The No Asshole Rule

Infobox Book
name = The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't
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author = Robert I. Sutton
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genre = Business
publisher = Business Plus
pub_date = February 22, 2007
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pages = 224
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oclc = 154698708
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followed_by = The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't is a book by Stanford professor, Robert I. Sutton based upon an essay he wrote for the Harvard Business Review. It was a best-seller for many months and won the Quill Award for best business book in 2007. [citation|url=http://www.forbes.com/home/opinions/2007/10/17/brady-media-quill-oped-cx_jb_1018brady.html|title=Books & Bucks|author=James Brady|date=18 Oct 2007|publisher=Forbes] [citation|url=http://daily.stanford.edu/article/2007/10/11/mseProfsNewBookTakesQuillAward|title=MS&E prof's new book takes Quill Award|date=October 11, 2007|publisher=The Stanford Daily]

Its theme is that bullying behaviour in the workplace worsens morale and productivity. A rule is suggested to screen out the toxic staff - the "no asshole rule". The author insists upon use of the word asshole since other words such as bully or jerk do not have the same impact. [citation|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/in-depth/the-kindness-of-strangers/2007/02/18/1171733606589.html?page=2|publisher=The Age|title=The kindness of strangers|date=February 19, 2007|author=Katherine Kizilos]

Two tests are specified for recognition of the asshole: [citation|title=The No Asshole Rule|isbn=9780446698207|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=u-12HAAACAAJ|author=Robert I. Sutton|year=2008]

# After encountering the person, do people feel oppressed, humiliated or otherwise worse about themselves?
# Does the person target people who are less powerful than themself?

Famous bosses who are cited as having weakened their position by such bad behaviour include Al Dunlap and Michael Eisner. Companies who are listed as having appropriate recruitment policies include: Barclays Capital, Google and Men's Warehouse. [citation|url=http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_12/c4026012.htm|publisher=Business Week|author=Hardy Green|date=March 19, 2007|title=How To Get Rid Of The, Uh, Jerks]

ee also

* Nice guy
* Toxic leader

References