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Book Review: Bedtime Stories for Managers by Henry Mintzberg

Here’s another book that was on my summer reading list! Bedtime Stories for Managers isn’t a title you’d expect from a management book, so I was pretty curious about this one.

First up: this book isn’t exactly a collection of stories. I was imagining this to be satirical fairytales but this is more like approachable essays… which I guess are stories for managers? Anyway, here are the stories/lessons that I took away from Bedtime Stories for Managers:

  1. Managing: All managers are flawed and there is no manager that will be great in every situation. The difficulty lies in picking the right manager for the right team.
  2. Organising: Businesses should be a community, not just individual parts. Grounded engagement may make more sense than top-down management, and the web of organisation may make more sense than the regular org chart (which divides into top and middle management) or management circule. Also, company boards are necessary but problematic – they need to be unafraid to replace the CEO but not so enthusiastic that the CEO can’t do anything.
  3. Analysing: When we think of efficiency, we tend to look at measurable criteria without thinking about whether this is the criteria we need to focus on. Plus, how do you measure managers? Are you able to make a judgement while considering the team and the managing environment?
  4. Development: Apparently, MBA students don’t necessarily make good managers
  5. Context: Let’s look at family businesses and the problem of succession – even if you can find someone suitable, what is your end goal? IPO isn’t the be-all and end-all.
  6. Responsibility: CSR shouldn’t be incidental
  7. Future: Growth is not everything (this chapter reminded me a lot of what Tim Jackson says in Post-Growth)

Although these are my main takeaways from the book, each chapter actually contains several mini-points, so if you are interested in any of these chapters you should definitely read the whole thing.

I really liked how approachable the writing style of this book was and although the first few chapters felt a bit random, everything made sense by the end of the book.

Even if you’re not a business student, I think this book is worth reading if you’re working and planning to get into a managerial position in the future.

5 thoughts on “Book Review: Bedtime Stories for Managers by Henry Mintzberg

  1. This book sounds super interesting, and I’m also intrigued by the title! 😁 I’m curious – how did it find its way to your reading list? Did you read it for job purposes or just for pleasure? 😊

    1. It’s definitely an interesting book – unlike most business books it’s not intimidating at all!

      This book was on my MBA program’s optional reading list (:

    1. I think if you’re planning to be in a managerial position in the future (even if it’s not very high up), this could be something relevant to read!

What do you think?