PsicoGDL

People disappoint. Daily. Hourly. Why not wise up and get ready for it? The sooner you learn to stop getting sucker-punched and letting yourself get pissed off, the sooner you can get back to doing your own thing, your own way. In our book, we’ve selected and analyzed the ten most troublesome types of people, then fired out techniques for going over, under or through them. In the meantime, featuring some of their common phrases, here’s a handy guide for spotting the Ten Least Wanted, appearing now in an office near you…

Playboy contributing editor Littman (coauthor of The Art of Innovation) and Hershon, comedian and branding expert, offer a guide for surviving corporate life, flush with clever nomenclature for specific types of exasperating co-workers, such as the Stop Sign, who always has a reason your idea won’t work, or the Bulldozer, who bullies his projects through the system. But rather than offering constructive ways of collaborating with problematic colleagues, Hershon and Littman spend most of the book suggesting ways to avoid them altogether by being a soloist, a corporate loner who taps into innovative reserves rather than bending to be a team player. The authors give examples of such successful soloists as Craig Newmark, corporate misfit and founder of Craig’s List. While amusing and filled with entertaining examples of antisocial geeks who made good, the aim and audience of the book is unclear. The reader is left wondering if it is better to opt out of corporate life altogether rather than have to confront co-workers who exhibit chronically unacceptable behavior. (June)
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