What To Say To Get What You Want: Strong Words For 44 Challenging Types Of Bosses, Employees, Coworkers, And Customers (Paperback)

~ Sam Deep (Author), Lyle Sussman (Author) "Milt is in his late forties and is tired..." (more)
Key Phrases: Short Fuse, Dead Weight, Empire Builder (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Deep and Sussman have again combined to create a highly readable book designed to aid managers in dealing with everyday problems. Unlike their Smart Moves ( LJ 4/15/90), which dealt with a wide variety of management problems, their new book focuses on the interpersonal skills and communication techniques needed on the job. The book is not about how to manipulate people, as its title might suggest, but rather, is designed for those managers who find themselves having a problem dealing with one of these four groups: coworkers, employees, bosses, or customers. The book is divided into two sections: part 1 deals with the "Ten Commandments of Change," which the authors identify as being needed by managers to bring about change in people. Part 2 looks at ways to deal with 40 different types of difficult people, which makes for very entertaining reading. There are ten types of personalities for each of the aforementioned four categories with instructions on what to avoid saying and what to say to get the results that are desired. A good purchase for management collections or any manager's bookshelf.
- Richard Paustenbaugh, Oklahoma State Univ. Lib., Stillwater
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

The authors of Smart Moves detail how to attain cooperation from the people at work, outlining the Ten Commandments of Change, the forty types of difficult people--both customers and co-workers--and strategies for dealing with these people.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 318 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc; Third Printing edition (December 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201577127
• ISBN-13: 978-0201577129
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #821,323 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Helpful for anyone in a corporate setting, September 16, 1999

By	Adam Lefton (Schaumburg, IL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Although the title is somewhat misleading, this is a pretty good book for anyone working in a corporate environment. A more accurate title for this book would have been "How to communicate effectively with different types of people in your organization", because that's exactly what this book may help you to do. Anyone experiencing "communication problems" in their organization could benefit from the examples and suggestions provided by Deep and Sussman. I especially recommend this book for anyone working in the Human Resource department and anyone else with coaching or counseling responsibilities. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me - [e-mail].

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Just spent [price]to be told to "play nice.", July 25, 2001

By A Customer

I have read (and re-read) this book and only find more contradictions the more I read. For example, the authors say that behaviors come from our attitudes and that while attitudes look like "the best target" to alter they aren't because it's really the offensive behavior that you are out to alter. They go on to say on the next page that "we identify people rather than behavior as the problem" - "there are no problem performers only problem performances." Hmmmm. Didn't we just say on the last page that our behavior (hence our performance) is based on our attitudes? I guess the performance > behaviors > attitudes thing is not a two-way street! This book is really about changing YOUR behaviors around the "44" challenging types. I walked away from this book feeling like I had been given a huge laundry list of things not to do or say to these 44 types (as it might offend them or stress them out) and only a short list of weak options, at best, that had any impact on really changing their behavior. The sum of this book: be considerate of others and play nice -eventually they will treat you like a human being....

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very helpful IF you can face your own quirks too, June 2, 2001

By	LJ Shanko "sha03" (Virginia) - See all my reviews

I needed a book to help me with my supervisor, whom after 11 years working together successfully, was not responding to any communication attempts by me. (She is an Ostrich...according to the book)

I did not like the title of the book since it sounded manipulative, however, I was very glad I picked it up to see the contents. I used the "plan" on her and finally felt I had control. You can't change another person, but you can change your approach with that person. The outlines are easy to read and quickly tell you what won't work, what to try, and what to do if that doesn't work. It is not exhaustive, however, it offers a excellent starting point...which was all I really needed.

Suggestion: Buy the book, Scan through the second half of the book first to find the most relevant personality/traits. Read about that personality and go back to the front of the book to continue reading about that personality. (footnote type numbers lead you to the proper place in the front of the book)

I finally read the entire book and had some flattering and not so flattering realizations of myself which I have been addressing.

I think this book helped me get a promotion (away from that supervisor). My director saw the way I handled a no-win situation successfully. (I never told him or anyone else about the book.)

ljs