LEADERSHIT

A business coach and consultant shares his experiences with a bad boss and his method to assess and handle various work situations in this humorous guide.

Brown recounts his time working for an unnamed marketing services company and “Stan the Bad Boss,” who “acted like he cared about us, but really only cared if people liked him.” At first, the author’s co-workers were demoralized and despondent. Then, thanks in part to Brown’s energy and actions, the group bonded by playing goofy games, including “Hallway Assassin,” and eventually created a “Gold Meddle Delegation” worksheet, among other strategies, to counter Stan’s horrible management. Brown channeled Jim from The Office TV seriesas his “virtual mentor.” Later, the author created a virtual “council of elders,” consisting of management gurus like Michael Hyatt and Donald Miller, as “a system for learning and developing myself” that made him feel that he had “taken control of my future—and it looks a lot like hope.” Brown then shares his system to “WIPE yourself”: ask yourself two questions (Are you aligned with the company’s mission? Are you able to do your job?) and determine if you are a Winner (aligned and able), Intern (aligned and not able), Prisoner (not aligned and not able), or Expert (not aligned and able). Next, you should decide whether to push (“Stay and work for growth”), go (“Get out of Dodge”), or sit (“Hold tight and hope something changes”). Brown is a talented comedic writer, with his entertaining, often wincingly relatable anecdotes serving to demonstrate and support the workplace survival strategy that he espouses. Readers will find it exciting to experience a system that promotes having fun on the job, with the author rightly noting that “my stupid antics rallied us together—and somewhere along the way, survival became growth.” His WIPE system is a helpful rubric for readers to assess their own workplace realities, in which leaving the job (as Brown eventually did) is the preferred option if they can’t endure the toxicity of their particular Stan and position.

An amusing primer that makes serious and useful points about navigating difficult workplaces.