Finalist, Best New Fiction, USA Book News Awards 2009
Meet Marcus, Nicholas, Ryan, Maxine, and Gus--five of the worst bosses you could imagine. They make Lauren Johnson's life miserable. Stealing her ideas. Berating her in public. Making ridiculous demands. And just plain ignoring her--quite literally. With only one ally, how can she survive this ferocious rat race?
Based on true stories of bosses' political maneuverings and workers under siege, The Boss tells Lauren's story--a talented but naive professional struggling under a self-serving, insensitive boss who undermines her at every turn. And working around her boss doesn't help--most of the company execs are ineffective in their own right. Lauren just wants to get her job done, but every manager throws up one more needless hurdle.
Disturbing, amusing, and wry, the story progresses as Lauren is forced to upwardly manage the brownnoser, the backstabber, the micromanager, the passive aggressive, the bully, and the idea stealer. Forced into a final decision, Lauren must fight back or have her spirit crushed.
Praise for The Boss:
'The Boss is a rare novel that exposes the truth about what work can do to the human soul.' --Craig Donaldson, HR Magazine
'Deftly written . . .' --The Weekend Australian
'Has all the trappings of a bestseller--humor, inspiration, education, drama and triumph . . .' --Australian Anthill magazine
Andrew O Keeffe has been observing bosses for many years. He's worked for bosses, he's been a boss, and as a human resources executive, he has worked closely with a range of bosses in diverse companies. He has held senior positions with IBM, Cable & Wireless, SKM, and Hewitt Associates.
While writing The Boss, Andrew talked to many people, all of whom had their own boss story to tell. Some of those stories provided content for this book. There was plenty of material.
Andrew grew up in Broken Hill, Australia, studied economics and labor relations at the University of Sydney, and now lives in Sydney and consults in the human dimension of organisations.
In October 2008 Andrew joined the famous chimpanzee researcher Dr. Jane Goodall to present to business audiences in Australia and New Zealand on the leadership lessons of our instinctive hardwiring. Dr. Goodall spoke about the leadership lessons from her studies of chimpanzees, and Andrew spoke on the leadership lessons of our human hardwiring.
