"Going through channels means seeking permission from those above you. Imagine how much distortion there will be if the information is screened each time based on each person's political agenda."

"We define substance abuse as throwing away substance in favor of a better-looking wrapper. Running off experienced people for cheaper labor makes as much sense as peeling a banana, throwing the fruit away, and eating the peel."

"The cost of “downsizing,” “re-sizing,” or “right-sizing” eclipses what it would have cost to unleash the pent up leadership already inside the organization."

"If you are truly adverse to regular, meaningful conversation with your team members, you can skip straight to conflict."

"Organizational performance, productivity, and profitability depend more on the emotional investment people have in meeting organizational objectives than any other factor."

"Efficiency, productivity, and performance should always be priorities, through good times and bad."

"People don't learn much about themselves or others while they're succeeding in spite of poor practices. When the real outcomes reflect the real work being done, the real learning begins."

"Most executives bring in a consultant or a new training program for course correction after they've steered the ship into an iceberg."

"People participate fully, with the best they have, when they feel necessary to the outcome. People want to participate, but only if they'll feel good about what they're doing."

"Hierarchical organizations are typically run by little Napoleons and Napoleonettes; especially at mid-organization level. A hierarchical organizational design draws leadership focus and energy away from problem solving and progressive thinking by encouraging those climbing the organizational food chain to focus instead on protecting their positions, perks, and territory."

"Whether you like it or not, any time two or more people get together to do anything, a culture emerges."

"When people's hopes and expectations are built up only to be demolished, they become a lot harder to motivate."

"The vast majority of your organization's leadership potential is probably locked up behind the bars of bureaucracy or staggering under the weight of organizational inertia. The cultural dragon you are fighting feeds on old school notions about leadership that grew out of a Napoleonic, hierarchical military organizational model."

"Invite you Buddy Boss to everything. Share information openly... Request meetings. Beware of the confessional. Your Buddy Boss will devote endless hours to hearing your confessions and making hers to you - a potential disconnect from getting any appreciable work done. Set time limits."

"Getting along with her requires ignoring everything you're being paid to do. Dedicated workers get hit the hardest because they must work nights and weekends to do the things they would have done. With luck, you might be transferred to an Idiot Boss."

"Classical management theory would have us believe that the fastest way to get a square peg through a round hole is to use a bigger hammer."

"Be thankful for you I-Boss. He might be the easiest to work with and the least threatening to your health of all other boss types."

"Paranoia can feed on itself and become a self-fulfilling prophecy. The Paranoid Boss spends his energy searching out and exposing the conspiracy against him. The focus and leadership that should have been committed to departmental objectives is wasted and whole operation goes in the tank - thus confirming the paranoid boss's contention."

"If escaping your paranoid boss is not easy, keep your activities in plain site; copy your Paranoid Boss on everything; spend more time with him; share the knowledge, share secrets - some of your inner thoughts, within reason."

"Deciding not to intentionally do things to shape your environment... will help bring about the environment you don't want. Inaction around the office is innocuous."

"To Paranoid Bosses, everything and everybody is out to get them, including you."

"Clinging to unrealistic expectations, we can become our own worst enemies."

"If you are equally as emotionally needy as your Buddy Boss, it could be a marriage made in heaven, although I would rather go to another heaven."

"An absence of effective communication will ultimately lead to conflict."

"Machiavellian Bosses view the universe as an enormous pyramid. There is one spot at the top and it belongs to them, by divine right. It is not about you. And it will never be about you, except for the moment you are actually in their way."

"Telling God and Machiavellian Bosses what they want to hear is always your best bet."

"Turning down a Machiavellian invitation can be interpreted as resistance or a possible power move on your part."

"Lose the battles to win the war. Ask for forgiveness. Acknowledge his presence. Don't make the mistake of ignoring him. His ease is your ease. If your attitude is resentful, he will bring thunder and lightning on your head and on the heads of your coworkers."

"When you have a bad boss, chances are that somebody is up to no good."

"I've seen heads of families bypass talented, capable, loyal, dedicated, lifelong employees to hand their businesses over to a son or daughter. Typically, the first generation establishes the business, the second generation grows it, the third generation barely sustains it, and the fourth generation destroys what is left."

"Learning a new cadence will serve you better than forming your own drum line. You'll probably just frustrate yourself and you boss, who in turn will drum you out."

"There are people who think they're God. Thinking you're God transcends God Bosses play church. ...He is playing God to compensate for a tremendous lack of confidence.'"

"Good Bosses treat those with more power the same way they treat those with less power."

"Being a Good Boss is so easy, it makes you wonder why anyone would invest the extra effort and energy required to be a bad one."

"The equitable treatment of all team members is nearly as important in the workplace as communication."

"Good Bosses are aware that sharing information in a thorough, timely manner makes people feel included, respected, and acknowledged for their ability to contribute. And they are receptive to feedback - all the time."

"Masochistic Bosses attract codependents like flies to a Sunday picnic. They are about as uplifting as a boar anchor."

"Uncertainty always leads to uneasiness."

"People who habitually speak positively of others tend to do so in all circumstances. Those who tend to criticize others in your presence and recruit you to agree with their cutting remarks will probably criticize you when you are out of the room."

"Fairness in the office simply means applying the rules fairly, equally, and without regard for workplace political alliances."

"The only stupidity we can deal with is our own."

"Once you have become a transcendent idiot - one who can reflect upon his personal condition and circumstances—you can no longer wander back into the idiot population and disappear."

"Admitting powerlessness is the first step to recovery. Subsequent steps will reveal who has the power and how you can tap into it to achieve your own serenity."

"Sometimes what appears to be an idiot is just a regular person with idiosyncrasies."

"Idiots lack imagination, coupled with the tunnel vision - means the ship will be submerged before they realize it hit an iceberg. You not only need to do or say things that warrant attention, you need to exaggerate them so much he can't possibly fail to notice."

"Deliberately scheme how you can be a positive influence in your working environment."

"You are ultimately your own boss, even if you report to someone else."

"There is nothing more miserable to a boss than a detractor."

"Masochistic Bosses make sure their departments fail so upper management will deal out punishment."