The Incredible Story of Deft (2nd ed.)

What Nobody Told You About Business Hype (Lean, Agile, etc.)

by Isaak Tsalicoglou, OVERBRING Labs

568 pages, 174'337 words

Tired of the hype surrounding alluring narratives of success and miracle-cure frameworks such as Lean, Agile, and all that? This satirical novel will help you to identify and deal with the root cause of failed change and improvement initiatives. Marvel, rage, scoff, laugh (or cry) by observing the interactions of fun characters at a 2-day workshop.

This book will inoculate you against the perils of the endless hype, pedantry, hollow promises, and artful manipulation of the world of "business miracle cures", such as Lean, Agile, Six Sigma, TQM, etc. -- in one word: "Deft".

This business novel is a satirical exploration of the perils of hype and relying on passionate but narrow-minded methods experts, miracle-cure frameworks, and alluring narratives of success at inspirational organizations that happen to be intriguingly different to those that you have worked for.

The Incredible Story of Deft (the 2nd edition, after the first one in 2017) lays bare the #1 root cause behind failed initiatives for sustainable change and lasting improvement. It will surreptitiously teach you to identify anti-patterns to avoid, while also providing you with a nuanced understanding of common pitfalls—so that you can focus on what’s important, prevent busywork, and achieve better business results in a pragmatic manner.

"Whatever it is that you want to achieve, Deft can help you achieve it faster, better and more sustainably than comparable approaches and methodologies." — Jobelina "Lina" Theemaux, Betovlax Head of Learning & Development, and trainer of the workshop in the book

Written in a conversational style between numerous fun and different characters attending a 2-day training workshop of Betovlax Corporation, this is a long but easy read that hammers home numerous points that trouble businesspeople who want to improve how their business operates for the better, but find themselves stuck after relying on the latest framework-du-jour, regardless of the industry, the business, or its products.

"The very use of the word 'buy' in 'buy-in' implies a transactional relationship. As if I need to sell you on something, in this case Deft." — Nick, SBU Marketing Manager, Betovlax Corporation

So don your cape of critical thinking and jump into the incredible story of Deft: the satirical eternal management paradigm that, for decades now, has been enabling organizations to address every kind of business challenge under the sun. Discover Deft through its interwoven tales and sympathize with or disavow the quirky figures in its cast of visionaries, such as the hero of Waseigo Corporation, the firebrand band of brothers, the maverick academic, or the data-driven engineer.

"Dude, Erin, I am at awe. Your previous company was totally missing the point!" — Fredrik Erksøm, Global Strategic Initiatives Manager at Betovlax Corporation, avid metalhead, and Mashers fan

Marvel, rage, scoff, laugh or cry, by observing the interactions of numerous fun and very different characters attending a 2-day training workshop that progressively uncovers the perils of relying passionately on alluring narratives of success and miracle cures for all that ails a business. Finally, find out the Deft faction you and your colleagues belong to, and ponder its implications for your work.

"It's almost as if it's the 'default mode' for a company. Explore, innovate, grow, exploit, grow, exploit, grow more, lose your edge, stop exploring, stop innovating, stagnate, lose market share." — Mike Paparovicz, Global Strategic Initiatives Manager at Betovlax Corporation, proud owner of a Waseigo W5-GT roadster

Isaak Tsalicoglou deftly weaves a satirical, tongue-in-cheek, hyperrealistic, and entirely fictitious narrative that has been lauded online as “amusing, erudite satire” that “would be flat-out funny if not so true,” while it has had others inquire about more information on how to “do Deft.”