Fire Your Boss

I haven't even read the entire book, but I can attest to the effectiveness of the chapters I did read--and I plan to read the rest and put it into action as well. I read the chapter about pleasing your boss, basically finding out what your boss wants, and doing that, not what your job description says you should do. My boss likes to micromanage (he's admitted as much) so I started seeing him constantly and going over all the details of my work. Our relationship improved immensely and I started really enjoying working with him, not to mention learning a lot from him. I read the chapter about keeping your resume out there and checking out other places to work even if you really don't plan to leave. The result was that I went to an interview at another business, basically just to practice interviewing (I almost didn't go to the interview and what tipped the balance toward going was that I remembered the advice from this chapter of the book). Naturally, since there was no pressure, I was completely relaxed and really enjoyed the interview. Result: a great job offer, which I initially was going to take, till I told my boss, and he matched it and then some, and pretty much gave me carte blanche to come and go as I please in my present job. With results like these, you can bet that I can't wait to read the rest of the book! Not only am I enjoying my job more than ever, I also respect and like my boss more, I'm getting paid more, and I have more freedom in my work. I highly recommend Fire Your Boss--it has obviously worked for me.

Fire Your Boss isn't really about getting rid of your boss. It's about taking proactive steps to avoid being in a one-down position.You'll like Fire Your Boss if you buy into the authors' value system Pollan and Levine don't mince words. Work, they say, is about money. Given a choice of two job offers, choose whichever gives you the most money, time or both. Don't expect satisfaction and fulfillment from work. For many people, this advice will make sense. However, some people work in truly toxic environments and they'll become ill -- mentally and/or physically -- if they stay. Some companies (such as SAS in North Carolina) offer quality of life that makes sense for many employees. And some people manage to have truly wonderful jobs. Once on the job, say the authors, success comes from pleasing your boss. Never mind the company: it's all about keeping your boss on your side because she's the only person who can help you. In general, this advice is excellent; however, company culture can influence your boss's power, your ability to transfer within the firm and/or your ability to avoid being fired.I stay away from absolutes -- so "Nobody hires a stranger" should be translated, "People like to hire their friends." The best section of the book covers networking: these days, you make friends, not contacts. So your long-term strategy will involve joining groups and socializing with people who can help you. And, as with all career books, you have to do some reality checks. When you get a competing offer from an outside firm, say the authors, pay attention to a counter-offer from your own firm. However, some experts say that sixty to eighty percent of employees who accept those counteroffers are gone in six months. If you do accept a counteroffer, get a contract or the type of termination agreement these authors recommend. The very best advice from these authors: Always keep "fishing," as they say. Never stop watching the job market. Prepare to move for the right conditions.I don't agree with their checklists of "factors" -- I've developed my own decision processes -- and I think you have to be careful before jumping ship too fast. Some people are hired to be scapegoats, some bosses have hidden agendas, and some employees do get stranded in tiny towns in the middle of nowhere. I suspect the authors fill in the blanks when they're coaching one-to-one and/or they choose their clients very, very carefully. And I definitely recommend this book as a perspective that, while incomplete, offers a helpful corrective to the airy promises of "Dream and do it."For career change, I'd supplement with Herminia Ibarra's Working Identity and Martha Beck's Finding Your Own North Star.

"Fire Your Boss" flips conventional wisdom about career and fulfillment on its head. It challenges you to completely rethink your beliefs about work, and discard outdated orthodoxies. Simply put, Pollan's message boils down to finding satisfaction in your ENTIRE life, concentrating on working for the money, not the love - and chucking the whole idea of "career" altogether! After reading his book and evaluating my own job as a TV news producer, I couldn't agree more.The step-by-step guide in "Fire Your Boss" forced me to decouple emotion from my work and dispassionately appraise my job. I realized that in my high-pressured career, in a so-called "glamour" industry, the negatives greatly outweigh the positives. I also realized that the communication, organization and execution skills I've honed in television have serious market value elsewhere. Following the book, I developed a new work plan, and I'm now "fishing" for a better-paying job in other areas where I can tap my talents, like sales and public relations.Beyond taking control of your destiny and finding the job (not career) that best suits your life, "Fire Your Boss" gives you invaluable insight on thriving within an enterprise. Pollan's refreshing - and counter-intuitive - prescription for dealing with your boss was an eye-opener. I followed his techniques, and they work!Bottom line, "Fire Your Boss" is a must-read. I've recommended it to friends and co-workers and urge you to pick up a copy, too.

Stephen Pollan offers the straight scoop on how to make your job work for you. The book is readable, clear, direct, and it lays out an action plan. Know your value; market your skills; always look ahead; and never confuse job satisfaction with real satisfaction: with these and other smart and simple rules, Pollan lays out a path that every worker ought to follow. This is the book; Pollan is the man; and we are all the better for it.

Have you lost a job because your employer was tightening it's belt? Are you one of the survivors of layoffs doing the work of five people for one person's salary? Welcome to the 21st century in the American workforce.What is the working man or woman to do? READ THIS BOOK! The bookshelves are chock full of career and self-help guides , but this one is different. It is eye-opening and doesn't echo the same "work smarter, organize better, network more efficiently" platitudes that so many of those other books proclaim. Instead, it contains step-by-step instructions on how to best deal with the new employment reality by improving one's own situation.Experienced author Stephen Pollan is a career consultant with many years of experience advising those who want to "get ahead." He ably chronicles the changes that have rapidly occurred in the American economy and their effect on the mindset of American employers. Then, with gusto, he delves into his step-by-step instructions for taking control of one's worklife. His recommendations are somewhat counterintuitive but ring with truth. Pollan strips the reader's conceptions of career success to the bones and then builds a new, healthier framework. The end result will be a happier, more successful worker.I cannot recommend this book strongly enough. It is well-written with a straight-forward conversational style. Few words are wasted and neither is the reader's time. To illustrate his points, Pollan incorporates plentiful examples of how his strategy has helped clients to achieve personal success in today's rugged world of work. This book will change the way the working man and woman approach their careers.