Office Politics: How Work Really Works

This zany/silly collection of short observations on white-collar work has been wonderful bedside entertainment, every page a delight. Guy Browning is a terrific humorist, and can do (a) good-natured cynicism, (b) razor-sharp observation and (c) outrageous flights of fancy equally well. If you don't believe, me, here we go: (a) Hotels: If you can't locate your room by its number, "the other way... is to listen for the sound of a very loud television doing its best to drown out four screaming children. Your room will be next door." (b) Toilets: "In general, nothing halts the free flow of urine faster than the chief executive pulling up in the stall next to you and saying, 'How's your career coming along, Michael?' Especially if your name isn't Michael." "Ladies' lavatories are a lot like women's handbags -- nothing special on the outside but a whole world of fascination, mystery and excitement on the inside. Men have always wondered what goes on inside the Ladies, because if you happen to be walking past when the door is just closing, you can always hear women laughing and chatting and doing all sorts of marvellous fun things." (c) Business Cards: "In a big meeting, the cool thing to do is to arrange all the cards you've been given in front of you and turn them face down whenever one of the relevant people says anything stupid. This sharpens up the remaining card givers remarkably efficiently."