Intelligent Disobedience

Intelligent Disobedience

by Bob McGannon
Released March 2018
Publisher(s): Routledge
ISBN: 9781351713290

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Book description

Obeying all of the rules rarely generates breakthrough business performance because it does not generate new approaches. Breaking the rules randomly does not work either. Intelligent disobedience values improved business performance over compliance with the rules, when conditions permit. This is the essence of intelligent disobedience: knowing when and how to break, bend, or invent new rules to get better outcomes.

This book promotes enhanced performance by promoting a higher form of ethics. Intelligent disobedience seeks to surface hidden truth and to produce actions that are of higher integrity to yield superior results. The book guides the reader to evaluate their work environment, current business results, and risk, to determine if, when, and how acting with intelligent disobedience can enhance their business outcomes and their career.

Intelligent Disobedience: The Difference between Good and Great Leaders seeks to:

  • enhance the reader’s business success;

  • help the reader examine methods for proposing potentially unpopular directions or opinions;

  • propose a decision-making process for when the reader should "bend or break the rules" – leveraging common sense over common processes on an exception basis;

  • guide the reader to determine instances in which improved outcomes are better than ensuring compliance with corporate norms or management directions.

This rich and sophisticated book interweaves real-life experiences from successful leaders with the themes of human psychology, ethics, decision making, delegation, communicating upwards and downwards ... Everything the senior manager needs to survive and thrive in a complex, uncertain, ambiguous, and fast-changing world.

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Intelligent Disobedience
  3. Title
  4. Copyright
  5. Dedication
  6. Contents
  7. List of Figures
  8. List of Tables
  9. Acknowledgements
  10. Introduction
  11. 1 What is Intelligent Disobedience?
    1. Intelligent Disobedience From Different Viewpoints
    2. Effective Intelligent Disobedience Involves Balancing Risks
    3. Intelligent Disobedience and Personal Integrity
    4. Doing Your Homework
    5. Conclusion
    6. Notes
  12. 2 Vanquishing Remorse
    1. A Lifetime of Remorse
    2. What Causes Remorse?
    3. Remorse Develops Over Time
    4. Positive Intent is the Antidote to Remorse
    5. Trusting Your Intuition
    6. The Problem With Avoiding Discomfort
    7. How to Outwit Fear
    8. Are You Powerless?
    9. Conclusion
    10. Notes
  13. 3 A Higher Form of Ethics
    1. The Fundamentals of Ethical Intelligent Disobedience
    2. Respect for the Individual: Sharing the Truth
    3. Unethical Approaches: The Risks of Acting Impulsively and Not Acting at All
    4. A Silent Ethical Group Could Be on Your Side, Supporting Your Ethical Intelligent Disobedience
    5. Is Intelligent Disobedience “Playing Politics”?
    6. Educating and Informing Versus Deceiving
    7. Appropriately Acting Beyond Your Scope of Responsibility
    8. Using Power Ethically
    9. Conclusion
    10. Notes
  14. 4 Simple and Commonplace Intelligent Disobedience
    1. Society’s Reliance on Intelligent Disobedience
    2. Examples of Simple, Quiet Intelligent Disobedience
    3. Encouraging Skepticism
    4. Focusing on Positive Trends and the Areas of Most Concern
    5. Moving From Resistance to Participation
    6. Using a Deliverables Map
    7. Doing the Unexpected Can Yield Substantial Results
    8. Changing Your Tone
    9. Conclusion
    10. Note
  15. 5 Redefining Courage
    1. A Context for Courage
    2. Healthy Ownership of the Outcome
    3. Recognizing and Celebrating Courageous Intelligent Disobedience
    4. The Desire to Operate Smartly
    5. Assessing Business Impact
    6. The Realistic Impact on You and Your Family
    7. Evaluating Flexibility in Your Current Job
    8. Your Intuition
    9. Your Ability to “Do Your Homework”
    10. Your Personal View on Ethics
    11. An Intelligent Disobedience Decision Model: Assessing Courage and Risk
    12. Conclusion
    13. Notes
  16. 6 History is Rarely Made By the Well Behaved
    1. Following the Rules With Intelligent Disobedience
    2. Showing Up Can Constitute Intelligent Disobedience
    3. Changing the Game: “Badge in the Box” Meetings
    4. Not Taking Action Can Be Intelligent Disobedience
    5. Fulfilling Your Responsibilities as a Form of Intelligent Disobedience
    6. Cancel an Initiative, and Disregard the Money You Have Spent
    7. Intelligent Disobedience Through Relentless Persistence
    8. Conclusion
  17. 7 Share the Truth
    1. A Perspective on Truth
    2. Collecting Truths
    3. Share Truth Universally – Even With Tough Customers
    4. Sharing the Whole Truth
    5. Lying as an Act of Intelligent Disobedience
    6. Dealing With Those Who Can’T Handle the Truth
    7. Conclusion
    8. Notes
  18. 8 Authorizing Control By Relinquishing Control
    1. Characteristics of Intelligently Disobedient Team Members
    2. How and When to Check In
    3. Comfort and Competence With Intelligent Disobedience Techniques Varies
    4. Use Scenarios to Evaluate Candidates for Intelligent Disobedience
    5. Progressive Authorization of Intelligent Disobedience
    6. Mapping Intelligent Disobedience Characteristics to Authority Levels
    7. An Intelligently Disobedient Interviewing Technique: Enabling Intelligent Disobedience With a Team
    8. Conclusion
  19. 9 Storytelling
    1. The 30-Second/3-Minute/30-Minute Approach
    2. “Gold Rings” or “Aspirin”
    3. A 30/3/30 Story Example
    4. Utilizing Tools: Information-Rich, Single-Page Diagrams
    5. Familiar Dialog and Scenarios
    6. The Language of Risk and Reward: Triggering Emotions
    7. Intelligent Disobedience and the Business Case
    8. Helping Others to Craft Their Own Stories
    9. Conclusion
    10. Notes
  20. 10 Lessons Learned
    1. Overestimating the Depth of a Relationship
    2. A Lack of Homework and Communication
    3. An Intended Outcome, But the Wrong Result
    4. Unhealthy Ownership: Intelligent Disobedience Becomes Expected
    5. One Too Many Failures
    6. Oops, He Did it Again!
    7. Conclusion
  21. 11 Learning From Successful Intelligent Disobedience
    1. Being Authentic to Your Higher Purpose
    2. Refuse a Direction and Discover Truth
    3. Trust and the Chess Master
    4. Sometimes the Witness Should Not “Just Answer the Question!”
    5. Support Curiosity, Convey Confidence, and Embrace Modesty
    6. Conclusion
  22. 12 A Call to Action: The Next Step is Yours
    1. Online Resources
    2. Keynote Presentations and Workshops
    3. Start a Community of Practice (Cop)
    4. Coaching
    5. Let’s Get Social!
    6. Goodbye . . . for Now
  23. Index

Product information

  • Title: Intelligent Disobedience
  • Author(s): Bob McGannon
  • Release date: March 2018
  • Publisher(s): Routledge
  • ISBN: 9781351713290