Thin Book of Naming Elephants: How to Surface Undiscussables for Greater Organizational Success

There's an elephant in the room that everyone knows about but no one is acknowledging. The elephant is implicit and undiscussable and lurks in every organization. Everyone talks around the elephant and thinks that everyone else knows about the elephant. But, until the elephant's presence is made explicit, the level of dialogue and therefore the quality of decision-making is limited. Sound familiar?

Using NASA's tragic accidents and Enron's bankruptcy as examples of the price of not having open, constructive dialogue, the book shows how great companies create an environment that encourages and listens to input from all levels of the organization. After reading this book, you'll understand: The role of assumptions and multiple realities; why surfacing assumptions is so important; how to have constructive dialogue; why arrogance, hubris and smart talk gets in the way of constructive dialogue; and what strategies you can use to name the elephants in your organization

Editorial Reviews - Comments About The Thin Book® Of Naming Elephants From Recent Readers:

"Thank you for writing such a valuable, right-on-the-button book Sue Annis Hammond and Andrea B Mayfield!"

"I suspected from the title, 'Naming the Elephants,' that her latest book would be one that I would want to read, so I preordered it for my personal use. Once I got my copy and verified that it tackles an important subject in a clear, accessible way, I had my organization buy enough to hand out to key staff members and senior managers of one of our major customers."

"Powerful indeed is the book's content. This book is an extraordinary work of insight, clarity, and beauty. Congratulations to Thin Book for creating another outstanding thin book rich in content that challenges the conventional thinking.

"I thought the book was very good and am glad that I read it."

"Easy to read, clear, concise. Good primer for speaking up and listening"

"A great topic, one that is timely and very relevant. I really enjoyed the book and would have used it at work (now retired)."

"The concepts are very good; very valuable information for organizations."

"I thoroughly enjoyed it. The NASA case study and many of the other examples are excellent warnings of what can go wrong in organizations."

"I thought the book made a lot of sense. It pointed out something that can be easily overlooked and why some corporate cultures cause it to be overlooked."