Dinosaur Brains: Dealing with All THOSE Impossible People at Work

by Albert J. Bernstein

Overview

Discover how to cope with instinct, emotion, and irrationality—the dinosaur brain—that disrupts any business enivronment, with a step-by-step process that helps you reason your way through turf wars and power struggles, surly subordinates, temperamental bosses, and more....

"The key to thriving in the corporate jungle is understanding dinosaurs."

TIME

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780345410214
Publisher:	Random House Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/29/1996
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.54(w) x 8.44(h) x 0.59(d)

About the Author

Albert J. Bernstein, PhD, is a clinical psychologist, bestselling author, business consultant, speaker, occasional columnist, and award-winning photographer. Dr. Bernstein is known for teaching people to confront difficult and frightening situations with wit, wisdom, grace, and liberal doses of humor.

Table of Contents

WHAT IS THE DINOSAUR BRAIN?
The Dinosaur Brain and Lizard Logic.
How the Dinosaur Brain Works.
THE RULES OF LIZARD LOGIC.
Get It Now!
The Triple F Response: Fight, Flight, or Fright.
Be Dominant!
Defend the Territory!
Get the Mate!
If It Hurts, Hiss!
Like Me, Good; Not Like Me, Bad.
USING LIZARD LOGIC.
Avoiding the Reptile Response.
Bad Moods and Internal Television.
Irritability.
Manipulation.
The Positive Uses of Anger.
Angry Clients.
The Customer Service Model.
Motivating Yourself and Your Employees.
Stress Is Not the Enemy.
Is Your Mind Out of Shape?
Long-Term Planning.
Making Waves.
It's Lonely at the Top.
The Captain Kirk Management Style.
The Mentor Relationship.
Why People Get Involved in Office Romances.
How to Save Yourself if Your Company Is ``One Big Happy Family''.
Corporate Juvenile Delinquents.
Dealing with Old Dinosaurs.
Labor and Management.
The Customer from Outer Space.
Gravity.
Habit and Ritual.
Management by Mind-Reading: The Case Against Bad Attitude.
How to Make Your Colleagues Mad at You.
Suggested Readings.
Index.

Editorial Reviews

This book deals with irrational thinking and unconscious motivation at the office--``because people at work aren't always the rational creatures that other management books talk about.'' The authors cover basic personnel management theory and argue that people's irrational and emotional acts are based on primitive fight, flight, and fright responses--all part of the ``dinosaur brain.'' They identify situations when such behavior is taking place and offer suggestions for what to do when coworkers behave in this manner. Although the basic information may be available in other sources, it is presented clearly and with the right amount of humor in this book. Recommended for all business collections.-- Michael Kathman, St. John's Univ., Collegeville, Minn.

Library Journal