You Can't Win a Fight with Your Boss: & 55 Other Rules for Success

by Tom Markert

You can't win a fight with your boss. If you have ever thought otherwise, then you're dead wrong. And you're career is over, too. In this lively guide to surviving the pitfalls of the modern corporate environment, Tom Markert, a senior executive at information giant ACNielsen, presents 56 practical rules that every employee, manager, and executive must follow in order to find corporate success. With rules such as "Work hard and smart" and "Find a good boss" Markert addresses some of the most important questions facing corporate executives today. Here, in colorful and inspiring language, he offers practical advice on how to impress and make your boss look good, how to position yourself for success, and how to address work and social situations that every employee must conquer. And, most important, Markert covers the number one question in any employee's How do I work with my boss? Here, this book becomes an indispensable guide to corporate life. Markert draws on his experience to illustrate these rules with telling, and often funny, anecdotes about people who have not followed the rules and paid the ultimate corporate price -- failure, embarrassment, and a career stopped dead in its tracks.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Management

160 pages, Hardcover

First published May 26, 2004

Reviews

[Wanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I do not like the aggressive, unbalanced approach fostered in this book--climbing the corporate ladder requires one to give up most of her or his life for that cause--reading it is helping me understand how corporate America works. I have determined I need to get out of said culture, because I prefer for my life to be far healthier and balanced. However, for as long as I am in it, I will able to use the knowledge in this book to navigate the treacherous waters of corporate America with the least amount of damage to my soul and the souls of others.

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is a very simple, useful book for any employee, especial for students, fresh-graduated students.
This book also help me to understand my bosses.
It's very easy to twig all of 56 rules for Success, but the problem is: how to remember, how to practice them day by day. If you could, you will be successful.

[Dave · Rating 2 out of 5]

Finished this book over lunch and found some of the advice useful (Embrace Change, Coach your team) while some of the other advice was a bit antiquated ( Stay on the right side of the boss’s spouse...really?!). It was a quick read and may find its way back to the bookstore at which I made said purchase.

[Bhomit Bhandari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fairly thorough practical tips, goodread over a cup of coffee.

[Josephine]

Couldn't finish. Too much about breaking your back for the corporate beast.

[Julio Cesar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good book it is a really good resume of stuff you need to do to get up in your career

[Kalpana kandasamy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is for beginners in a career. Just the basics. The only thing I like about this book is that the author is at least not asking pple to wake up at 4 Am in the morning do exercise etc.

[Adnan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Only 2 or 3 suggestions were helpful , whole books depict aggressive behaviour or writer and he can sacrifice anything to advance his career , overall i dont like his aggressiveness

[Khalid · Rating 4 out of 5]

You Can’t Win a Fight with Your Boss & 55 Other Rules For Success provides 56 rules which the author believes are necessary for your success in an organization, especially if you wish to reach higher managerial positions. I found this book really interesting, and it had many interesting bits of advice.

I cannot say I agree with everything. The author of this book is a successful executive and he believes that whatever he and the people he knows have faced is the true path to success. While much of it applies to everybody, not everything does. This still does not change the fact that it was a very useful and interesting read.

I do advise every one who wants to do well at their jobs, or at least understand how the people high up think, to give this book a try.

[Donald · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was given this book to read in order to grasp the concept of what battles are worth fighting and how to fight them. It was very interesting.

[Krishna Mallela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good one, a must read for all the corporate folks as such . Very useful tips for daily corporate life.

[Chidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This pocket guide to survival in the workplace helped me navigate through the echelons and how to best deal with the corporate politics and self development