Dear Office-Politics: the game everyone plays [Paperback]

Franke James (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 30, 2009

"Dear Office-Politics" is the award-winning dilemma-based social game that teaches you how to play (and laugh at) office politics. Dear Office-Politics lets YOU be an Office Politics Adviser and offer your best, sage advice. And then it turns the tables, and puts you into the role of Advice-seeker! How does your advice measure up? Well, the Advice-seeker each round is the ultimate judge, but you can also peek at the back of the book to see how the real Office-Politics Advisers answered. Each dilemma is based on an actual letter that was submitted to OfficePolitics.com since it was founded in 2002. The game was invented by author and site founder, Franke James. Dear Office-Politics features replies by Office Politics Advisers: Erika Andersen, Rick Brandon, Ph.D., Dr. John Burton LL.B. M.B.A. M.Div. Ph.D., John A. Challenger, Jennifer Glueck Bezoza, Franke James, Timothy Johnson, and Marty Seldman, Ph.D.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Franke James... has produced a fun and informative guide... The book (which can also be played as a game) allows you to try your hand at playing HR guru as you confront one nasty political situation after another." --The Toronto Star: Ann Douglas, The Mother of All Parenting Blogs

From the Back Cover

Dear Office-Politics, the game everyone plays

"Staff won't obey rules... I feel like a dictator."

"I was told to fix my hair because it's all 'wild' looking..."

"I know nothing about office politics and have made some horrible mistakes..."

"I have had firsthand experience with a backstabber... Please help!"

"We have one coworker whom the bosses dote on and she can do no wrong..."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: BookSurge Publishing (April 30, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439230544
• ISBN-13: 978-1439230541
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 6.7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,217,256 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Franke James is the author of two award-winning books, both published in 2009. "Bothered By My Green Conscience" and "Dear Office-Politics: the game everyone plays."

"Dear Office-Politics" won a 2010 Axiom Business Book Award in HR/Training. The Axiom Business Book Awards are dedicated to identifying the best business books published each year for the North American market. They are the only U.S.-based award contest focused solely on business books.

"James's splashy sense of humor and style catapults this book from the field of humdrum human resources exercises to an entertaining discussion of the pantheon of office types... Winner of an Axiom Business Book Award for 2010, Dear Office-Politics is recommended for team-building meetings, as well as for pleasure reading." ForeWord Reviews

"Bothered by My Green Conscience" won the 2010 Green Book Festival Award for Graphic Novels. Bruce Haring at the Green Book Festival said, "Franke's book is a sheer delight and the judges are proud to honor it with this award."

Author and artist, Franke James commented, "I'm absolutely thrilled it won the Green Book Festival Award for Graphic Novels! Book awards catch the attention of the media -- and are therefore a great way to get the core message of my book to the public, and that is, 'Do the hardest thing first.' And then brag about it, shamelessly!"

Are you wondering how the environment and political skills mix? With Franke, they do! A classic example is her inspiring story, Paradise Unpaved (which is one of five visual essays in Bothered By My Green Conscience). It recounts in words, drawings, photographs (and news articles) how Franke challenged City Hall for the right to build a green driveway -- and won. Franke has used her talents as a writer, artist and game designer to create two entertaining and visually stunning books that are fun to read and inspiring.

"Bothered By My Green Conscience: How an SUV-driving, imported-strawberry-eating urban dweller can go green" was published by New Society in April 2009. It has received outstanding reviews and resulted in speaking events and Green Conscience workshops at many universities including the University of Cincinnati, Bates College, University of Colorado, and the Canadian Ecology Centre. For more details please visit http://www.frankejames.com.

"Franke James uses right-brain thinking and a unique visual style to green her future, and ours. She fuses together the conflicting ideas around her personal lifestyle and her concern about climate change and arrives at some novel solutions. Bothered by My Green Conscience leaves an imprint. Fantastic!" Daniel H. Pink, author of A Whole New Mind

"In her quest to wake up people to climate change, Franke James uses whimsical collages of words and images that bite you under the surface and tease your values. She isn't afraid to take on anyone, from big industry to the cultural icons who try to make global warming an intellectual game. When my co-editor, Kim Blank, and I decided to edit a book of cultural readings for university students, we knew that we wanted James and Rachel Carson to anchor the conclusion." Stephen Eaton Hume, author of Economics Writing

"When Franke speaks, her passion comes through every time. She offers powerful information with humor and creativity, so as to keep her audience engaged and encourage them to think differently. She nudges people into a new way of seeing things, so kindly and clearly that they thoroughly enjoy the journey." Erika Andersen, author of Being Strategic

Franke is co-founder of The James Gang Art & Design, with over 20 years experience as a creative design and marketing professional. She has a Masters in Fine Arts from the University of Victoria, and a BFA from Mount Allison University. She lives in Toronto, where her favorite mode of transportation is walking.

Please visit http://www.frankejames.com to read more about Franke's environmental work.

Please visit http://www.officepolitics.com to read Franke's advice on how to play the office politics game with integrity.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, January 4, 2010

By 

Shannon S. Warren "OK Ethics Founder" (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dear Office-Politics: the game everyone plays (Paperback)

In December, 2009, the Oklahoma Business Ethics Consortium featured games from the Dear Office-Politics book in presentations to audiences totaling nearly 450 attendees. We used two of the scenarios to facilitate group discussions and they certainly provided some thought-provoking opportunities. This book is a wonderful tool to use in bringing sensitive issues out into the open in a non-threatening way that results in constructive processing. I highly recommend it!

I have personally enjoyed the book and especially love the graphics! This was one of our most successful programs and the feedback from participants has been terrific! --- Shannon Warren, Founder, Oklahoma Business Ethics Consortium

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A seriously fun way to make the workplace thrive-able instead of barely survivable, December 13, 2009

By 

Trevor Rotzien "Holistic contextual disambigu... (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dear Office-Politics: the game everyone plays (Paperback)

The workplace, more than anything, is a collection of interactions between people, and people who likely have only partial choice in who surrounds them and who they must depend upon. With our inevitable differences, getting along, let alone thriving, is hardly guaranteed.

If there are more than two people in a room, politics is in play. Best we embrace the fact of office politics, and get good at it. Ignoring it won't make it go away, and being clumsy, coarse and aggressive with it only makes the workplace unbearable. Why not get better at office politics through something both playful and serious?

"Dear Office-Politics" is a social game that puts participants in the position of adviser. By attempting to answer ostensibly hypothetical but realistic dilemmas, players explore their own biases and assumptions, as well as those of other players (their coworkers).

The dilemmas included in the book are very good choices: often recognizable but never trivial. The advice that "Dear Office-Politics" offers to each dilemma (don't peek in the second part of the book or you'll spoil the game!) is thoughtful and balanced, reflecting that real-life, even at work, can't be lived by formula.

I think "Dear Office Politics" is an illuminating and entertaining way to explore how your team functions at work, how they can work better together.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If I Were In HR, Here's What I Would Do ..., October 26, 2009

By 

The Sensible Shopper (Las Vegas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dear Office-Politics: the game everyone plays (Paperback)

If you've ever read "Dear Office Politics" and thought "I would have handled that differently" this book is a chance to put in your two-cents worth without risking your year-end bonus. The front cover (surrounded by sharks) and the back cover (back stabber) are just a sample of the fun and funny photos and illustrations inside. I enjoyed thumbing through the book even before I played the game. Then I played it with a group of friends, some of whom have and some have not worked in the corporate environment. It was a revelation to all of us! (Full disclosure, I have never worked for a corporation and this book was proof positive that I made the right decision. I would have been fired the first week.)

Franke James is a very talented woman. Love her original artwork!