Rick Brandon Ph.D.

If things in this book sound surprising, you may not belong in business.

It's basically saying that you need to be emotionally intelligent: read the situation and people around you and act appropriately.

It was too fluffy for me, and I would've appreciated more statistics, actual case studies, and real (and less fluffy) examples.

I also thought some of the suggestions of how to respond to overly political people were just ludicrous. Here's an example of how the book recommends you respond if someone makes a derisive comment about you arriving late to a meeting: "'Alissa, what's hard to ignore is your linking my lateness to my commitment level. My contribution, hours, and work product speak for themselves. I was late today because of a safety issue Eric had me managing, so I suggest we move on. Later, you and I can clear the air to get back on the same page. Or, if you want, we can work the issue right now, but only if the group agrees.'"

No one talks like that. (The authors do note that it's the idea and not the actual words used in the examples that matter, but come on. You couldn't have taken an extra five minutes to come up with a realistic response?)

I did really enjoy the chapter about elevator speeches. I had just moved into a new role, and it made me realize that I didn't have a concise way of describing what my new responsibilities were if someone asked. "I'm still figuring it out" or laughing and saying, "You know, that's a fantastic question" were just unacceptable responses and the only ones I had at the time.

I'm going to try Political Savvy: Systematic Approaches to Leadership Behind-The-Scenes--I hear that it goes much more in-depth than this one.… (altro)