The Boss

By Andrew O'Keeffe

Book Overview

Got a spirit-crushing boss?

Well so does Lauren Johnson - five of them.

Based on true stories of bosses' political maneuverings and workers under siege, The Boss tells Lauren's story - a talented but naive professional struggling under a self-serving, insensitive boss who undermines her at every turn. And working around her boss doesn't help - most of the company execs are ineffective in their own right. Lauren just wants to get her job done, but every manager throws up one more needless hurdle.

Disturbing, amusing, and wry, the story progresses as Lauren is forced to upwardly manage the brownnoser, the backstabber, the micromanager, the passive-aggressive, the bully, and the idea stealer. Forced into a final decision, Lauren must fight back or have her spirit crushed.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1929774893
• ISBN13: 9781929774890
• Release Date: April 2009
• Publisher: Roundtable Press
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

I squirmed in my seat - could not put it down

This is an incredible book - a perfect one for a long airline flight. You feel like a fly on the wall watching the most infuriating injustices in the workplace. But because we've all had or have heard about dreadful bosses like those featured in this engrossing tale, we know it actually could have happened. I've recommended it for my university masters students studying organizational politics. It demonstrates very realistically what actually goes on in most organizations. It is a book any office or professional worker will identify with, and is a salutory tale for anyone new to the workforce. Strongly recommended.

The Boss -- how do I handle this? .... a silent mentor..!

The scenario's that unfold in THE BOSS are realistic and relevant to today's work environment. Lauren's story illustrates how different manager's actions, impacts not just her energy towards her work, her sense of satisfaction, enjoyment with her family and motivation to simply get out of bed. As a HR professional I have lost count how many times an employee has come to me to gain reassurance on how to handle their manager, who they feel has treated them unfairly. Lauren's story in the book shows how she handled different situations with different managers, how she maintained her professional and ethical integrity under very difficult situations. I highly recommend this as a good read for anyone who has a difficult manager. The story will provide you with some approaches on how you can maintain your sanity, even if the manager is not as receptive as you would ideally like. This book is an eye opener for any manager who sincerely wants to learn from other managers mistakes. I have referred this book to a number of managers I have worked with and have gained mixed reactions, which is simply a reflection of the manager attitude and their willingness to grow themselves. Managers who recognize they are only ever as good as the people who work for them, will quickly see in the story how their management style impacts the people they work with. An employee's motivation towards their work directly influences their ability to deliver task on time, their use of initiative, the quality of the work output and their involvement to make the working environment a positive place to be. Stories are often the best way to learn what to do and / or say and learn what NOT to do and / or say. Retaining your best people, by supporting them and keeping them motivated and productive should be the key performance indicator for every person who manages or leads others. In the current market where jobs are being cut and companies are laying off employees, I highly recommend any manager to reference this book like a silent mentor with words of wisdom.

A fantastic read

The Boss, wow, what a story. Staying up to 1am one night, then 2am the next because I couldn't put the book down says it all. It is an easy read and captures your attention with every chapter. Whilst each chapter can be read on its own, the story also draws you into the next chapter. I enjoyed how each of the characters build as the book develops, particularly Lauren who initially was starting to annoy me with her self professed "inability to deal with confrontation", but as the book went on she learnt ways of handling this fear and overcome it. There is a time at the beginning when life does seem a bit "tragic" for Lauren, work is draining, her manager is atrocious, and she generally feels low in life. But then the perfect manager, Meg, comes on the scene, so it gives hope and paints the picture that there are "good managers" out there! Most importantly, I enjoyed reading the message to the many managers out there, "pull your socks up" or get left behind from the new breed of manager that is coming through, one that is supportive, inclusive, personal and interested in growing you as a person. A must read for anyone who works for a manager or is a manager.

The Boss

What makes book so readable ... if so scary ... is that we have all worked with these people from time to time. As such, some of the scenes in the book also make excellent case studies for leadership. A very worthwhile and entertaining read.

The Boss

Lauren Johnson has a bad boss. A really bad boss. "Deadly Di" Ashman is passive-aggressive, rude, degrading, self-serving and insensitive. She's threatened by anyone who demonstrates competence, and has no problem throwing any of her staff under the bus if it can make her look good to her superiors. Faced with daily misery and strife, Lauren does what any other young, upwardly mobile, smart professional does: she sweats it out at her current job while looking for a new one. After several months of frustrated searching, she lands her dream job, working for a boss she admires. But alas, on her first day at her new job, her new boss resigns, the victim of verbal and threatened physical abuse from one of the senior executives. Over the next few days, it becomes apparent to Lauren that she has taken a swan dive out of the career frying pan and into the fire. Andrew O'Keeffe takes people on a journey many may know only too well - deep into the heart of the cubicle jungle of the corporate executive. O'Keeffe's heroine, Lauren, encounters a variety of managers who exemplify the best and worst at their game. Although her story is a work of fiction, the encounters she has with her managers are all based on true stories researched by O'Keeffe, a former IBM executive himself. Over the next year, Lauren struggles to survive a corporate ladder that is fraught with creaky, splintery rungs: Marcus - Her new boss, a cocky, self-assured and supremely incompetent touché-smoocher. Jeremy - The company's CFO, who has the numbers skills of a nobel-prize winning economist and the people skills of a rabid pit-bull. He screams, bullies and humiliates, and this is all just before lunch. Nicholas - The COO, who co-owns a summer house with Jeremy and defends every instance of bad behavior to the CEO, who the management team insulates like a caterpillar in a cocoon. John - the CEO, who chooses to remain blissfully ignorant of the carrying-on of his executives, at least while they're improving the numbers and making him look good. Hugh - The human resources director completes the company's senior executive team. He backs up his buddies while they crank up attrition rates that would break a revolving door. Lauren decides to tough it out, though. Tired of her life-pattern of running from conflict, she has decided to arrest her shrinking violet ways and stand up for herself. She is committed to being true to herself, while at the same time ensuring she doesn't get fired. She wants to beat the system and the boys' club, but she wants to do it honestly and not succumb to the wicked games of the managers. Aided and abetted by a small cadre of co-workers, her husband Paul and lessons learned from the Aesop fables she reads to her son every night, Lauren is determined to prove that it is possible to cling to her job AND her dignity at the same time. But can she do it before the constant abuse and mismanagement take its toll on the company, her family and her sanity?