time,'' he proclaims from the deck of his beloved boat. ``I want to steer.'' Too many of Cowan's little homilies are tied to his evident love of sailing. (The book jacket might well bear a warning to those prone to mal de mer.) The morality of these pieces is unimpeachable, naturally, and salted with the merest hint of malarkey. This is a self-helper that teaches unperturbed cooperation and ``nurturing'' as organizational skills. A small, well-written work, decent enough, that gives no real prescriptions: It's simply a sentimental get-well card for those suffering from corporate malaise. -- Copyright �1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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