Fire Your Boss (Hardcover)

by Stephen M. Pollan (Author), Mark Levine (Author) "YOU CAN TAKE charge of your work life..." (more)
Key Phrases: firing your boss, deejay position, cowardly boss, New York, Bill Kaplan, Janet Crosetti (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
This stimulating, iconoclastic career-development primer is a rare example of the self-help/motivational genre with a difference. Life coach Pollan and his collaborator Levine, authors of the contrarian retirement planning guide Die Broke, don’t mean the title literally; it’s just a metaphor for taking control of your work life, one that rejects all the high-minded shibboleths of traditional business motivation. They argue that companies are "amoral legal constructs" that care nothing for their workers. Bosses are dictators rather than mentors or servant-leaders. Jobs can’t provide psychological or spiritual fulfillment; people should get those things from their lives away from work—where they should spend as little time as possible. The authors elaborate these insights into a refreshingly cynical take on workplace issues. Success doesn’t depend on doing a good job, they say, but on soothing and flattering the boss. Workers shouldn’t wallow in unrequited loyalty to the company, but ought to be constantly "fishing" for better jobs. Other rules: rely on personal ties, because landing a job is a matter of "who you know, not what you know"; don’t personalize your cubicle, because that might encourage you to spend more time at work; above all, don’t try to follow your heart or make a difference in your career: "the job of your dreams is the one that pays the most money." The authors provide lots of shrewd tips on job hunting, negotiating, manipulation and brown-nosing, but their book transcends the merely pragmatic. Their call to "end this destructive pursuit of meaningful work" mounts a subversive challenge to the idea of the calling, and thus to the Protestant work ethic at the very core of the motivational worldview.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Description
Fire Your Boss And Hire Yourself.

Impossible? Not according to nationally bestselling author Stephen M. Pollan. As he says in this new and empowering book, "You don't have to accept your current work situation. You can be in control of your job and your stream of income, so you're never again subject to the whims, prejudices, moods, or circumstances of your so-called boss."

In today's difficult work environment, gone are the days of finding satisfaction through your job, gone is the time when your job was secure, and gone are the days when your employer cared about you. This new environment requires new rules, and Pollan has provided surprisingly fresh and intriguing methods for finding "success" on the job.

Pollan's bold and unique message begins with the idea that you must "fire your boss." By this he means you can no longer rely on your manager or your company for economic security. Instead, you must put yourself in charge of your working life. In this thought-provoking and counterintuitive career guide, Pollan presents a seven-step program and a series of exercises that give you the confidence, power, and will to achieve the life of your dreams.

Once you have changed your mind-set and learned the new rules of the game, you can start the process of moving to a richer, more enriching, and more enjoyable life. And the best part about it? Your boss will love you for it.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Collins (May 11, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060583932
• ISBN-13: 978-0060583934
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #787,722 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for every working man and woman!, May 13, 2004

By	Your librarian (St Louis) - See all my reviews

Have you lost a job because your employer was tightening it's belt? Are you one of the survivors of layoffs doing the work of five people for one person's salary? Welcome to the 21st century in the American workforce.

What is the working man or woman to do? READ THIS BOOK! The bookshelves are chock full of career and self-help guides , but this one is different. It is eye-opening and doesn't echo the same "work smarter, organize better, network more efficiently" platitudes that so many of those other books proclaim. Instead, it contains step-by-step instructions on how to best deal with the new employment reality by improving one's own situation.

Experienced author Stephen Pollan is a career consultant with many years of experience advising those who want to "get ahead." He ably chronicles the changes that have rapidly occurred in the American economy and their effect on the mindset of American employers. Then, with gusto, he delves into his step-by-step instructions for taking control of one's worklife. His recommendations are somewhat counterintuitive but ring with truth. Pollan strips the reader's conceptions of career success to the bones and then builds a new, healthier framework. The end result will be a happier, more successful worker.

I cannot recommend this book strongly enough. It is well-written with a straight-forward conversational style. Few words are wasted and neither is the reader's time. To illustrate his points, Pollan incorporates plentiful examples of how his strategy has helped clients to achieve personal success in today's rugged world of work. This book will change the way the working man and woman approach their careers.

38 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The way careers really work -- for many people, May 25, 2004

By	Dr Cathy Goodwin (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Fire Your Boss isn't really about getting rid of your boss. It's about taking proactive steps to avoid being in a one-down position.

You'll like Fire Your Boss if you buy into the authors' value system Pollan and Levine don't mince words. Work, they say, is about money. Given a choice of two job offers, choose whichever gives you the most money, time or both. Don't expect satisfaction and fulfillment from work.

For many people, this advice will make sense. However, some people work in truly toxic environments and they'll become ill -- mentally and/or physically -- if they stay. Some companies (such as SAS in North Carolina) offer quality of life that makes sense for many employees. And some people manage to have truly wonderful jobs.

