January 2007

Media Monitor

No doubt you’ve just purchased your new organizer for 2007, pledged to become more organized in the coming year and started clearing off your desk. The working world — especially leaders — are continually fed the mother-knows-best message that neater is always better. But hold on: Organizing that desk may not serve you or your career! A new book titled A Perfect Mess overturns the accepted wisdom that tight schedules, organization, neatness and consistency are the keys to success. Using examples drawn from business, parenting, cooking, the war on terrorism, retail and Arnold Schwarzenegger, co-authors Eric Abrahamson and David Freedman demonstrate that “ moderately disorganized people, institutions and systems frequently turn out to be more efficient, more resilient, more creative and in general more effective than highly organized ones.” Humorous, informal and filled with business examples, this book refreshingly points out that despite a societal anal-retentive fascination with order, mess is everywhere and it is not the enemy. Beyond thought provoking, this book could offer the absolution that emergency services leaders need to embrace the necessary mess and chaos that always surrounds emergency work.

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