Management Stripped Bare: What They Don't Teach You at Business School

A great read that cuts through the usual business BS and presents the unabashed, practical truth. A refreshing alternative to the usual academic business dribble and a must read for MBA students and new managers. This book is easy to read in a weekend, funny, irreverent, and game changing. It's a bit like being on a plane for 12 hours with a retired CEO giving you the benefit of all of his years of experience over a bottle of scotch - priceless!

If "stripping bare" means taking off the old coating or varnish, Jo Owen has succeeded in baring management to a delightfully ruthless degree. Owen isn't satisfied merely to proclaim that the boardroom emperor has no clothes. No, he catalogs, in encyclopedic A to Z style, every managerial fad, self-aggrandizing procedure and hypocritical impulse. Lest you mistakenly think he's from the "Saturday Night Live" school of irreverence, Owen also offers insightful options for managing the daggers and dangers of corporate life. He doesn't just tear down, he builds up. If painful truth is indeed the heart of all humor, this unbitter, honest book will leave you snickering in your cubicle or corner suite. Owen also offers real-world solutions (while admitting they may be no better than anyone else's). Stripping bare is fine, as long as you go back and apply a new-and-improved coat of varnish. Owen does. We highly recommend taking a break and learning the lessons business school skipped.