Once on the job, say the authors, success comes from pleasing your boss. Never mind the company: it's all about keeping your boss on your side because she's the only person who can help you. In general, this advice is excellent; however, company culture can influence your boss's power, your ability to transfer within the firm and/or your ability to avoid being fired.

I stay away from absolutes -- so "Nobody hires a stranger" should be translated, "People like to hire their friends." The best section of the book covers networking: these days, you make friends, not contacts. So your long-term strategy will involve joining groups and socializing with people who can help you.

And, as with all career books, you have to do some reality checks. When you get a competing offer from an outside firm, say the authors, pay attention to a counter-offer from your own firm. However, some experts say that sixty to eighty percent of employees who accept those counteroffers are gone in six months. If you do accept a counteroffer, get a contract or the type of termination agreement these authors recommend.

The very best advice from these authors: Always keep "fishing," as they say. Never stop watching the job market. Prepare to move for the right conditions.

I don't agree with their checklists of "factors" -- I've developed my own decision processes -- and I think you have to be careful before jumping ship too fast. Some people are hired to be scapegoats, some bosses have hidden agendas, and some employees do get stranded in tiny towns in the middle of nowhere.

I suspect the authors fill in the blanks when they're coaching one-to-one and/or they choose their clients very, very carefully. And I definitely recommend this book as a perspective that, while incomplete, offers a helpful corrective to the airy promises of "Dream and do it."

For career change, I'd supplement with Herminia Ibarra's Working Identity and Martha Beck's Finding Your Own North Star.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A different take on occupational fulfillment, August 20, 2005

By	Erik Olson "Seeker Reviews" (Ridgefield, WA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Fire Your Boss (Paperback)

There are many self-help career guides that extol us to find a job within our passion. Their logic is that if we love our work, then the money will follow. However, "Fire Your Boss" takes a different tack. Stephen M. Pollan and Mark Levine instead recommend that we work for the money, and then the love will follow. From that foundation, they craft a career plan that they contend will lead to occupational success and personal well being. This flies in the face of conventional wisdom, but the authors make a compelling case.

The "Fire Your Boss" philosophy is based on the assumption that employees are disposable. In the era of downsizing and outsourcing, the scenario of a lifetime job with a single company is history. Therefore, becoming attached to one position, firm, or career path is futile. With this in mind, the authors suggest that we "fire our boss" and give up a set career plan. Once we do that, then we are free of occupational anxiety. We can remain in our job if it provides the salary and benefits we desire, or leave it for one that does. Indeed, they exhort that we must always be "fishing" for a better job elsewhere. To that end, "Fire Your Boss" pushes us to continually network outside of the job, because in the authors' words, "no one hires a stranger." We should also be fine-tuning our own personal work plan, which is based on what we can offer to a boss. Meeting the boss' needs is key to workplace success, the authors argue. If you make the boss happy and ensure he or she looks good, then your position is almost bulletproof.

On the one hand, "Fire Your Boss" crystallized my approach to work. Most of the time I like my job as a IT technician. Computers appeal to the cognitive side of my nature, but I wouldn't consider them my passion. After all, work by definition is, well, work. It's tough to be passionate about any scenario where I have to show up at a set time and provide a service or good, under penalty of dismissal for whatever reason. In that context, even a passion can become a burden. Self-employment carries the same consequences, because you still have to produce or starve. In contrast, the authors indicate that a job's purpose is to provide money for needs and wants. Personal fulfillment should be obtained outside of the workplace. As the authors would advocate, I've used my salary to try out a number of interesting activities, such as foreign travel, motorcycling, education, and martial arts. Without my income, none of these options would have been available to me. Should I try to find a job in one of those areas, like the "love your work" pundits advocate? Perhaps. But would they still be passions when I have to do them to obtain basic needs? I certainly don't disparage anyone who has found fulfillment and profit by doing his or her passion. That's an appealing life circumstance. But it doesn't work for everyone, and I appreciated the authors' alternative.

However, I struggled with them on one major point. Their exhortation to be constantly "fishing" for a better job strikes me as somewhat mercenary. Yes, most jobs these days aren't secure, and it would be foolish to pass up a good opportunity. But giving up a good job because another one looks better doesn't always pan out. For example, a number of folks have left my company for what they saw as dream jobs. However, they wound up coming back for their old slot (if it was available, that is). The grass is not always greener, and it seems like they expended a lot of time and energy for little benefit. In addition, constant job jumping would make it difficult to become vested for retirement purposes. A detailed retirement strategy based on the "fishing" methodology would have been appreciated. Plus, I find it hard to believe that one can "have a job offer always in hand." Perhaps that's possible in the clubby executive ranks, but I'm not so sure that's feasible for the rest of us drones. Sometimes old-fashioned persistence and loyalty does pay off, even when things look better elsewhere.

At any rate, "Fire Your Boss" provides a good counterpoint to the plethora of "love your work" books on the market. It provides an alternative occupational strategy for folks who are suspicious of that ideology, and whose passion is anything outside of the workplace. Even those who would like to work in their passion but are unable to do so can benefit from this book. For those reasons, I recommend it.