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(2008). Shake Hands with the Devil.
You get dirty, and the pig likes it.
'There's a very animalistic response to a bully. It's either fight: "Hey, you talkin' to me?" or flight: "I'm outta here—my life's too short for this crap." The problem with the flight strategy, is that you've just taught the boss that you're the doormat he always thought you were.
'There's a very animalistic response to a bully. It's either fight: "Hey, you talkin' to me?" or flight: "I'm outta here—my life's too short for this crap." The problem with the flight strategy, is that you've just taught the boss that you're the doormat he always thought you were.
But the fight strategy is no better. For one thing, it's hard to outtalk a bully. He doesn't like you. He's never liked you. He's been gunning for you, he's had lots of practice being a bully, and he enjoys it. And besides, if you get down on his level, it's like wrestling with a pig: you get dirty, and the pig likes it!' (p. 45)
(1997). The Dilbert Future: Thriving on Stupidity in the 21st Century.
"The current method of motivating employees involves frightening them until their arteries harden, then trying to make it all better by giving them inexpensive gifts bearing the company logo." (p. 123)
(1996). The Dilbert Principle: Cubicle's-Eye View of Bosses, Meetings, Management Fads, and Other Workplace Afflictions.
"A company can't do much to stimulate happiness and creativity, but it can do a lot to kill them. The trick for the company is to stay out of the way. When companies try to encourage creativity it's like a bear dancing with an ant. Sooner or later the ant will realize it's a bad idea, although the bear may not." (p. 320)
(2002). Dilbert and the Way of the Weasel.
"Thanks to evolution, humans made the leap from sniffing butts to kissing butts, and the seeds of capitalism were sown." (p. 82)
(1996). Dogbert's Top Secret Management Handbook.
"Lying isn't a good idea in nonwork situations because bad things can happen if you get caught. But when you're dealing with employees, they have few retaliatory options as long as you keep the supply cabinet locked. And if you lose their trust, you can always use fear and intimidation to get the same results. There's no real risk." (sec. 1.13)
(1978). Conceptual blockbusting : a pleasurable guide to better problem solving.
"Most people are not happy with criticism and, to make matters worse, are somewhat unsure of the quality of their own ideas. They therefore require a supportive environment in which to work."
(1996). Fugitive from the Cubicle Police.
(1871). Æsop's fables.
"A wolf, meeting with a lamb astray from the fold, resolved not to lay violent hands on him, but to find some plea, which should justify to the lamb himself, his right to eat him. He then addressed him: 'Sirrah, last year you grossly insulted me.' 'Indeed,' bleated the lamb in a mournful tone of voice: 'I was not then born.' Then said the wolf: 'You feed in my pasture.' 'No, good sir,' replied the lamb: 'I have not yet tasted grass.' Again said the wolf: 'You drink of my well.' 'No, exclaimed the lamb: I never yet drank water, for as yet my mother's milk is both food and drink to me.' Upon which the wolf seized him and ate him up, saying: 'Well! I won't remain supperless, even though you refute every one of my imputations.'
The tyrant will always find a pretext for his tyranny." (p. 2)
The tyrant will always find a pretext for his tyranny." (p. 2)
(1991). Dr. Deming: The American Who Taught the Japanese About Quality.
"Some writers call for greater accountability. The computer is seen as the sure way out of our problems by providing management with intricate details about each person's performance. All these views are wrong!" (p. 93)
(1993). Communicating at Work.
Basics of conflict resolution include: supportiveness, positiveness, equality.
(1998). UML in a Nutshell.
(2008). Making it All Work: Winning at the Game of Work and the Business of Life.
322. Abstract
"But to my thinking there is an inherent fallacy in affirming that 'life' and 'work' are mutually exclusive spheres. The truth is, when you are 'in your zone'—when time has disappeared and you're simply 'on' with whatever you're doing—there is no distinction between 'work' and 'personal'." (p. 58)
(1982). The Organizational Unconscious: How to Create the Corporate Culture You Want and Need.
"One company we had the good fortune to work with some twenty years ago was shockingly changed when we visited it recently. People who had once cared deeply for one another and demonstrated high levels of creativity and innovation had become bureaucratized and uncaring, both in their work and in their interrelationships. The company had grown in size, but had shrunk in quality. Its earlier dynamism had become only a memory in the minds of the few who had originally created it." (p. 110)
(1998). Exploring Ethics.
(2001). The Transitional Approach to Change.
"It might be argued that once a system has moved into a situation that is basically regressive, it does not take long for a vicious spiral to commence that rapidly reduces the effectiveness of the system by diminishing the contribution of individuals in the system and generates suspicion and hostile, destructive forces. Such a view must be qualified, however. The structure and viability of many systems is based on regression—that is, on the dependency of the people within them. Such systems can be called 'totalitarian'. They all institutionalize, or have people unconsciously internalize, a system of values, norms, and rules that have to be followed precisely. Their functioning can be compared to that of closed systems, such as bureaucracies, sects, and some organizations with a high degree of imposed common ideology and culture. If such a system is to be efficient, it is important to realize that the price to pay is the relinquishing of individual autonomy, responsibility, and creativity and the oppression of subcultures (Amado, 1988)." (p. 109)
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