Mismanagement Manual
The Executive's Guide to standing in your own wayBy Denis Franz
Length5h 31m
About this audiobook
A satirical field guide to corporate dysfunction, written from inside the meeting room.
The Mismanagement Manual catalogues the patterns by which organisations succeed at failing — the meetings that should have been emails, the transformations that transformed nothing, the values on the wall and the fraud in the books. It treats these patterns not as warnings but as instructions, on the working assumption that what gets recommended often enough eventually gets done.
Thirty-four chapters across eight parts. Drawn from two decades of observation. Suitable for executives who would like to stop recognising themselves in it.
Audiobook details
GenreBusiness and Economics, Humor
Length5 hrs 31 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateMay 15, 2026
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Title
2Foreword
3Part I A MASTERCLASS IN COMMUNICATION
4Ch. 1 SAY EVERYTHING, MEAN NOTHING
5Ch. 2 MISCOMMUNICATION AS STRATEGY
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6Ch. 3 THE MEETING THAT COULD HAVE BEEN AN EMAIL
7Ch. 4 REPEATING YOURSELF LOUDLY
8Part II YOUR PEOPLE: INSTRUMENTS OF INCONVENIENCE
9Ch. 5 DIVIDE AND MISMANAGE
10Ch. 6 TEAM BUILDING HAPPENS ORGANICALLY
11Ch. 7 THE PERFORMANCE REVIEW
12Ch. 8 THE EXIT INTERVIEW NOBODY READS
13Ch. 9 THE CORPORATE IMMUNE SYSTEM
14Part III LEADERSHIP: THE ART OF CONFIDENT MISDIRECTION
15Ch. 10 ALIGNMENT IS OVERRATED
16Ch. 11 THE ART OF THE BAD CALL
17Ch. 12 HIRE A CONSULTANT
18Ch. 13 THE PETER PRINCIPLE IN ACTION
19Part IV TOOLS, TECH & THE ILLUSION OF PROGRESS
20Ch. 14 UPGRADE EVERYTHING, IMPLEMENT NOTHING
21Ch. 15 THE SHINY OBJECT SYNDROME
22Ch. 16 WHEN THE TOOL BECOMES THE PROBLEM
23Ch. 17 THE OPEN-PLAN OFFICE
24Ch. 18 THE AI ANNOUNCEMENT
25Part V THE PERFORMANCE OF CHANGE
26Ch. 19 THE WORKSHOP THAT CHANGED NOTHING
27Ch. 20 THE DEI DECK
28Ch. 21 THE REBRAND
29Ch. 22 THE VISION STATEMENT
30Ch. 23 THE REORGANISATION
31Ch. 24 THE EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT SURVEY
32Part VI REMOTE BY DEFAULT, DISCONNECTED BY DESIGN
33Ch. 25 REMOTE WORK AS DIAGNOSTIC INSTRUMENT
34Ch. 26 THE RETURN-TO-OFFICE WHIPLASH
35Ch. 27 THE ONBOARDING THAT ASSUMED OSMOSIS
36Part VII THE GRAND STRATEGIES
37Ch. 28 THE FIVE-YEAR PLAN THAT LASTED EIGHT MONTHS
38Ch. 29 THE MERGER THAT DESTROYED BOTH CULTURES
39Ch. 30 THE INNOVATION LAB THAT INNOVATED NOTHING
40Ch. 31 VALUES ON THE WALL & FRAUD IN THE BOOKS
41Part VIII GRADUATION & ADVANCED TECHNIQUES
42Ch. 32 BUDGET SEASON
43Ch. 33 THE CHANGE MANAGEMENT INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX
44Ch. 34 BEND AND WAIT
45Epilogue: YOU’VE GRADUATED
46Appendices: Reference material for the recently graduated.
47APPENDIX A: THE ALL-STAFF EMAIL TEMPLATE KIT
48APPENDIX B: THE TRANSFORMATION READINESS ASSESSMENT
49APPENDIX C: A GLOSSARY OF TERMS THAT MEAN NOTHING
50APPENDIX D: RECOMMENDED READING
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