Primal Management

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Primal Management

Review in the Journal of Personnel Psychology:  

"The book is clearly written, strongly and convincingly argued, insightful, provocative, stimulating, and interesting to read."

Paul's Blog

Relationships Matter

Management theorist like Fredrick Taylor and Alfred Sloan promoted a cool, rational approach to management that has held sway for over 100 years.  Taylor, the father of scientific management, was a mechanical engineer by training who sought to create efficient, machine-like workplaces.  Alfred Sloan, another engineer-turned-theorist, wrote, “loneliness, distance and formality” are the CEO’s duty and in business you need to be “rational, not personal.” 

I suggest a different approach—when working human beings, you need to be rational and personal because purely-rational workplaces disrespect human nature and throw sand into the motivational engine. This article explores the advantages of a more natural, relationship-based approach to management.
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Professor William Frederick, PhD - often referred to as the father of American business ethics

Paul Herr’s insights into emotions in the workplace are stunning, astonishing, and original—likely to revolutionize the way managers motivate and lead their organizations.

Feed the five key socio-emotional appetites; heed the emotional physics driving a company’s workforce; let emotional intelligence share organizational space with pragmatic rationality—then stand back and watch your company soar far beyond its competitors.  Primal Management is one of those rare jewels that will be coveted by managers and scholars alike, as much for its practical usefulness as for its dazzling applications of affective neuroscience, behavioral economics, and evolutionary psychology.

Dr. John Gibbons - a prominent scientist at The Conference Board--a New York based management think tank--where he specializes in employee engagement research.

Paul Herr’s approach to employee motivation and engagement is revolutionary.  Over the past few decades we have seen the emergence of neurological explanations of human behavior in the realm of clinical psychology.  This book represents a bold advancement of this movement into applied organizational psychology.  Managers should take note that the social, biological, and financial worlds are, indeed, connected.

Ross Smith - an enlightened manager who is creating a human-friendly ecosystem inside his corner of Microsoft

As the world economy looks to regain its footing, this book provides some scientific scaffolding with which to rebuild employer/employee relationships and a human-oriented agenda to bring profits, optimism, and success back to organizations everywhere.

Ross Smith, Director of Testing, Windows Security, Microsoft Corporation

Dave Logan, coauthor, "The Three Laws of Performance" and "Tribal Leadership"; faculty member, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California.

Primal Management conveys knowledge of how human beings actually work and inspires the reader to do something with this new-found information.  A satisfying read for anyone who wants to lead others.