Passionately Transforming Management: Lies

“What an interesting agenda for this meeting.”

“Sustainability is a priority for our company.”

“We care deeply about our customers.”

Let’s face it: We all lie. Sometimes to save face, to get out of a scrape or to protect someone’s feelings, and sometimes for more malicious reasons. Generally, however, we only expect people to lie under certain circumstances, and we expect our professional environments to be beacons of truthful and honest behaviour.

Deceit, untruth and disinformation have become part and parcel of the everyday political agenda. World leaders and business magnates unabashedly lie and peddle misinformation, from climate change denialism to anti-vaccine propaganda.

In Passionately Transforming Management with Lies, Professor Johan Alvehus recognizes that such things are not only going on at the grand political stage – instead arguing that the utility of lies, deception and manipulation can provide key lessons for anyone interested in leadership. The author delves into differing philosophical perspectives on the morality of lying, before examining the various ways in which falsehoods find their way into our modern workplaces. Ultimately, we must begin re-assessing our professional hierarchies with a new clarity by rejecting the notion of a leader as a morally superior concept automatically deserving of adulation.

We need to recognize that lies and manipulation are fundamental elements of accomplishing things in organizations. Even before working life starts, its truthfulness is dubious – who doesn’t polish their CV to give a better impression? Bypassing formal structures, ensuring certain people are left out of decision processes, spreading non-factual ‘visions’ and lying to keep one’s position safe are all essential for the accomplished manager.

Passionately Transforming Management with Lying provides students, scholars and managers with a concise and provocative guide to identifying, utilising and manipulating bullshit culture.