Shooting the Monkey: Secrets of the New Business Spirit Book

There is always a slightly uncomfortable collision when ancient Eastern philosophies are pressed into the service of modern-day business. The philosophies were a means to achieve a more spiritual end. Material success, if any, was merely an incidental benefit. In Colin Turner's latest book Shooting the Monkey, that logic is reversed. Eastern philosophy becomes a handy means to achieve the fundamental objective of greater material success. Any heightened spirituality could be considered a fortunate side effect.Nonetheless Turner, best selling author of Swimming With Piranha Makes You Hungry makes an excellent job of adapting some of the tenets of Buddhism to modern-day business practise. He argues that the majority of businesses and business people fail because they don't understand the self-defeating nature of much of Western endeavour. For example, he criticises the Western obsession with correcting weaknesses and deficiencies. Far better he argues, to concentrate on what is good and strong. "Find out what you are good at and do more of it", he advises.It goes against the very foundations of the idea of management--that every detail should be controlled and drilled until it works successfully for you. Instead you should just "let go", argues Turner. It a brave person who would do that, but you can't help hoping that he is right, that a more intuitive, less frantic approach to business does produce better results. While you may not care to take every word Turner writes literally, there is plenty here to inspire and to make you reflect on the way that you do things. The book is subtitled "Secrets of the new business spirit", but it isn't just a book for managers and entrepreneurs--it is a self-help manual for anyone who aspires to a different way of doing things. --Alex BenadyRead More