The No Asshole Rule

I think my tolerance for working with so-called "assholes" has diminished as I age. I don't have a lot of compassion for them. I don't want to help them. I don't want to rehabilitate them. I just want to stay away from them. So I was thrilled to see my personally held beliefs affirmed by Robert Sutton, professor of management science and engineering at Stanford.

Sutton, author of The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't was interviewed about his work, and about assholes, in Inc. Magazine. According to Sutton, the definition of an "asshole" follows two standards 1. someone who consistently leaves people feeling demeaned and belittled and 2. someone who targets people with less power.

Have you worked with someone like that? I certainly have. And I refuse to anymore. Like Sutton suggests, I screen potential clients for that sort of behavior because it's extremely taxing to me. That sort of person demands a lot of attention (in person, on the phone, via email) and often gives very little reward.

Most interesting to me was these folks actually take a serious financial toll. In the Inc. interview, Sutton details how a "rainmaker" at a Silicon Valley company had his costs calculated by HR for all of his extra services (including anger management and sexual harrassment training) and demands (mostly over benefits issues) at $160,000.

Can you imagine that? So apart from the psychic toll, there's a good reason to stay away from these folks.

Resources here include Sutton's blog, Inc. Magazine, and Sutton's book.