The Unwritten Rules of the Game
Master them, shatter them, and break through the barriers

Preview
What drives day-to-day behaviour in an organization? The author proposes that the "silent engines" are not official policies but "unwritten" rules and that deciphering those rules is a vital step in managing change because the process reveals why people are simply unwilling to alter their behaviour. The text shows how to break free through the barriers to change. "New Yorker"-style cartoons emphasize major points.
Table of content
PART 1: How to Fail in a Major Way
- Shortcut to a Coronary
- Bet the Company-and Lose
- Macho Lemming Syndrome
- Jack the Ripper Hits New Wave
- Flight of the Culture Vultures
PART 2: The Secret Everyone Knows
- Rule of the Rutes
- The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
- Decoding Success as Well as Failure
- The Needie, the Haystack, and the Magnet
- Smoke and Mirrors
- Managing Through Empathy
PART 3: The Voyeurs' Guide to the Real World
- Nine Windows onto Reality
- From Rebellion to Anarchy
- From Camouflage to Gridlock
- From Paranoia to Panic
- From Isolation to Impotence
- From Power Play to Civil War
- From Conspiracy to Treachery
- From Lipservice to Cynicism
- From Subversion to Torture
- From Sabotage to Suicide
PART 4: The Road to Pragmatism
- Don't Push Me!
- Swinging Aside the Barriers
- Just Lie Back on the Couch ...
PART 5: Call RULEBUSTERS
- Rulebusting
- User's guide to trauma
- Life after change
- Easy approaches to holism
- Better business made simple
- U make my day
- Shots (big)
- Trigger happy
PART 6: Action Adventures
- Back to the Future
- Star Wars
- The Untouchables
- Kustomer Versus Kustomer
- Leave and Let Die
- A Depot Too Far
- Robocop
- Honey, I Downsized the Business
PART 7: Twentieth-Century Flops
- Silence of the Lambs
- The Great Change Robbery
- She Who Dares Loses
- Predator
- Deathwish
PART 8: Breaking Free
- Rebelling Against Conventional Wisdom
- The Rules Are Dead—Long Live the Rules!
- Mastering the Unwritten Rules of the Game
- Flying the Flag
- The Beat of a Different Drum
- Riding the Crest of the New Wave
- Sparking the Revolution
The RULEBUSTER'S Guide to Understanding Unwritten Rules
Guide to the Guide
PART A: Gateway to Another Dimension
- Shut Up and Listen
- Nervous. Irritated. or Machiavellian?
- All Good Things Come to an End
PART B: Voyage into the Unknown
- Preparing to Open Pandora's Box
- Pain Is the First Step to Enlightenment
- Lost at Sea
- Starting to See Something
PART C: Writing the Wrongs
- Filing Up Flip Charts
- Making Good Connections
- Leading the Witness
- Putting the Rabbit from the Hat
- Climbing into the Driver's Seat
PART D: Analysis of an Alien World
- The Ghee Legacy
- Tell Me About It
- A Quick Look
- Qualifying Quotable Quotes
Authors
Peter Scott-Morgan