—Richard Irwin, President and CEO, IntegraCare Corporation "John captures a refreshing, winning formula in a practical, simple context to leverage weirdness into creativity and innovation, the core of sustainable competitive advantage and success. Rejoice in and celebrate our weirdos!"
—James E. Hoffman, Jr., President, Catalyst Consultants, LLC, and the CEO Forum of Pittsburgh "To hear John Putzier tell it, there are so many 'weirdos in the workplace' that you're almost weird if you're...not. But if you're a manager, don't let how weird someone is distract you from what really matters—how well they're performing. Here's help for jumping to the right conclusions about people."
—Maureen Anderson, Host, "The Career Clinic®" radio program "This book gives a dose of medicine to cure the 'paradigm bug' that plagues most of us in the business world. The author takes complex situations and concepts and boils them down to their bare essence. I just wish I could have him by my side when they happen to me! I guess having this book is the next best thing."
—Mark A. Treat, Client Services Organization Development, Acxiom Corporation, CMTII Group "Putzier has nailed the American paradox: the tension between individuality and the need for organized group effort. His decision-making and problem-solving tools help to resolve this classic cultural conflict: the value of 'weird' thinking, diversity, and individuality pushing the bounds of what is normal, versus the utility of social norms in groups. His book is a primer for designing organizations, departments, or teams to maximize off-center behavior. This balance, already a rare one, will increase in importance as work becomes delocalized, cross-disciplinary, and global. This book provides basic knowledge for any company committed to innovation or excellence—or just competitive advantage."
—Margaret J. King, Ph.D., Director, The Center for Cultural Studies & Analysis, American Creativity Association Surviving and Thriving in the Age of the Individual
One employee always wears the same outfit to work, another talks to herself all day, another moonlights as a stripper, another has fierce body odor, and still another adorns his cubicle with hateful messages about his boss. As a manager, what should you do about such behavior? The best answers aren't obvious! Your most innovative and productive people are often your strangest, and while weirdness can be rooted in brilliance, it can also be a real annoyance that serves no purpose.
Like it or not, as modern culture embraces the individual, weirdos—anyone different from you!—become more commonplace. In Weirdos in the Workplace, top human resources consultant John Putzier explains how managers can harness the natural weirdness often found in high performers at every level, while curbing behavior that's disruptive. Putzier presents 32 fascinating, real-world case studies to illustrate the legal, human resources, and business ramifications of unusual behavior in the workplace, and which solutions are most effective.
This book explains how to
