Bust Those Management Myths - by Henry Mintzberg (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Management icon Henry Mintzberg dismantles 20 dangerous business myths in this essential guide for thoughtful leaders.

Henry Mintzberg, legendary management thinker and recipient of the Thinkers50 Lifetime Achievement Award, has spent decades challenging conventional wisdom about how organizations work. In this powerful distillation of his life's work, Mintzberg tackles the most persistent and damaging myths in business--from "if you can't measure it, you can't manage it" to the blind worship of "strategic planning."

With characteristic wit and clarity, Mintzberg offers refreshing alternatives that will transform how you think about leadership, structure, and organizational effectiveness. He replaces tired maxims like "managing is controlling" with more nuanced approaches that embrace "controlled disorder," and suggests that "ordinary creativity" often matters more than exceptional genius.

Drawing from his extensive body of work across 60 years, Mintzberg provides a masterclass in critical thinking for anyone who leads teams or organizations. His irreverent style makes complex ideas accessible without sacrificing depth, making this book as intellectually stimulating as it is practically valuable.

Whether you're a seasoned executive, an aspiring manager, or a student of organizational behavior, this concise volume will challenge your assumptions and provide a clear-eyed framework for more effective, humane management.

Review Quotes

"Henry Mintzberg is crazy. I agree with him almost 100% of the time."
--Tom Peters

About the Author

Henry Mintzberg, OC, OQ, FRSC is the Cleghorn Professor of Management Studies at the Desautels Faculty of Management of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where he has been teaching since 1968. He received his PhD in Management from Sloan School, M.I.T. His iconoclastic approach to management theory has earned him 21 honorary degrees from institutions worldwide and the Thinkers50 Lifetime Achievement Award. Mintzberg's prolific writing career spans five decades, during which he has consistently challenged conventional wisdom about organizations, strategy, and leadership with refreshing clarity and wit.