Customer Reviews

The Management Secrets of T. John Dick

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This book is the prose equivalent of the cartoon strip Dilbert. All the characters are there - the clueless boss, the lazy and dishonest employee and the hardworking employee who never seems to get any support. We're only missing Dogbert. Anyone who has ever worked in Manufacturing will find many of the situations truly hilarious.

This was a very funny and witty book. I found myself laughing out loud at some of the situations when I read them, and laughing even harder hours later when I had a chance to digest them. I look forward to the next book from this author.

There are some parts of this book which are laugh-out-loud funny. The rest of it will have you rolling. It is definitely recommended for those with a sardonic sense of humour. I, for one, can recognize some of my fellow co-workers (past and present) in the character of T. John Dick. Worst of all, I think we share some traits.
I gave it as a gift to some of my colleagues and they all loved it.
Don't hesitate - you won't regret it.

"The Management Secrets of T. John Dick" is a thoroughly enjoyable book. I found myself laughing out loud on several occasions, as well as wincing in recognition at the kind of incompetence only too familiar to anyone who has ever worked in any kind of company environment. What really makes you chuckle is the character of T. J. himself. No matter what mayhem he causes, it's never his fault - sound like anyone you know?
The book gets more and more enjoyable, the further you get into it, as T. J. somehow finds increasingly elaborate and and ridiculous ways to make a complete chump of himself, culminating in a truly hilarious round of golf with the Company President, during which a bizarre chain of events lead to a fire in our hero's pants.
Although they are always seen through the filter of T. J.'s unique view of the universe of which he forms the center, other characters too are interesting and fun, especially Ronnie, T. J.'s laconic nemesis, Hans, the ebullient German acting President of the company, and Grace, T.J.'s less than devoted wife, who puts up a spirited and entirely successful resistance to all his attempts to apply his management techniques to his marriage.
The novel is very cleverly and stylishly written. The author does a wonderful job of lettting T.J. expose his own absurdity, while believing he is painting a heroic self-portrait. In summary - a very funny book and a great read.

If you've ever worked for a company run by idiots, this book is for you. Not only is this novel well written and a page-turner, it will leave your sides hurting from laughing so hard.

In 1969, we had The Peter Principle which, as you recall, states: "In a Hierarchy Every Employee Tends to Rise to His Level of Incompetence." In 2003, Augustus Gump took The Peter Principle, threw in some Dilbert, added a large dose of corporate and government bureaucracy, and turned the whole thing into The Management Secrets of T. John Dick.

This book is a modern classic, a truly excellent first novel by a man who obviously knows the reality of corporate life.

This book properly skewers the daily functions of a typical
corporate executive...several laughs in every page. Told through the inner thoughts of an overpaid, self-important Marketing Manager, it should be required reading for every executive in Corporate America.
If you like Mark Twain and Monty Python, you'll like this book! Truly deserving of much wider recognition!

Don't be turned off by the name on the cover. I stumbled upon this book by chance last year, and I've never regretted it. As someone who works in the realsm of change management and who deals with management and executive personnel frequently, I've witnessed a lesser degree of the madness that this story delves into.

I literally was laughing out loud while reading this because it's so easy to imagine in my particular corporate setting. Watching this gentleman stumble through the corporate lifestyle, and rationally analyze each situation so badly yet in so much sophisticated detail, was a great experience.

I loved the movie Office Space, but I think this book is even better. I give everyone in corporate America my highest five-start rating plugging this book.