Bullies Tyrants & Impossible People

[c_paxil_d]

While I was at the library this week, a book on the "new arrivals " shelf caught my eye: "Bullies Tyrants & Impossible People (How To Beat Them Without Joining Them)" co-authored by Ronald M. Sahpiro, Mark A. Jankowski and James Dale.

Basically it is a business book mostly skewed to negotiating skills, but there are some interesting bullet points.  Basically, they break problem people down into three categories:

1. The Situationally Difficult - Not a "bad person" but circumstance(s) may have put them in such a mood as to change a "benign individual into a terror."

2. The Strategically Difficult - These folks are difficult because being difficult "works" for them, in their experience.

3. The Simply Difficult.  These are folks who "suck so much ass" as decribed in the topic header.  They will do themselves harm as long as they can do others even greater harm.

Kind "rings true" doesn't it?  I'm still working my way through the book, but there's a promise of how to use strategies to work around the various snares set by these difficult folks. 

One great tip I'm going to work on is to simply put my finger to my lips when I'm tempted to blurt out something in the heat of the moment.  It's supposed to make you look like you are thinking, but I'll probably end up looking like Dr. Evil from those Austin Powers movies.  (Best not to use the pinky!)

FWIW...