A timely book if not finally comprehensive enough
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With the growth in numbers of legal claims being brought in the UK for either bullying or bad treatment at the hands of superiors, the book catches in a timely manner the mood of the issue of declining mutual respect in the workplace.
Written by a co-author of "The knowing-doing gap" one of the best books on knowledge sharing, Sutton brings his same practical no nonsense approach to this subject. Given he accidentally hit a deep vein of feeling in surfacing the topic in a Harvard Business Review article, he has he admits been helped by the vast unsolicited contributions made to his website on the subject. As a result the book has many good examples of how it can go wrong (including the author's own) plus analysis of the costs both financial and indirect with demotivation and staff leavers resulting.
Where the book fails for me is in the range of workable practicable solutions and strategies which is why I give it 4 stars. The key ones seem to be getting the tone from the top right and more importantly enforced daily which is inevitably dependent on the bosses "getting it", or if you at a lower level and on the receiving end, either get up and go to a new employer or learn to switch off and disconnect when experiencing such behaviour or form a group of similarly abused employees to support each other.
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This Book is a Keeper!
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Sutton gets it just right in this highly entertaining and relevant book. We all know people like those described in the book. And coping with them - or better yet keeping them out of our work lives - is a problem worth solving. It's nice to see someone in academia who embraces the practical concerns of real-life managers. Sutton's blend of case studies and thoughtful analysis is like a tonic for the spirit of those of us who have endured the sphincterage of terrible colleagues. You might wish that Sutton had written this book a while ago. Do your children a favor and save a copy for them. They'll need it.
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Another Winner From Sutton
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I admit it. I am a huge Sutton fan. I really enjoyed Weird Ideas that Work, and I think he outdid himself with the No A**hole Rule. This entertaining quick-read packs a good punch with a great balance of case studies and theory on jerks in the workplace. It kept me on the edge of my seat as I was able to finish this one in one sitting. The content of this book is topical to anyone in the workforce. Sutton (to my knowledge) is the first to address the issues discussed head on with excellent examples and candid advice.
Bob writes a lot on this topic in his Blog (which is very entertaining). If you want to take an Bob Sutton's A**hole self examination, you've got to take a stroll over to Guy Kawasaki's Blog and take the test.
Enjoy!
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Good ideas and well written
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It is a combination of case-study, anecdote, psychology and sociology that builds on the idea of a workplace of mutual respect and extends it to the organisation, the boss, your colleagues, clients and yourself. There are plenty of funny and not-so-funny observations in this and it provides some insightful ways of surviving these toxic situations.
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