A Survival Guide for Working with Bad Bosses: Dealing with Bullies, Idiots, Back-Stabbers, and Other Managers from Hell

by Gini Graham Scott

Book Overview

This book provides you with savvy, practical advice for coping with managers and supervisors who are mean, incompetent, unethical, and worse.

Being saddled with a terrible supervisor can turn even the best job into a nightmare. Unfortunately, not every boss is the great symbol of managerial perfection one would hope for. In fact, more people than not consider themselves stuck with a "bad boss." But short of remaining miserable...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0814472982
• ISBN13: 9780814472989
• Release Date: November 2005
• Publisher: Amacom
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.77 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 17 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 12 and higher

Customer Reviews

Survival at the office

It is a great feeling to know that you are not alone in the jungles of the workplace. Especially when the advice comes from an expert...You learn not to kill the "bad bosses" and how to deal with the problem zone with kindness without burning your fingers. Yet, I still hope someday any kind of pills will be discovered to terminate such "bad bosses" and we will live happily ever after.

You need this book!!

This is THE best book that I have read regarding the "art" of identifying and dealing with difficult people, esp. when those difficult people are your managers. For me as an independent contractor, this is particularly helpful not only in dealing with difficult clients, but also in recognizing them at the interview stage! I wish I'd had this book many years ago - it would have saved me a lot of stress and aggravation! Another note: the ideas and suggestions presented in this book are relevant not just to dealing with managers, but also to your relationships with co-workers, teachers, "friends", and family members. This is a book that everyone should read if there is just one difficult person in their life.

A highly recommended book if you are not 100% happy with your boss

Talent management is a complex topic that is widely unknown, particularly in eastern European countries such as Turkey. Promotions in many companies over there are largely based on informal connections rather than performance, education and talent. This is where this excellent book comes into picture. It will make a great gift for your friends who might be unfortunate to work for an incompetant boss. A highly recommended book if you are not completely happy with your boss. Very fun to read, too!

Provides practical advice to those saddled with a good job and a terrible manager

Gini Graham Scott's A Survival Guide For Working With Bad Bosses: Dealing With Bullies, Idiots, Back-stabbers, And Other Managers From Hell provides practical advice to those saddled with a good job and a terrible manager. What to do? Chapters advise various tactics to dealing with different types of 'bad bosses', from handling a rigid attitude with a demonstration of a more profitable path to opening up possibilities for achievement through back door options and handling rivalry between co-workers. A range of scenarios and techniques will readily apply to real-life scenes workers most commonly experience.

A very comprehensive set of options to consider

There have been times in all of our lives when we have experienced working for someone who for whatever reason did not fall into the "great boss" category. This book however deals with those who transcend mere annoyance and dwell in the realm of the truly diabolical. The highlights of the book are the rich stories and examples, and the endless options presented to dealing with various difficult and damaging situations. While some of the case studies are a bit generic, they ring true for the most part, which is important. There are few examples of "straw man" set ups here with two dimensional examples and easy fix platitudes. The book is written well and is easy to follow. Even if you feel well equipped to handle most of the challenges, there will be options here you may not have considered, and a few that may make the difference between success and failure on the job in terms of your relationship and performance under duress. Overall, I would say this is one of the better books out there on subject, and while it often fails to address the core psychology and personal accountability to the depth necessary (See; "Leadership and Self Deception", "Emotional Intelligence" and others for that), it nonetheless is a useful tool for current and future opportunities to endure the destructive antics of the worst bosses.