How to Work for an Idiot

By Judith Lynn Howard
The Denver Post

How to Work for an Idiot: Survive & Thrive -- Without Killing Your Boss
by John Hoover (Career Press; 2004. $14.99)

Not everyone enjoys the luxury of having an intelligent, caring and competent boss. Some of us struggle because we work for supervisors who don't get it, who manage capriciously, who make decisions without sufficient information or who don't decide at all. Some of us struggle in the workplace because we' re "I-Bosses" or Idiot Bosses.

Never fear. Hoover, a self-proclaimed recovering I-Boss, says there is hope. Employees can survive and overcome. I-Bosses can be redeemed.

" 'How to Work for an Idiot' is as irreverent as it is therapeutic, as satirical as it is sensible, as lighthearted as it is heartfelt, and treats the classic hierarchical management model with all of the dignity and respect it deserves in a progressive private sector - none. Chapters such as 'Idiotspeak' and 'Idiot-eat' are replete with takes of bungling and stumbling attempts at leadership; mostly my bungling and stumbling attempts at leadership," Hoover writes in the introduction.

Read this book as a primer explaining I-Bosses and other personalities in leadership; Hoover seems willing to unleash insights about navigating the office playing field. Consider one of his assessments about recognizing smart leadership:

"The intelligence factor separating a Good Boss from an I-Boss includes recognition that meaningless tasks I-Bosses force on their team members are counterproductive to growth and development of the individual and, subsequently, to the organization. I-Bosses don't intentionally set out to thwart the performance of their team members, they just come by it naturally," he writes. "I-Bosses give lip service to reaching company goals as they parrot the mantras of motivational authors. But, in the end, they muck up the works with irrelevant tasks, inappropriate evaluations of performance, and miscommunication. They don't grasp the notion that all of the minor chaos they create daily eventually adds up to major chaos."

With plenty of anecdotes and laughs to spare, Hoover's tone may be too chummy for some readers. Still, even frustrated veterans can learn something from the experiences of this former publisher of books on tape, middle executive with Walt Disney productions, and divisional manager with McGraw-Hill. "You can make a game out of managing your I-Boss, as many of my methods and techniques suggest," he writes. "You can also turn it into a serious, strategic challenging chess match. Either way, you need to play for keeps."