Corporate Confidential

Corporate Confidential is THE definitive course on office politics as far as I'm concerned. It's a really, really great book that promotes the concept of achieving of success through changing your mindset from one of entitlement to one of service. Simply put, decrease your sense of entitlement and increase your commitment to serving those around you. Doing so puts you in control of career and forces you to take ownership of your life. It also accelerates your ascent up the corporate ladder and keeps you from falling back down to the bottom. If things aren't happening the way you want, it's not the company's job to bend to your will; it's your job to figure out how you can adapt to your company and provide them with the best service possible. You work for them, they don't work for you. Once you're in a position of power, THEN you can change things from the top down. You have to play the long game. Of course this philosophy isn't applicable in all areas of life. Sometimes a revolution from the bottom up is necessary. In your office however, chances are there are no crimes against humanity being committed so just suck it up and do what your boss tells you to do until you've earned the right to have a voice. Like it or not, this is the way the corporate world works. Don't like it? Good. Neither do most of us who have to start at the bottom. Use the rules in this book to get to the top, change the system, and make the world better a better place. Speaking of which, the last chapter of the book is all about leadership. This chapter alone is worth the price of the book. There is so much wisdom packed into these pages, you may find yourself referencing this book for the rest of your prosperous and illustrious career :)

DO NOT ASSUME YOU UNDERSTAND CORPORATE POLITICS AND HR POLICIES UNTIL YOU READ THIS BOOK. This book is by far the best book I have read on the subject and I have read many. The book specifies that the company draws a clear distinction, without telling you, whether you are someone the company wants to keep or get rid of. To make matters worse, in this highly litigious society, companies cannot and does not tell you which side you belong. If a company thinks you are an unwanted employee, the last thing they tell you is say exactly that in fear of getting sued. Rather, they use various tactics such as giving you too much work, giving you the most stressful projects, and just making life difficult for you as possible so you will leave voluntarily. If you are one of the unwanted employees, it is best to leave. What is the litmus test? If the employer doesn't give you a counteroffer or show strong regret that you are leaving, then they wanted to get rid of you anyway and you made the right choice. If you are one of the high performers who the company wants to keep, they make it as clear as possible. After all, no one gets sued for promoting an employee. The fact is companies identify employees who will never be downsized because they are indispensable. In effect, they are "Made" and they cannot be touched unless they really screw up their good standing with the corporation. If you want to move up the corporate ladder, not only must you show competence, but you must show loyalty. You must prove yourself as someone the company can trust with their business, money, and personnel. How can you prove yourself as someone trustworthy? Here are few pointers outlined in the book: 1)Don't threaten the company or your boss. Don't go to HR with complaints (deal with issues privately). Don't make trouble, otherwise you are seen as a potential risk for lawsuits. 2)Watch what you say. Do not be negative, and support the corporate policies and procedures. Do not gossip and speak out against the authorities. 3)Cultivate good relationship with your boss. Do not fight your boss, you will never win. 4)Keep personal life personal and do not bring it to work. 5)Mingle with the right crowd. Do not mingle with the "downsizers" who will be axed the next time the company wants to cut people. 6)Being promoted often means you have shown you are fully capable of being successful in the next job. Just being successful in your present one does not suffice.

I got this book because a coworker recommended it. I think the book does an excellent job of stating and explaining the obvious - which is what any good self help book should do. It's a quick read, well organized, and it has bullet points for easy reference! While the book is mainly targeting manager types, there is plenty of advice for non-manager types. If anything the book offers a perspective on what it's like to be a lead or a manager, so as an individual contributor one can sufficiently please their gatekeeper ;) Things I found particularly valuable was the emphasis that it's not about your skills, it's about how you play the game - and this isn't represented in a negative light. The author doesn't state opinions - just facts. I've always been frustrated in my career because I'm 3x as smart as the average person, yet I have to work 3x as hard! Shapiro clearly outlines behaviors we may engage in that can harm our ability to progress in our jobs. I realized from her examples that my blunt nature is likely mis-perceived as negativity, so I've started developing better ways of communicating on various work issues that are less "threatening". This has resulted in an almost instantaneous change, both in improved attitudes of my coworkers, and I get less resistance from higher ups when implementing improvements. The aspect of this book that is especially beneficial is how Shapiro emphasizes that mistakes are rarely final - you can usually redeem yourself. She even gives advice on how to explain the change to your boss and coworkers. While the book is a harsh dose of corporate reality (although not quite as *shocking* as the review might suggest), it doesn't leave you feeling stuck. The advice in this book ultimately enables you to take control of your professional reputation in a corporate setting such that the powers that be can truly focus on and reward you for your talents and what you contribute.

Already started to read and very interesting to find out what's happening behind the curtain. It's unfortunate that there are "heartless, selfish" entities that do not care about people that have families, kids that they need to bring on the table the bread to feed their families and employees working years and years doing great job and advancing the companies interests where they work and all of a sudden they get told the bad news. The selfishness of those entitites brings to the following: "what goes around, comes around" one day against them...to those entities that took the decision to end someone's years of dedication to their workplace. I encourage highly to buy this book as it opens the eyes and you will be more careful how to deal with bad situations. Good luck!

Very good explanations

This book is a gold mine when you're looking for how your boss might evaluate you. The whole concept revolves around the fact that an employee might be considered a threat or a gift to the company according to his behavior. Those 50 secrets are not only helpful but also easy to read and understand the logic behind them.

Full of information you won't find anywhere else, and shattering misconceptions, this book is a must read. Thanks Cynthia for writing it.

nice book