Customer Reviews

Gray Matters: The Workplace Survival Guide

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have been a fan of Bob Rosner's irreverent newspaper column for a while now so have been seeing promos for it on his funny website (www.workingwounded.com) This book is both hilarious and heartbreaking at the same time. Hilarious describes the comic-book-within-a-book but heartbreaking because the riffs on the corporate world are so, so true. It may remind you of Dilbert, but I thought the checklists, quizzes, and things you cut out and put on the bulletin board put it in a class by itself. You can easily take it for a cynical look at the workplace, but look more closely. There is some really practical stuff for making your day pass a lot faster. You might even learn how to look forward to going to work again. Remember those days?

This is such a refreshing business book! Not like all those other dreary, hard to read missives that are published these days. Gray Matters is a wonderfully easy to read book that addresses very practical at-work issues. One of the best things about the book is that the authors also provide a myriad of ways to address each issue, from an intra- as well as inter-personal perspective. A year ago I was faced with some tough work challenges that I was very tired of dealing with. Looking back, I can see that having this book in hand would have given me a breath of fresh air and new wind to face things with different results. I'd highly recommend this book to anyone that wants to beef up their work or gain some fresh perspective.

Gray Matters is an easy-to-read business book which means that it will appeal to more people than just "business junkies". It combines the ease of reading of a comic (e.g. Dilbert?) with the actionable suggestions of a best selling business book. I don't think I've seen something that has stood out like this since I read "The Goal" by Goldratt!

I approached this book with an attitude of "I know this content already," "I could have written this book". . . . But a few pages into the book, I realized I was learning.

The content is surprisingly complete. When skimming the Table of Contents, the topics did not seem comprehensive. But after reading this book, the important things were covered; including sensitive areas that are usually not discussed.

I appreciate that much of the content is in comic strip format. I know, I know, this doesn't sound good. But I have so many books that I've started and stopped because I don't have time to read it all. So it's very gratifying to get through the content of the book in one evening.

In summary, I learned some important stuff from this book and know that I can return to this book for reminders and details. Five stars!

When I first read Gray Matters I was surprised at how easy to read the book was! I didn't find myself bored and I found a lot of useful information. Gray Matters is a great book for those just getting started and those who have been working for years because the advice is just so good. I have used the book to beter my performance at work. Make this a gift for yourself and for those young adults just getting out of college!

Due to a workplace injury a few years ago, I was literally thrown into a management position overnight. A helpful co-worker gave me some management books that I found to be full of mushy phycho-BS, and I must admit that when I was given a copy of "Gray Matters," I expected more of the same. Unexpectedly, I ended up reading it every night until I was finished. I've also been laughing at it; not because it's lame, but because it's funny and I can relate to just about all the situations presented. I started with the "Seven Deadly Workplace Sins," and the section on Dysfunction describes my office perfectly. For some reason (perhaps wishful thinking), my favorite part was the cartoon that had the team leader yelling "help" after being locked in the treehouse (it all makes sense in the book). I've heard of "Gray Matters" being compared to Dilbert, and I don't entirely agree with that: Dilbert's purpose is humor with a bit of cynicism, while Gray Matters is meant to be helpful first, with a little humor thrown in. It's possible that I found it particularly funny, because it looks like Rosner and Harcrow spied on our office before writing "Gray Matters." I would recommend this book for anyone who would like a little insight into workplace dynamics and politics, perhaps as a gift for a co-worker or new manager. I gave this book 5 stars, because it is exactly what it is supposed to be.

This is a great easy going book, that is not stuffy at all. It gives you may hints on how to succeed in business, but it also has some cute cartoons in it which make it a very easy read. It is a true "workplace survival guide" I would whole heatedly recommend this book, for someone who wants to know all of the right, and wrong things to do in a business situation. This would be a great gift, for a college graduate, just starting out on their own, they just may learn a few new things. They may be your boss someday!

This book is brilliant. Unique combination of serious and funny management stuff with real comics inside. If you want to gift something good to someone anytime, this is the ideal item. Specially, checkout the seven deadly workplace sins. A real page turner.

Thejendra
Author: Corporate Wildlife: The Certified Guide to Modern Office Humor

If you've ever been in management at any level I'm sure you've heard the same old gripes before: "It's not us; it's them."
This book was a great find because it's easy to read and helps employees at multiple levels to understand how to work together to solve problems and create solutions while presented in a fun comic book serial format.
Whether you use it a training tool or not (which you could since each chapter ends with reassessments and exercises that cover the topics learned in that chapter) your employees are bound to gain a new respect for what it takes to run a successful business.

I am decidedly NOT a big fan of business books, and in fact have found most of them extremely un-helpful because trying to extract any useful information from the brain-numbing text has been more of a challenge than I was willing to meet. Gray Matters, however, is a page-turner; it is highly entertaining and every page taught me something useful about business and the ways I can be more effective at work. The comics are fabulous, the format is clear and variable. There is truly something for everyone here. I highly recommend it.