Customer Reviews

Crazy Bosses: Spotting Them, Serving Them, Surviving Them

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....of Crazy Bosses! Not only did I have them, I'm sure I was one, too - there's nothing like a corporate environment to bring out interesting tendencies in anyone. When I received an anonymous e-mail at work, with excerpts from this book, I had to have it!

Easy to read, written with wit and actual substance, this book (predecessor to the very popular "Who Moved My Cheese?" and "When Smart People Work for Dumb Bosses") helped get me through some difficult times.

If you can't just stop working to do something you really enjoy -- and not many can, aside from Dilbert's Scott Adams and me -- this book is like an emotional teddy bear with teeth. He defines different "Crazy Bosses" by behavior (most of us are a mix), reasons why they may be that way, and practical ways to work with them, because most of aren't likely to get away from them, even if we change corporations and bosses.

The truth most of us don't want to know is that the insanity of the business world is ours to deal with, not management's to fix. There is no one coming to the rescue - and we each play our own part to the madness, by our own responses. This book is a good aid with suggestions on what to do and what NOT to do, to survive.

We have to rely on our own emotional and physical health, friends, a sense of humor and a sense of our own self-worth (aside from work) so we won't feel like a victim.

The book I found the most helpful throughout my corporate life - and it was great in my real life, too - was M. Scott Peck's "The Road Less Traveled." "Life is difficult," and once we figure that out, we can get on with living! If you are feeling like a victim, read these books and start a discussion with a friend or two!

Good luck - and rest assured that there *is* life after work!

Find this book, read it, keep it tucked under your pillow. It is full of wit, humor, insight . . . and more than a dash of morbid truth. Well-written, it is the kind of book that management professors should have as required reading. This is one of two books that every serious student of business should have in his or her library; the other is "You Can Win at Office Politics," by Dr. Robert Bell. Somehow they are both first-rate writing and first-rate philosophy. Don't say you weren't warned!

Seemingly written as post-game analysis following an 80s decade of mega mergers, business bungles and greed approval at every level, Stanley Bing's 1992 "Crazy Bosses" was and remains an instructive, if flabbily written and weakly humorous survival guide to dealing with authority's abuse in all forms.

Esquire columnist Bing wears his liberal business and political opinions on his sleeve. References to Nixon, the Reagans, and to candidate Gary Hart abound (the book also features an odd Oliver North analogy). He also name-checks notorious 80s figures like Michael Milken, Ivan Boesky, Jim Bakker, and even Lou Holtz. While some of Bing's many anonymous testimonials shock and surprise (especially one on an alcoholic boss with a surprise happy ending representing his best writing here) many seem like workplace whining from people you also would not wish to work with, let alone for.

Bing properly blames psychotic boss behavior and its effects (obsessive perfectionism, unfair preferences, inconsistent policies) on need for short-term profits, demand to create and chart corporate culture, sycophants who feed need and ego of the powerful (making converts along the way), which in turn exert it over those beneath by stealing time, thought, and morale. Bing delves into these areas with some humor but often unneeded commentaries after quotes that speak well on their own. Yet his comments on workaholism, which in his chapter "Diaster Hunter" he groups with alcoholism, drug abuse, and sexual harrassment, properly expose that trait for the character and family-breaking flaw it is.

Although Bing's recent "What Would Machiavelli Do?" seems to cover similar subject matter with more pointed humor, "Crazy Bosses," with a 90s rewrite, could remain a useful reference to those needing instruction and reinforcement in the workplace. No employee, whether working for Ebeneezer Scrooge or Al Dunlap, is ever their job. Bing's book reminds its readers of this fact, and is recommended reading where you find it.

The book is well written with lots of stories. I found it to be entertaining; however, I would not purchase again - rather, I would borrow or read library copy. Not enough sustainable material.

Hilarious book about boss personality types. Is great for anyone in a stressful job, one with a bad boss, or for anyone with a job who can use a laugh.

Bing really hits the nail on the head with this book. My immediate tyrant is actually two of the types described, which is why he is so irritating. At least now I understand what I have to deal with. Makes life a bit easier. Bing is witty, sarcastic, and makes you feel that he has been there. And I believe that he has. Great book. I am passing it around my office -- with one exception, of course.

Mr. Bing is hilarious and this book is a joy to read. For everyone whose boss is at least partly crazy (and let's face it, isn't that most of us?), you'll appreciate this book. I read it and passed it around to all my co-workers. The book outlines the types and characteristics of crazy bosses, using much humor. You may even want to give a copy to your boss on Boss's Day. Those who would benefit the most from reading it are bosses themselves, but they're rarely the type to be self-aware or reflective in any way. Sad, but true.

As usual, Stanley Bing in his mocking way hits the nail on the head in this book. It wasn't quite as funny as some of the others, but if working in a bureaucracy of any kind, a must read for those who put up with mediocraty most of the day.

I thought this book was going to be about dealing with difficult bosses/people. Perhaps suggestions on how to cope, but in a humorous tone. It was nothing like this. Instead, it was a collection of stories. At the end of each example, there is a "chart" that you can use as a guideline when having to deal with a similar situation. I couldn't even finish this book and it did not hold my interest. I would not recommend it. Assuming the stories are true, it's hard to believe that people have to endure such awful treatment from their bosses! In that respect, it was an eye-opener.

As a corporate warrior for more than 10 years I can tell you -WATCH YOUR BACK! At least this book is here to help. Actually had to get my own boss fired for bipolar/extreme behavior. This person was totally unqualified (no degree - failed MUSIC MAJOR !!!! ) but was promoted time and again for ruthless and psychotic behavior. I personally "served" this person for over a year until she stuck a knife in her own back. Phantom reports that supposedly other people had that she wanted me to get from them-- she berated me for "not being able to get a simple report" that actually did not exist. She was very adept at getting allies in HR to protect her from possible/actual employee complaints. She terminated contractors on the spot in the middle of crucial projects for fun. Yelled at our SVP in a meeting and called him "dense", the list goes on. Drove a Lexus and lived in a 500k house. Shopped in the afternoons. Her female staff showered her with gifts so she'd be nice to them. The final straw was when she exiled a valuable employee for two weeks at home. Can you say LAWSUIT???? Hostile work environment??? By the way your tax dollars bailed the place out - the joke's on YOU.

All I can say is I am very surprised that businesses can actually promote, give bonuses, corner offices to these animals. I was always under the impression that we had a BUSINESS to MAKE MONEY and make/keep customers happy. Boy I am a "CHUMP" - It seems these people are paid huge sums to DESTROY all that and walk away from the wreakage filthy rich. All the stories in this book sound plausible to me. If they do not to you then I'd say you are very lucky. I really wish I had this book ten years ago to WARN me about what was possible from human beings (well, alleged ones).