| The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t Sutton, Robert I. (Author) ISBN: 0446526568 Reviewed 2006-12-18 |
This
meticulously researched book, which grew from a much buzzed-about
article in the Harvard Business Review, puts into plain language an
undeniable fact: the modern workplace is beset with assholes. Sutton
(Weird Ideas that Work), a professor of management science at Stanford
University, argues that assholes-those who deliberately make co-workers
feel bad about themselves and who focus their aggression on the less
powerful-poison the work environment, decrease productivity, induce
qualified employees to quit and therefore are detrimental to
businesses, regardless of their individual effectiveness. He also makes
the solution plain: they have to go. Direct and punchy, Sutton uses
accessible language and a bevy of examples to make his case, providing
tests to determine if you are an asshole (and if so, advice for how to
self-correct), a how-to guide to surviving environments where assholes
freely roam and a carefully calibrated measure, the "Total Cost of
Assholes," by which corporations can assess the damage. Although
occasionally campy and glib, Sutton’s work is sure to generate
discussions at watercoolers around the country and deserves influence
in corporate hiring and firing strategies. (Feb.)
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