Managing the Human Animal - Hardcover

Chris Argyris, Harvard University and the Monitor Group In a beautifully written book on executive leadership, Nicholson provides a new perspective. He derives explanations of effective leadership that are fresh and novel. Practitioners and researchers will find the book full of insights and guides about future practice and research. Bob Ulrich, chairman and chief executive officer, Target Corporation "Finally, in the midst of all that is cyber and global comes a management philosophy that is truly universal: that to effectively lead today's organizations, executives must operate within a framework not only of technology and process, but of the realities of human nature." Manfred Kets de Vries, Clinical Professor of Leadership Development,INSEAD "Finally, a management book in a different voice. Using the microscope of evolutionary psychology, Nicholson has done a tour de force in furthering our understanding of human behaviour in organizations." Robert Frank, Cornell University and author of Luxury Fever and co-author of The Winner-Take-All Society "Nigel Nicholson offers a bold and a refreshing challenge to today's muddled commentary on business leadership. Managing the Human Animal may ruffle a few feathers, but if you think leadership really matters, you can't afford to ignore this book." Sir John Egan, chairman, Inchcape plc "This is a very good book. It brings the latest and most fashionable thinking surrounding evolutionary psychology to enlighten our views on the design of business organizations and their leadership requirements." Chris Argyris, Harvard University "In a beautifully written book on executive leadership, Nicholson provides a new perspective. He derives explanations of effective leadership that are fresh and novel."

Time and time again, managers have tried to flatten hierarchies, eliminate office politics, and quell interdepartmental rivalry - but to no avail. Why? The new science of evolutionary psychology argues that these managers are working against human nature - emotional and behavioural 'hardwiring' that is the legacy of our Stone Age ancestors. In this remarkable book, Nigel Nicholson explores evolutionary psychology's central tenets and its implications for business management. His insights into human instinct will intrigue and inform managers seeking to understand why people act the way they do in organisational settings. Evolutionary psychology also explores the dynamics of the human group. Clans on the Savannah Plain, for example, appear to have had no more than 150 members. The message for managers? People are likely to be most effective in small organisational units.