The Miami Herald, May 16, 2005, Monday

The Miami Herald
Posted on Mon, May. 16, 2005

BUSINESS BOOKS
Rules help you survive, thrive at workThree authors offer insights and advice for successfully coping with the challenges of workplace dynamics.
Someone once told me that every employee's primary responsibility is to make the boss look good, or at least not look bad. Of course, some reciprocity would be nice, but that's another story.
The workplace can be a confusing and challenging place. It has been variously compared to a jungle, a rat race, an ant colony and high school. It has long proved fertile ground for comedians and screenwriters, and its perplexing nature has inspired countless books that attempt to provide illumination, direction and caution.

Here are several current contributions to the cause:

You Can't Win a Fight with Your Boss and 55 Other Rules for Success. Tom Markert. HarperCollins. 160 pages. $14.95.
Tom Markert's little book provides a very nice overview on what it takes to deal with office machinations and politics. He's a fervent advocate of good conduct, ethical behavior, common sense and hard work. Throughout, his lean and affable text is laced with tales to admonish and advise.
Trouble is, there are few surprises, revelations or terribly deep insights to be found here. Yes, one shouldn't pad expenses, quarrel with managers, neglect to prepare for a big presentation and so on.
Still, it's helpful to become acquainted -- or reacquainted -- with the fundamentals of personal and professional behavior, and at that, Markert does an efficient and agreeable job.

The Rules of Work: The Unspoken Truth About Getting Ahead in Business. Richard Templar. Pearson. 240 pages. $16.95.
Richard Templar covers much the same ground as Markert, but goes a bit further. He seems more pragmatic, realizing that appearances are as important as actions -- sometimes even more so. To that end, he examines the meaning and strategies implicit in such things as attire, language, protocols and other unspoken codes.
He appears to be just as ethical and well intentioned as Markert, though. Nothing sinister or Machiavellian here. The text is informed by his awareness of how and why humans behave in the real world and not just in the classroom or within the pages of a textbook.
Templar is a good writer, though a bit of a scold, but his heart and head seem to be in their proper places. You may still want a more detailed examination of human motivation and workplace dynamics, but for a plane trip or a few hours on the beach, this may well suffice.

Get Them On Your Side. Samuel B. Bacharach. Adams Media. 233 pages. $19.95.
Samuel Bacharach goes a little deeper, offering multiple scenarios and stronger intellectual foundations for his advice than the others. He's just as worldly as Markert and Templar, but he more thoroughly explores the diversity of psychological needs and motivations that come into play during office interactions. For some, it may be too much, and the approaches taken by Markert or Templar will suffice. But Bacharach chooses interesting and apt anecdotes and comes across as a highly capable teacher and coach on office politics and consensus building. Nice job!