At various times, I’ve been tempted to set-up ways so that The No Asshole Rule can be sent as a gift (sometimes anonymously and sometimes not) to send a not-so-subtle message to an asshole boss or co-worker. I’ve always resisted the temptation, in part, because I worried that if people are already assholes, getting the gift might cause them to go after the messenger, rather than to take it is a sign that they or their organization could be infected with asshole poisoning. Indeed, research on whistleblowers confirms this "shoot the messenger effect." I got a hint of this risk some months back, when a woman wrote me that her asshole boss saw the book on her desk, and told her to take it home. But I was quite dismayed to receive this email today (I print it as it was sent, but have removed some identifying information):
Dear
Bob,
I bought a copy of The No Asshole
Rule at an airport during a business trip. Reading the book, I figured out
without doubt that I was a victim.
Since being nominated for a new
role, I was reporting temporarily to my tormentor’s boss. He is one of the most
senior human resources executives within a large
others, I decided to give him your book in the first edition version for
Christmas. In my card, I wrote that I would like to speak to him about similar
phenomena as depicted in your book within the context of our human resources
department.
day of 2008 (a week ago) – without even getting the opportunity to talk. I am
now in negotiations regarding the terms of my exit – and looking forward to a
new and less asshole ridden life.
Alas, I feel compelled to post this email as a warning to others; indeed, it seems that giving some assholes the book as a gift is dangerous because it turns them into even more flaming assholes.
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