The Anxious Organization: Why Smart Companies Do Dumb Things

Jeffery A. Miller's first book, The Anxious Organization: Why Smart Companies Do Dumb Things, Tempe, AZ: Facts on Demand Press, 2002, offers a clear and concise explanation of why businesses do the things that they do and what an individual in any position in a company can do to make his or her own life more comfortable and, perhaps, influence the company to function better. However, Mr. Miller's ideas are not what you might expect to find in a book on management. He combines his years of experience as a consultant to companies large and small all over the United States and his understanding of and experience with Bowen Family Systems Theory as he explains why companies function as they do. He presents a basic introduction to Bowen Family Systems Theory using a writing style that is a seamless blend of theory and examples. Thus, he makes Bowen Family Systems Theory quite clear and understandable to his readers at the same time that he presents a way of thinking about oneself in any system--work, family, social--that may be new to many. I recommend Jeffery Miller's book to my clients even if the only system they are dealing with is their family because it is such an easy to read and understand introduction to Bowen Family Systems Theory.