21 Dirty Tricks at Work: How to Beat the Game of Office Politics Paperback – July 28, 2005

Lots of Aha! moments. Been a victim once in my old company. I thought we were friends, but I found out the hard way, that things are not always as it seems on the surface. I mean we all laughed together, dined together, got drunk together, had lots of fun in company outings, but in difficult times, their support vanishes. Amazing how people can change. But with the help of this book, I am doing fine in my new company.

I read this on a recommendation, and was hopeful for what I would find. There was a slight learning curve, because the examples were from Great Britain, and there was terminology which was a little unfamiliar.However, I quickly began to see that minor terminology differences did nothing to change the fact that it was great stuff. I think one reason why it is so hard to see the things they point out is that they are so pervasive as to be "just the eay it is," so having the situations analyzed in those ways was very instructional.So what were the spots where a little work is needed? I think really the issue were mostly in the questions. There isn't anything intrinsically wrong with them from a reasonableness standpoint, it's just that asking some of them of others, rather than just asking them of yourself, could cause issues (again in a U.S.-based business, culturally).I enjoyed the book, and must say that if you can read it and not see half a dozen of the tricks that have been used on you, and if you honestly think you haven't used any of them, then perhaps a selection from the self-help: insight section would stand you in better stead. I can recommend this one gladly.

I just got this book, and I love it! Some books simply list dirty tricks as possible tools for personal advancement, but this one is different. In a case study, a bit extreme, yet very familiar, the authors present some dirty tactics that are fairly common in corporate environment. However, the authors do not stop at that: they list strategies to combat those tricks (I found some of them to be very good and will try them out), and they also list costs of those tricks to the victim, the company, and the perpetrator, whether he's caught or not. The book gave me new perspective on office politics, confidence that I can create more win/win situations, and forced me to review my daily routine to make sure that it's clean from tricks that, unfortunately, can become contageous. I plan to share this book with all of my coworkers who are willing to read it. My most sincere thanks to Mike Phipps and Colin Gautrey. I can't wait for your next book!

This book is written as a fictional story of one man's experience navigating the political jungle in a cut-throat corporation. Each chapter tells a bit of the story, with an accompanying analysis that includes "Game Stats" (I found those totally useless), the "Antidote" and the "Vaccination". I found those last two somewhat helpful, since they give you "power questions" to ask the person who is playing politics and how to respond. However, the entire time I was reading the book, I kept envisioning an episode of "Ugly Betty," because the situations were so ridiculously exaggerated. In my experiences at corporations large and small, I've never witnessed the situations to the extent they describe, so it was hard for me to relate.

Just bought my second copy. Honestly, I was #14'd two times! The first time I was #14'd (being called out and yelled at) I was totally shocked, I cried, I sulked for days, I completely over reacted and I walked away from the job in October 2008 (whooops!!!, I was underemployed until December 1010!)But I bought a bunch of books and most were creepy and some had simply bad advice but this one funny and totally true!I saw #14 and it was all clear, and so simple!I just got #14'd again, and I remembered, #14 is a mediocre trick, and it usually backfires unless the victim is completely naive, like I was, and simply crumbles under the attack. If I recall correctly the author says that the purpose is to undermine the victim's confidence. I can't think of any other thing that could have possibly been accomplished in both cases, except of course the creep gets to vent. So I kinda didn't blink this time around.I'm sorta spreading the word about what a nut job the boss is, "Yeah, she just told me that she hates working with me, go figure, doesn't that suck?" and she just made it a lot easier for me to transfer to another project with a boss who actually likes people for having opinions.And I am buying another copy because I've given the last one away and I want to buy two because I know a colleague who could use some good advice!It's funny. Buy three copies.

Overall, I thought this book was worth the time to read / study. I understand the background story is intended to drive significant points home as the story unfolds. However, sometime I found myself skipping to the end of the chapter, once I got the picture of what was happening within the story line.Perhaps the authors would consider a fairly long summary that reviews each chapter and key points to remember or consider. This suggestion I have may not be important to other readers, but for me, there are a lot of tactics / counter tactics / questions that will need to become second nature in order to be effective.Overall - I think you will be happy with this book.

Having just been badly burned by office maneuvering, I started looking for additional resources and information. If I'd read this book sooner I wouldn't be in the mess I'm in now, scrambling to hold onto my job.

Worthless