Interview with Joel Dubin

Introduction

• Host: Dr. Allen Lycka
• Guest: Joel Dubin, a retired cybersecurity consultant turned humorous author and foreign language enthusiast.
• Topic: Discussion of Joel's book, "The Seven Habits of Highly Dysfunctional Companies."

Segment 1: Inspiration Behind the Book

• Joel shares his extensive experience consulting for various companies, observing dysfunctionality and office politics.
• The book was a form of "therapy" for Joel after years of encountering dysfunctional corporate environments.
• Joel spent nearly a year writing the book, committing to daily writing and revisions.

Segment 2: Identifying Dysfunctional Companies

• Joel introduces the concept of the "Asshole Density Ratio" as a humorous metric for measuring dysfunction in a company.
• Key indicators of a dysfunctional company include:
• High levels of ego and office politics.
• Confused messaging and inconsistency between what a company says and what it does.
• Lack of psychological awareness in business practices.

Segment 3: Strategies for Dealing with Dysfunction

• Joel outlines three options for employees in dysfunctional companies:

1. Stay and endure the environment.
2. Attempt to change the environment.
3. Prepare to leave and find a better opportunity.

• He emphasizes the importance of networking, skill development, and staying loyal to one’s career rather than the company.

Segment 4: The Seven Habits of Dysfunctional Companies

1. If It Makes Sense, Don’t Do It:

• Companies often complicate simple tasks, leading to inefficiency.
• Dysfunctional companies fail at core activities like selling and servicing products.

1. Turf Battles Are Part of Our Culture:

• Bureaucracy and internal competition hinder collaboration and progress.
• Employees focus more on building personal fiefdoms than contributing to the company’s success.

1. Poor Communication Delivers the Message:

• Employees are bombarded with conflicting messages and excessive communication, leading to confusion and inefficiency.

1. If You’re Not in a Meeting, You’ll Be Assigned to One:

• Meetings are often unproductive and lack clear agendas.
• Dysfunctional companies have a culture of excessive and unnecessary meetings.

1. Human Contact with Customers is Prohibited:

• Companies make it difficult for customers to reach real people, leading to frustration and poor customer service experiences.

1. Drive Out Your Best Employees and Ignore the Rest:

• Dysfunctional companies fail to retain top talent and often have counterproductive HR practices.
• Employees are often underappreciated, undertrained, and overburdened.

1. The Company Doesn’t Serve the Common Good:

• Companies often engage in practices that contradict their public statements, such as claiming to be environmentally friendly while polluting.

Segment 5: Closing Thoughts

• Joel emphasizes the importance of staying proactive in managing one’s career.
• Dr. Lycka and Joel discuss the value of efficient meetings and the dangers of bureaucratic inertia.
• The interview concludes with a reminder that while the book is humorous, the issues it addresses are serious and widespread in many organizations.

BIO:

Joel Dubin is a retired cybersecurity consultant turned humor author and foreign language enthusiast. His most recent book, The 7 Habits of Highly Dysfunctional Companies, was inspired by his many years working both for, and with, messed up companies. The book pokes fun at office politics and bureaucracy and, in an offhand way, is an anti-manual of how not to run a business. He is fluent in several languages, which enabled him to do consulting around the world. He lives in Chicago. He has an MBA from Kellogg at Northwestern University.

Social Media:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joeldubin/

Web Site: https://www.dysfunctionalcompany.com/

X: @dubinslanguages and @dubinscybernews