Please note: my posts on what I think about books are merely reflections of my opinion. I don't fact-check because I am lazy, but I do my best to write accurately about what happens in a book; what I like about it, and what I don't. I also freely refer to plot points, so if you're afraid I will spoil something for you, don't read this until after you've read the book.
I'll admit it: whenever I see what I'll call a "business self-improvement book," my lips curl up in a grimace universally used by primates exhibiting fear. I don't know why. Perhaps it's something to look into.
Therefore, I don't know what it further says about me that the title of this book, The No-Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't circumvented my flight response and instead, I picked it up. Perhaps it was the swear word. I've always had a high regard for the proper wielding of such vocabulary, and let's face it, when you run into a certain type of person in the workplace, no other word suits.
I like this book and highly recommend it. Besides explaining why and how assholes are destructive, it explores the high cost assholes bring with them in any workplace. It's written in highly-accessible language and is a very fast read.
In short: it is the lot of most people to work in at least one place where assholes abound or where at least one asshole is coddled. This book tells you how to deal with it.
One bit of advice I especially appreciated: anyone can stumble into a place where assholes abound (or where one asshole can make life a misery for all). The question to pose is, if you aren't in a position to change it, why stay? It's a question that's easier to answer in a difficult job market, but the fact is, people stay even when they could easily move. They get beaten down and just put up with it.
According to the author AND the Ped, life is just too damn short to do that.
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