Work Like Your Dog: Fifty Ways to Work Less, Play More, and Earn More (Hardcover)

by Luke Barber (Author), Matt Weinstein (Author) "Many years ago I had a strange dream in which the ancient philosopher Plato called me on the telephone..." (more)
Key Phrases: benevolent ordeal, fabulous failures, play with life, Work Day, Emperor's Court, Brookline Booksmith (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
How, exactly, does a dog work? The authors use the example of a dog who accompanies its human companion on a jog, chases a couple of squirrels, dives into a pond to cool off, then catches up with its master. Later it might roll in something like sewage or a cow pie, but despite the attendant stink, still maintains its charm and enthusiasm. And by the end of the job, the dog is right there with its favorite human. In other words, the dog has managed to get its "work" finished, while still indulging its curiosities, getting its adrenaline flowing, and even stirring up some trouble. Never mind that someone who actually worked that way would be diagnosed with ADD--the authors' point is that work works best when it's regularly infused with fun. That makes people look forward to work--the way the aforementioned dog looks forward to jogging with its human pal--rather than dreading it.

Among the 50 lessons are specific ideas about scheduling games at work, giving employees unexpected rewards, and treating employees better than customers. Even more useful, though, might be the general tips for stress reduction. For example, in chapter 35, "Learn the Wisdom of Water," you learn to react to problems as water reacts: it flows. If it gets blocked, it flows around the problem, but also gradually wears it down. If it is dammed, it eventually finds a way over, under, or through the problem. So when all else fails, the authors say, watch water flow. If you can't do that in the middle of your workday, open the company fridge and stare at a bottle of Evian. Because in absurdity often comes stress relief. --Lou Schuler

From Publishers Weekly
If people bring a playful attitude to their jobs and think of work as a game, the authors believe, they'll achieve more and find the same work more enjoyable. In 50 brief chapters, Weinstein (Managing to Have Fun), the founder of the Playfair management consulting firm, and Barber, a professor of philosophy at Richland College in Dallas, outline ways to make work fun and offer an offbeat guide to career development. Recommendations for lightening up the workday include wearing Tweety Bird slippers into the office ("Don't Be Afraid to Be a Fool") or cracking an egg on one's head ("Turning Fights Into Frolics"). In the title chapter, the authorsAwho employ the first-person singular throughoutAextol the way dogs approach their canine vocations, exhibiting the renowned virtues of dedication, loyalty, discipline and sensitivity. The more thoughtful strategies on display here highlight interpersonal skills such as looking for the good in others, turning problems into opportunities and avoiding stressAand are exemplified by high-profile corporate Playfair clients. This book is certainly more fun to read than conventional business manuals, but readers will have to avoid the temptation to jump up onto unsuspecting officemates. Author tour.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Villard; 1st edition (March 16, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375502416
• ISBN-13: 978-0375502415
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #252,820 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a worthwhile manual on making work fun., April 23, 1999

By A Customer

If you ever get the chance to share an office with Matt Weinstein or Luke Barber, don't pass it up. These coauthors, respectively a management consultant and a philosophy professor, tell hilarious stories and exhibit both fiendish creativity and charming warmth in this worthwhile manual of making work fun. The anecdotes are superb. When Barber recounts spending a summer moonlighting from his job as a college professor by working as a yardman, it's as funny as a classic "I Love Lucy" episode. When a con artist scams one of the authors out of $110, you feel for him as deeply as if your own cash had been lost. The lessons live up to the packaging. They're simple, effective, and somehow surprising. Sure, work would be a blast if your company hired a masseuse to roam the cubicles giving out free neck and shoulder rubs. And if your boss gave you $100, took you to the mall, and told you not to report back to the office until you had spent it all, Monday would definitely look less black. Why has no one suggested this before? The authors provide far more than fifty ways to make work fun. They propose an entirely new mind-set about work, one that makes it less about earning a living and more about simply living.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars how-to guide for being a goofball at work, August 24, 2001

By	Carol C. "ccjello" (Kansas City, MO USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Work Like Your Dog contains some nuggets of wisdom, and lots of advice on how to play at your job, approaching it as if it were a game. I LIKE many of the ideas, such as treating your employees even better than your customers, but I can't imagine applying them in my own straight-laced, uptight work environment. Unless you're the president or the CEO (and perhaps, even if you are), implementing most of the ideas in this book would likely undermine your credibility. For example, the authors suggest things like decorating coworkers old shoes with glitter and plastic flowers, and wearing the "fun" shoes at work. One of the authors attached the metal runner statuettes from all of his running tropies to the roof of his car, creating a "race" car -- and suggests that similar activities create a fun environment. (Yes, but if someone drove such a car into the parking lot where I work, they'd be dubbed hopelessly crazy.) The authors also suggest that acting like a fool in the middle of a heated argument can be particularly effective -- In suggesting ways to turn fights into frolics, they suggest cracking a raw egg against your forehead in the middle of a domestic dispute. Some of the advice is funny -- One Shell trainer created a "swearing room" next to her office, a place where her coworkers could sound off. She then gave prizes for the most impressive swearing (which was "Gods' bees, and scrunties alight!) The book is a fun, creative, quick read. How applicable it is to you & your work environment depends, in large part, on you & your work environment. I'm not sure these techniques would get you very far in a large corporate environment, but they'd be great if you run your own business.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulously enteraining AND educational., August 1, 1999

By A Customer

Do you want to improve YOUR working environment? Buy a copy of this for your CEO or manager. Have a singing messenger deliver it, and watch your place of business turn into a place you WANT to go to. These examples and stories are useful even outside the workplace...in your everyday life. In an period of low unemployment, where employee retention is difficult, these ideas can give your company an edge on your competition.