COPING WITH DIFFICULT PEOPLE

A one-two-three approach to handling problematic people in the workaday world: somewhat limited in scope, but rather convincing within its boundaries. Bramson is a management consultant who professes to have made a special inquiry into the subject over the last 14 years, only to discover, from the hundreds of people he talked to, that ""the same kinds of behavior patterns were identified over and over again. . . ."" Seven of the most common are presented here, along with case situations to help the reader identify them, a rundown on the underlying reasons for the difficult behavior, and some suggestions for coping. With hostile-aggressives, for example, the underlying motivation is a need to prove they are right; and the reader is told how to ""stand up"" to such people without provoking a direct head-on confrontation. Super-Agreeables, on the other hand, want so much to be liked and approved of that they make unrealistic promises to avoid confrontation; remedies range from letting them know that you value them as people (via personal comments) to--for salesmen--asking which aspects of your product are less than the best (since such people can't actually say anything is bad). Other profiles detail techniques for handling know-it-all experts, negativists and complainers, unresponsives, and indecisive stallers, all of whom are seen as obstructive and frustrating to deal with in the business world. Separate chapters add dimension to the profiles by describing thinking styles (idealistic, analytical, etc.), or how to cope specifically with the boss. For those in a sticky work situation, this may provide new angles from which to attack the problem.