CORPORATE BULLSHIT: A SURVIVAL GUIDE

Blaine Loomer, ISBN 978-0-9842016-0-0, $29.50; Augusta, Georgia: Mitchell Publishers Inc; 2009.

Blaine Loomer takes his 20+ years of experience in the "corporate world" of management and sales and shares his insight and recommendations how to survive-and even thrive-in today's corporate climate. He divides the book into what he sees as the 3 divisions of today's workforce life: corporate bullshit, colleague bullshit, and your own bullshit. As he points out, the only 1 of the 3 that you can control is your own bullshit and acknowledges that all leaders and employees must deal with the other 2 areas. Mr Loomer has a gift of distilling some of the "personalities" that he has encountered in his career (like "the politician," the repairman, "the rooster," and "the spinster") into half-page thumbnail sketches with recommendations how to deal with them if you have to without getting killed off politically. His major theme is that the values of company loyalty and hard work are no longer sufficient to foster and maintain a career.

This immensely readable book is targeted for both the workforce and leaders: he gives examples and advice from both sides, although I'm not sure that anyone who has not yet been in the workforce can relate to his examples and stories. Further, one of his most frequently used recommendations, "avoid them," is certainly not always realistic. Although not all of the examples are applicable to health care, someone who is either frustrated in his/her current work situation and/or who is looking to be promoted and/or seek employment elsewhere might find Mr Loomer's comments insightful and useful. The book's major strength is encapsulating personalities and situations; it does not give in-depth advice and examples how to deal with them.