Power Freaks: Dealing with Them in the Workplace or Anyplace [Paperback]

David L. Weiner (Author), Robert E. Lefton (Author, Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2002

Are there 'power-crazed, difficult people' in your life? A boss who appears to find pleasure in browbeating and humiliating you, a co-worker who tries to manipulate or sabotage you behind your back, or maybe even a family member who constantly exalts his or her accomplishments while giving you credit for nothing and making you feel worthless? Best-selling psychology author David L. Weiner reveals the personalities behind the facades of 'power freaks'. In a competitive world, increasingly dominated by intense corporate cultures, this brilliant study in organisational psychology will help you swim safely through shark-infested waters.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

So many offices have a boss who seems to find pleasure in humiliating workers or a manipulating employee who sabotages coworkers behind their backs. These kinds of people come in many disguises (there's the business psychopath, the perfectionist, etc.) and can make working difficult and frustrating. Psychology writer David L. Weiner has penned Power Freaks: Dealing with Them in the Workplace or Anyplace, an analysis of why people act this way, how to recognize them and how to develop a strategy for getting along with them. He also includes a quiz to help readers assess their own instinctual drive for power.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"...more than just a book, it is a tool for survival...a must-read" -- Chicago Defender, September 30, 2003

"Thoroughly researched and notated ... an interesting, accessible book for anyone who wants to understand the dynamics of social power." -- Oakland Press, December 22, 2002

"takes no prisoners, lays it on the line, and is ... helpful to a lot of people who truly need it." -- The Courier-Gazette, January 23, 2003

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books (September 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591020131
• ISBN-13: 978-1591020134
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,349,538 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Apparently there's nothing you can do, August 12, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Power Freaks: Dealing with Them in the Workplace or Anyplace (Paperback)

This book was a disappointment. After reading the ten chapters that define power freaks, I found out in the last three chapters that the author doesn't seem to think that there's anything you can do if you work for a power freak except to either kiss up or wait until the power freak leaves the company. Isn't that what you're trying to avoid by reading this book?

It's disappointing to invest the time reading the first two thirds of a book, only to find out that there is no practical advice. You know what a power freak is, so do you really need nine chapters of definitions? What you want is some practical adivie on how to deal with these irrational people. But this book's "solution" tells you to suppress your own emotions and allow the power freak to go on behaving badly and not to get in his or her way. Weiner includes suggestions such as letting the power freak think your ideas are his or her ideas and complimenting the power feak. Isn't that the situation you're in now? Isn't your hope when you pick up a book like this to avoid the stress that a power freaks create in your life rather than relish in it? Aren't you hoping that this book will tell you how to stop cowtowing to people who are irrational? It doesn't. The only person who will benefit from this book is the power freak him or herself.

I suggest you try either Tongue Fu by Sam Horn or the Gentle Art of Verbal self Defense by Suzette Haden Elgin. Be heard. Don't give in.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sucking Up 101, February 23, 2004

By 

"snackcakes90" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Power Freaks: Dealing with Them in the Workplace or Anyplace (Paperback)

This book was very disappointing. David Weiner devotes most of his book, "Power Freaks: Dealing with them in the workplace or anyplace" to defining the power freak rather than dealing with the power freak. In addition to his lengthy descriptions of each type of power freak, Weiner's book is filled with pointless second hand stories and a large number of quotes from other books on the same subject. Could it be Mr. Weiner didn't have enough of an opinion of his own to fill up an entire book? When he finaly does get down to the nuts and bolts of how to deal with power freaks, his advice is basicaly suck up or shut up.
I'm glad I checked this book out from the library and didn't spend any money on it. I hope you'll do the same.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Geting to Know the Power Freak in your Office, November 29, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Power Freaks: Dealing with Them in the Workplace or Anyplace (Paperback)

I got this book to learn how to deal with the power freaks in my office. However, this is what the book actually does for you.
The first 10 chapters are about defining the Power Freak. Chapters 11 through 13 are about how to deal with the Power freak which are:
1. Dealing with the Power Freak Boss
2. Dealing with the Power Freak Co-Worker
3. Avoiding the Power Freak altogher.
I'm sure the advice the author gives is accurate, however, I just did not like the choices that are given. The book tells you alot about what the Power Freak hates.( Which I found very interesting)I recomend the book not so much for solutions (which it does give, I just give it a mediocre rating), but for at least defining who you are up against. It is important to know that some power freaks will do anything to get ahead. ANYTHING! Especially when they feel they will not be punished, then they have no fear and nothing holding them back. There is also a powerfreaks web site to guage your power freak level. Good Luck