Diego over at Metacool told me about Nuts, Bolts, & Jolts, by Richard Moran. which is essentially a list of hundreds and hundreds of little bits of advice and observations about how to survive in organizational life — especially in a Dilbert kind of company. It doesn't have a plot, but groups the little gems into themes.
A few of my favorites:
Never answer your cell phone when you are in the bathroom.
If you work at home a lot, don't talk about Oprah or General Hospital when you do show up.
Self-directed teams require a lot of direction.
The grapevine is usually about 90% right.
The more time the company spends on budget preparation, the less useful it will be. Just learn how to do it, and get it in.
Worry more about implementation that strategy, it is harder to do.
Don't put your company's name on a vanity license plate. You'll have to re-register your car when you get laid-off.
Go to the company holiday party, but don't stay too long.
Don't talk about your boss, clients, or projects in elevators or taxi's.
There are hundreds more, and most of them are pretty fun — even if you disagree with some. I disagree with, "Don't tell people there ideas are bad unless you have a better one," at least in healthy organizations and groups, I think that challenging and critiquing ideas –without being a jerk — is part of the process.
It is a fun and quick read. Moran is pretty clever and funny, although I think the book is more aimed at individual survival than building a creative company — but survival is pretty damn important these days!
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