Corporate Confidential

September 1, 2005
"Your number one job is to keep your job," Shapiro, a former human resources executive, writes in this informed and disillusioned take on the corporate life, so don't ever "publicly complain, disagree or express a negative view," take more than one week of vacation at a time, "volunteer," or "tell anyone what you're doing." When asked to do anything, acceptable responses are "sure" and "of course," always accompanied by a smile. Your dress style "should match as closely as possible the style of those at the top." Don't make friends at work-it's "deadly" to want to be liked. The book reads like a guerilla survival manual for the employment jungle written by a hardened survivor ("Do you feel there's something...looming over your career, but can't quite put your finger on it? It's not your imagination. It's real."), and explains why companies preach enlightened attitudes-but don't practice them-and why managers and co-workers will not tell you about your career-limiting moves. Though Shapiro's this-is-war outlook may fit some workplaces, her mercenary advice won't work for people whose number one job is to get a job that doesn't require these sacrifices.