The No Asshole Rule
by Robert I. Sutton · first published 2007
50% recommend47% neutral3% critical
Why HN recommends it
An academic yet practical look at why toxic coworkers damage teams and how to build a civilized workplace. Useful for managers, people who suspect they're being difficult, and anyone weighing a job with a jerk.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
The No Asshole Rule is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today and Business Week bestseller. It won a Quill Award for the top business book of 2007, and was recently chosen as one of audible.com's top picks as well.
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Relevant book: The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't - Robert I. Sutton. It provides an academic view of the subject.
on “I refuse to tolerate assholes” ↗While I don't agree with your "this isn't real racism" premise, I agree that the dysfunctions probably run deeper than that. I'm reminded of Bob Sutton's great book "The No Asshole Rule". The actions outlined in the blog post are undeniably asshole behaviors, and shouldn't be tolerated in any civilized workplace, with our without the racial implications.
on “Employees of kixeye accused of racist remarks fired” ↗…are the survivor bias anecdotal exceptions who only managed to succeed in spite of being assholes, not because of it. Everyone's replaceable, including the assholes. See also: Robert Sutton's book, The No Asshole Rule (Stanford prof) PS: I really do think corp culture falls in one of two main camps: those that defend civility/fairness like a family and those where employees have already mentally/emotionally disembarked,…
on “Ask HN: Our founders are just assholes. What are the chances we won't fail?” ↗I really recommend "The No Asshole Rule" by Robert Sutton. It's not just that life is too short. Working with assholes will literally make your life shorter. Kudos for calling somebody out in an attempt to stop the madness.
on “Dear Open Source Project Leader: Quit Being A Jerk” ↗Many years ago, I read "The no asshole rule" by Robert Sutton and it help me a lot. https://www.amazon.com/Asshole-Rule-Civilized-Workplace-Surv...
on “Ask HN: How do I stop myself being toxic?” ↗"Getting to Yes" and "Getting Past No". "A Pattern Language" by Christopher Alexander. "The No Asshole Rule". "How to Lie with Statistics".
on “Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?” ↗About psychopathy and manipulative behavior at work, you can read about this here: "Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work" ISBN: 978-0061147890 "The No Asshole Rule" ISBN: 978-0-446-52656-2 The rest is my own prescription of how to detect and fix the problem. We have the technology.
on “Netflix wants managers to ask whether they would rehire their employees” ↗Fantastic article, odd terminology—I think "pretentiousness" or something else might describe it better. The author should read the book "The No Asshole Rule" if she hasn't already. I think it explores exactly this phenomenon in the corporate environment and describes how to avoid it. Lastly, I think you'll find this kind of pretentiousness isn't unique to…
on “On Technical Entitlement” ↗…are the things you are lacking... and find ways to balance things out. Your anger might come out of frustration generated from these imbalances. If people give you a hard time, read a book called: "The No Asshole Rule". Now, those are not the only types of draining people. Just try to not let people drain you emotionally, at least not for a good reason. If after an interaction with someone you consistently feel drained,…
on “Don’t let your anger persist” ↗…this beautiful thing where people always get along and nobody is ever mad at each other. That's bullshit. To do the right thing, you have to piss people off sometimes. I really suggest you read the "No Asshole Rule". It goes into details about who's an asshole and how not to be one. And it's very clear about the idea that just because you disagree with people doesn't make you an asshole. A few relevant points:…
on “Why I'm Glad I Got Fired” ↗I'm going to reply to myself with a counter-argument. I just remembered the "No Asshole Rule," which is a great book with similar themes. I think there's a difference between someone who is simply an asshole, and someone who is tenacious and sometimes a jerk to management (which the OP article…
on “What do you do with the Brilliant Jerk?” ↗Oh absolutely. It's part of cultivating the culture. Personally I like the book "The No Asshole Rule."
on “Why are Amazon, Facebook and Yahoo copying Microsoft's stack ranking system?” ↗One of the non-technical books that changed -my- career was The No Asshole Rule. First, I became less of an asshole. Second, I learned to not work for assholes. Third, I learned that if I do choose to work for an asshole as a trade-off, I own that choice. I'm never trapped. My…
on “Career-Changing Programming Books” ↗I'm guilty of workplace incivility. I was oblivious how much I was negatively impacting my colleagues. I read No One Understands you and What to do About it and the No Asshole Rule. Both helped me to improve.
on “No Time to Be Nice at Work” ↗"The No Asshole Rule" is a worthwhile read in this context. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_No_Asshole_Rule
on “Don't Alienate Open Source Contributors” ↗