Customer Reviews

Work Would Be Great If It Weren't for the People: Ronna and Her Evil Twin's Guide to Making Office Politics Work for You

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This book is a perfect "how-to" guide to coach you how to protect yourself, how to preserve your integrity, and how to clear the obstacles in the office to perform at your best. This should be required reading for anyone in a tough and competitive office environment.

This book is much more humor or biography than business reference. I was looking for something, not to teach me how to play the normal game of office politics but to play it in a different way or combat it with dignity, self-respect and a respectable work role in tact. If you have a cold heart and no concern for others, or are just seeking some humor then by all means, take a look at Lichtenburg's book. But tactics described in this book are very sleazy and will be a gamble to put into practice for the caring and professional person. They worked for her, but she's lucky. And I bet she has trouble looking herself in the mirror. Then again, maybe she doesn't, but I would.

If you're style is to lie, cheat and steal, this is your guide. If you're subtle (e.g., lie by omission, cheat by being unfair), you'll find a kindred spirit in the authors. This is a book for the unprincipled.

And, as valuable as office politics is (and there I agree with the author...just not her style), this book will offer you no principles for understanding it or playing the Office Game. What you'll get are cleverly written anecdotes of how Ronna one-upped somebody, or stories she relates (or made up; given her principles, I'd suspect the latter) that happened to others.

Finally, the book shows a grinning author seated at the head of the conference table...all alone. How appropriate!

As the author points out, office politics is merely negotiating individual agendas to get the work done. Those who regard it as mean-spirited are missing the point. This is, quite simply, the best business advice I've ever read.

As a tragically flawed 'nice guy' who finished last in the corporate career sweepstakes, I wish that this book had been part of the core curriculum during my college education. Now a 'consultant' who must beg for work from the truly undeserving, I learned the hard way that it is neither talent nor training that matter so much as tactics and technique. In fact, if there is one criticism of this well-written book, it is that Ms. Lichtenberg is too prone to counsel compromise instead of confrontation for the 'take no prisoners' trench warfare that seems to preoccupy the corporate workplace. However, there is much to recommend this volume, particularly the author's wide range of relevant war-stories. Give it to a college graduate that you love.

Make sure your worst enemy gets a copy of this book. After a week of putting these "lessons" into practice, you'll no longer have that enemy around. Another book that tries to sell high-schoolish behavior as a way to get ahead in business. After putting down hard work and trying to get along with people, the author tells a bunch of war stories that sound more like episodes of "Melrose Place". Then, her "Evil Twin" gives advice on how to really screw your victim (unwarranted or not). There is a slight tinge of prejudice here when the author declares that no one at the office likes a sick person. I guess being in a wheelchair or having MS makes you a perfectly legitimate target for these kind of office games. A waste of time and paper, this book is a great argument for why the workplace is changing. If America is to compete in the new global information economy, we can't afford to play these wasteful and demoralizing office games.

For those of us who thought doing a great job was all there was to success, Lichtenberg and Stone explain what else is going on. What's more, they tell us how to navigate through the environment they describe. The book is written in the most readable, down-to-earth style so you can use the wealth of information it contains. Thank you!

I've read my fair share of management books - and this is the first one I've literally thrown away so no one would be tempted to borrow it. It gives a cynical, spiteful, and even cruel perspective on ways to advance your career. The only example this provides for career advancement is a bad one. Perhaps she might still be (successfully) employed at Prudential if she treated people like human beings. OK, I'll admit that not all coworkers always fit into that category, but it sure makes for a better overall work environment.

Shred this one and purchase _Jesus, CEO_ and Blanchard's books (One Minute Manager) instead. You'll sleep better at night.

The "lessons" learned in many of the stories would be hard to turn into practical techniques. One thing that struck me as odd about the book, is that the people who work in Lichtenberg's office seem to spend an awful lot of time thinking up mean nick-names for each other. Maybe it's an East-coast thing. Anyway, my advice is save your money for something else.

This is the first book I've ever read that tells you what's really going on at work. Everything else is all abstract, this book's all about real life. I recently graduated from business school, but I have to think that in some ways this book was more helpful.