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Chetan Dhruve

Chetan Dhruve

About

I've worked for several organizations including IBM, Cisco Systems and Britain's Department for International Development (DfID). DfID was called the Overseas Development Administration (ODA), and was in those days the aid wing of the British Foreign Office.  I've also co-founded internet startups.

Education-wise, I have an MBA from Cass Business School (London), an MA in International Journalism from City University (London), and a BSc in Physics, Maths and Electronics from St Joseph’s College, Bangalore. I also have an honours certificate in Psychology from St Joseph's.  

The Magic Word

The Magic Word

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Description

<p style="margin:0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;font-size:12pt;">Elisabeth was rude and selfish and demanding, and therefore had very few friends.<span>  </span>When she sent out invitations to her birthday party, no one accepted.<span>  </span>Her mother warned her that she needed to improve her manners and to try to get along with people.<span>  </span>She told Elisabeth that she needed to use the magic word “Please”.<span>  </span>So when Elisabeth went to school the next day, she thought of her mother’s advice, “What is the magic word?” and she started saying “Please” and also “Thank You”.<span>  </span>She tried to become more thoughtful of others, and discovered that she was a much happier person.<span>  </span>Imagine her pleasure when she returned home to find out that her new friends were all coming to her birthday party!</span><span style="line-height:115%;font-family:Arial, 'sans-serif';font-size:10pt;"></span></p><p></p>

Story Behind The Book

Hello there. My name is Chetan Dhruve and I'm the author of the book Why Your Boss is Programmed to be a Dictator. Thanks for reading this book sample. Here's the backstory. I had studied Systems Thinking as part of my MBA, and we had done a case study on a low-cost airline called People Express. The airline was extremely successful when it first launched, but folded later.<br /> As part of the study, we were given a software tool that simulated the case. The aim was to prevent the airline from going bust. We tried several things - when demand spiked, we would buy new airplanes. If service levels dropped, we would hire more staff. But whatever we did, something else would go wrong, leading to the collapse of the airline.<br /> The thing was, we were looking at each problem in isolation - analytically. Instead, we should have looked at the problem wholistically, that is, using Systems Thinking. It sounds easy and obvious, but it is actually a profound, fundamental shift in thinking.<br /> The lesson was this: systems matter. Good people in bad systems produce bad results.

Media Links

Reviews

<p>&quot;Read this&quot; - The Guardian (London)<br /><br /> &quot;This book is a breakthrough&quot; - Sally Bibb, former director, the  Economist (London)<br />  </p> <p><span style="font-family:'Trebuchet MS';"><em>&quot;Why Your Boss is Programmed to be a Dictator</em> takes an extra step back from similar books that look at the problems of bad bosses, looking at the bigger picture and giving thoughtful, articulate insight into the root causes of why such negative working environments and behaviours exist.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:'Trebuchet MS';">The explanations as to why we have such a wealth of bad bosses become almost shockingly obvious once approached from the angle of systems thinking.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:'Trebuchet MS';"><em>Why Your Boss is Programmed to be a Dictator</em> reveals innovative solutions that have had little mention in the current business books on offer.&quot;</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:'Trebuchet MS';">- <a href="http://www.management-issues.com/2007/6/22/display_book/why-your-boss-is-programmed-to-be-a-dictator.asp">Management Issues </a></span></p>