The Corporate Shaman helps us see what trust, cooperation, synergy, creativity, and tapping into higher potential really mean. It's an allegory -- a story -- like many other business books these days. But the difference is that Shaman practice DOES exist throughout the world. And, it seems to carry with it, a deep-seated knowledge about what makes us tick and how we can connect with each other and higher purpose -- including HIGHER BUSINESS PURPOSE.
Richard Whiteley straddles the mythical and the real in a way that only someone who has been there to produce results without sacrificing soul can do.
How can anyone who leads or influences organizations NOT purchase, read, or find ways to assimilate and act on this book?
Take a risk. Take a chance. Go to the edges. Recognize that the only way we can leap forward is by discovering the heart, soul, and spirit of people. When you do, you will realize that The Corporate Shaman is a fabulous allegory and life myth for making these happen.
As a corporate shaman who has helped companies retrieve the lost vitality of the corporate soul and employee soul, I encourage leaders to read this book as a compass toward a new future.
The answer to the problem: shaman practises of healing or restoring the spirit. I am not sure if all readers will easily accept the solution because it might be too far of the traditional business worldview. The solution however is unique, fresh and certainly potent with potential to provide for the open-minded reader a doorway into a new realm of energy and expectation. On a meta-level, the solution is that leaders in corporations should get in touch with themselves and their inner being. The solution I believe is universal and can be applied irrespective of the beliefs of the reader.
The open-minded reader will get the most out of the book because it has clear detail in terms of how to enter into a drumming journey of discovering words of wisdom and guidance. The author succeeds extremely well to convey the basics of shamanism in a very direct and vivid. There is absolutely no uncertainty in the author that he provides a valid answer. Although the solution is presented in the framework of a fable, the proposed solution is described with clarity.
I felt inspired after reading the book by the pure thrust of potential contained in the fable itself. The book is highly recommended to those who are curious about what shamanism is all about as well as managers that simply feels despondent and out of touch with themselves.