Table of Contents

List of Figures vii

List of Tables ix

Acknowledgments x

Introduction 1

1 Everybody Wants to Rule the World 3

2 Where We're Coming From 13

3 Where We've Been 19

4 Why We're Headed There: It's All in the Game 32

5 Instructional Voyeurism 51

6 The Unavoidable Hierarchy 67

7 On Organizational Narratives: The Stories We Know, the Secrets We Keep 87

8 Preparing to Play the Ranking Game 99

9 Playing the Ranking Game 120

10 Tearing Down the Organization 152

11 Preventing the Group's Destruction 168

12 The Stories of Our Lives 184

13 The Stories of Others' Lives 198

14 Implications for Management and Leadership 210

Conclusion: What Have We Learned? 224

Appendix: List of Hierarchical Strategies Addressed in the Book 228

Index 230