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The Abilene Paradox, Communication and GroupThink

What is The Abilene Paradox?

The Abilene Paradox was presented to the world by Jerry Harvey, in his book of management essays of the same name. In the first essay in the book, Harvey describes, in a humorous way that will immediately strike home, a conversation about "going to Abilene", where all the parties don't want to go there, but try to fit in. It's a bird's eye view of how we can communicate ineffectively, but with great intentions, and also addresses some of the issues around "groupthink", where groups end up making bad decisions.

The Abilene Paradox is a great book which teaches while it entertains, and the other essays in the book, while not all as amusing or instructive, are also worth reading, since they address issues like personal responsibility, leadership and management.

It's a great book, and an excellent gift. If you are interested, you can purchase it from amazon, or order it from your bookseller.