Having just read “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There,” this was a good- if accidental- follow-up read. (Although- for assholes- a better order would be “The No Asshole Rule,” followed by “What Got You Here…”) For victims of assholes, I drew parallels with “Stumbling on Happiness.” It’s interesting how the more of these types of books you read, the easier it is to connect their messages.

Other random facts about my experience reading this book:
Firsts: This is the first book I’ve borrowed from a public library since primary school.
Comfort: I finished reading this book on a weekend vacation at Whistler with a couple coworkers. (Awkward!)
PMBA: Technically not a PMBA book.

Good stuff. Pretty straightforward, but it backs a lot of the simple rules to follow with hard statistical evidence, and good anecdotal illustrations from the workplace, particularly in some high-flying companies. Worth the read as a primer to establishing the kind of workplace you’d want to work in, but there’s work to be done beyond this book. Happily, it has an excellent bibliography.

It’s not that I think it’s a bad book, or an unimportant idea – it’s that I think he could’ve been more succint with the delivery.

Also, my own (albeit limited) experience has been more shades of gray and subjectivity than he seems to convey in his book.

Zero tolerance seems alright if you’ve got a perfectly tuned asshole detecter; I think I get this type of judgement wrong frequently. So while an asshole enabled perspective seems useful, I’m not so sure I’d trust a rule.

Heard some more about this book via an interview with the author on the Standford Entreprenueral Podcast. Sounded so good I came in and placed an order. Should have it shortly.