The Curmudgeon's Guide to Getting Ahead
Dos and Don'ts of Right Behavior, Tough Thinking, Clear Writing, and Living a Good Life
1st Edition
Published on 8. April 2014
144 pages
978-0-8041-4145-1 (ISBN)
Description
For those starting out in their careers-and those who wish to advance more quickly-this is a delightfully fussy guide to the hidden rules of the road in the workplace and in life.
As bestselling author and social historian Charles Murray explains, at senior levels of an organization there are curmudgeons everywhere, judging your every move. Yet it is their good opinion you need to win if you hope to get ahead.
Among the curmudgeon's day-to-day tips for the workplace:
• Excise the word "like" from your spoken English
• Don't suck up
• Stop "reaching out" and "sharing"
• Rid yourself of piercings, tattoos, and weird hair colors
• Make strong language count
His larger career advice includes:
• What to do if you have a bad boss
• Coming to grips with the difference between being nice and being good
• How to write when you don't know what to say
• Being judgmental (it's good, and you don't have a choice anyway)
And on the great topics of life, the curmudgeon urges us to leave home no matter what, get real jobs (not internships), put ourselves in scary situations, and watch Groundhog Day repeatedly (he'll explain).
Witty, wise, and pulling no punches, The Curmudgeon's Guide to Getting Ahead is an indispensable sourcebook for living an adult life.
As bestselling author and social historian Charles Murray explains, at senior levels of an organization there are curmudgeons everywhere, judging your every move. Yet it is their good opinion you need to win if you hope to get ahead.
Among the curmudgeon's day-to-day tips for the workplace:
• Excise the word "like" from your spoken English
• Don't suck up
• Stop "reaching out" and "sharing"
• Rid yourself of piercings, tattoos, and weird hair colors
• Make strong language count
His larger career advice includes:
• What to do if you have a bad boss
• Coming to grips with the difference between being nice and being good
• How to write when you don't know what to say
• Being judgmental (it's good, and you don't have a choice anyway)
And on the great topics of life, the curmudgeon urges us to leave home no matter what, get real jobs (not internships), put ourselves in scary situations, and watch Groundhog Day repeatedly (he'll explain).
Witty, wise, and pulling no punches, The Curmudgeon's Guide to Getting Ahead is an indispensable sourcebook for living an adult life.
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Charles Murray
The Curmudgeon's Guide to Getting Ahead
Dos and Don'ts of Right Behavior, Tough Thinking, Clear Writing, and Living a Good Life
Book
04/2014
Crown Currency
€38.40
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Person
Charles Murray is the W.H. Brady Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. He first came to national attention in 1984 with his book Losing Ground. His subsequent books include In Pursuit, The Bell Curve (with Richard J. Herrnstein), What it Means to Be a Libertarian, Human Accomplishment, In Our Hands, Real Education, and the national bestseller Coming Apart. He received a bachelor's degree in history from Harvard and a Ph.D. in political science from MIT. He lives with his wife in Burkittsville, Maryland.
Content
- Intro
- Other Books by This Author
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Contents
- Introduction
- On the Presentation of Self in the Workplace
- 1. Don't suck up.
- 2. Don't use first names with people considerably older than you until asked, and sometimes not even then.
- 3. Excise the word like from your spoken English.
- 4. Stop "reaching out" and "sharing," and other prohibitions.
- 5. On the proper use of strong language.
- 6. On piercings, tattoos, and hair of a color not known to nature.
- 7. Negotiating the minefield of contemporary office dress.
- 8. Office emails are not texts to friends.
- 9. What to do if you have a bad boss.
- 10. The unentitled shall inherit the earth.
- 11. Manners at the office and in general.
- 12. Standing out isn't as hard as you think (I).
- 13. Standing out isn't as hard as you think (II).
- On Thinking and Writing Well
- 14. Putting together your basic writing toolkit.
- 15. A bare-bones usage primer.
- 16. Writing when you already know what you want to say.
- 17. Writing when you don't know what you want to say.
- 18. Don't wait for the muse.
- 19. Learn to love rigor.
- On the Formation of Who You Are
- 20. Leave home.
- 21. Recalibrate your perspective on time.
- 22. Get real jobs.
- 23. Confront your inner hothouse flower.
- 24. Think about what kinds of itches need scratching.
- 25. Being judgmental is good, and you don't have a choice anyway.
- 26. Come to grips with the distinction between can do and may do.
- 27. Come to grips with the difference between being nice and being good.
- 28. Don't ruin your love affair with yourself.
- On the Pursuit of Happiness
- 29. Show up.
- 30. Take the clichés about fame and fortune seriously.
- 31. Take religion seriously, especially if you've been socialized not to.
- 32. Take the clichés about marriage seriously.
- 33. Be open to a startup marriage instead of a merger marriage.
- 34. Watch Groundhog Day repeatedly.
- 35. That's it.
- Acknowledgments
