The Asshole Survival Guide

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What to expect

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Asshole Survival Guide written and read by Robert I Sutton.

Being around assholes, whether at work or elsewhere, can damage performance and affect wellbeing: having one asshole in a team has been shown to reduce performance by 30 to 40%. And social media has only given rise to further incivility -- 40% of people have experienced harassment online.

But in The Asshole Survival Guide, Stanford professor Robert Sutton offers practical advice on identifying and tackling any kind of asshole -- based on research into groups from uncivil civil servants to French bus drivers, and 8,000 emails that he has received on asshole behaviour.

With expertise and humour, he provides a cogent and methodical game-plan to fight back. First, he sets out the asshole audit, to find out what kind of asshole needs dealing with, and asshole detection strategies. Then he reveals field-tested, sometimes surprising techniques, from asshole avoidance and asshole taxes to mind-tricks and the art of love bombing. Finally, he explains the dangers of asshole blindness - when the problem might be yours truly.

Critics Review

  • ‘With cutting-edge research and real-life examples that are thought-provoking and often hilarious, this is an indispensable resource’

    Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project
  • ‘At last someone has provided clear steps for rejecting, deflecting, and deflating the jerks who blight our lives’

    Robert Cialdini, author of Influence and Pre-Suasion
  • ‘If only Bob Sutton’s book had been available to help me deal with the full complement of 1st-class assholes I’ve encountered in my 50-year professional life. No names shall be mentioned’

    Tom Peters, co-author of In Search of Excellence
  • A contemporary classic

    bestselling author of To Sell is Human and Drive
  • As much as we try to avoid assholes, inevitably they appear in our lives. Bob Sutton gives a menu of clear, thoughtful, and practical solutions for surviving and thriving in that painful situation. With cutting-edge research and real-life examples that are thought-provoking and often hilarious, The Asshole Survival Guide is an indispensable resource.

    Gretchen Rubin
  • Bob Sutton is very wise and very funny, AND he can tell you exactly how to handle the unfortunate reality that into every life a few assholes must fall. The Asshole Survival Guide is destined to become your go-to resource whenever you find yourself dealing with people who would treat you poorly

    Susan Cain, New York Times bestselling author of 'Quiet'

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