Speak Out! Voices of Dissent at Work? (Think ‘Peanut Butter Manifesto’)

I am not talking about the eternal complainer who never finds anything positive about her/ his work or company.
In that case it might be time to move on.

The news of Yahoo! being put in play by Microsoft got me thinking about Voices of Dissent at Work…
You might remember how Brad Garlinghouse (a Yahoo exec) came out with his ‘Peanut Butter Manifesto’ (in November 2006) published in no less than the Wall Street Journal.
He could hardly have been more vocal.

Sniffing around for more meat on this topic brought me all the way back to 1997 and Commodify your Dissent, a book by Thomas Frank &  Matt Weiland.
They link the culture of dissent  in business to the counter-culture of the 60’s and find its expression in people as varied as Tom Peters and Henry Rollins.

Even though the Army itself in some of its schools, lets people air their conflicting opinions, can any organization big or small strive on chaos.
Some companies who encourage their staff to speak up pick a time of the week when differences and suggestions can be aired.

In Australia, they don’t believe in beating around the bush, they like you to tell it like it is?

Is the top down, decided, fall in line type of management still possible?
Should the ‘gospel’ be set in stone or open to discussion?
Can we bring improvements by speaking up?

No spinning!

A meditative Monday Work Etiquette #23

Last week: Learning to ‘Bounce’: The Gospel of Success according to Barry Moltz