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Stealing the Corner Office: The Winning Career Strategies They'll Never Teach You in Business School
Stealing the Corner Office is mandatory reading for smart, hardworking managers who always wonder why their seemingly incompetent superiors are so successful. It is a unique collection of controversial but highly effective tactics for middle managers and aspiring executives who want to learn the real secrets for moving up the corporate ladder. Unlike virtually all other business books--which are based on the assumption that corporations are logical and fair-- Stealing the Corner Office explores the unconventional tactics people less competent than you use to get ahead and stay ahead. It is your proven playbook to thrive and win in an imperfect corporate world.
Stealing the Corner Office will teach
Stealing the Corner Office will teach
224 pages, Paperback
First published May 19, 2014
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602 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
June 3, 2020
At the outset, it seems like Stealing the Corner Office is a darkly shaded, power-fantasy playbook à la Robert Greene’s exemplary The 48 Laws of Power. And in some ways it is, but it also demonstrates some unexpected qualities, too. Its not a bad book. And an ambitious—hopefully, ethical—person could do worse than at least check it out.
The book’s cover title and dark lighting alone seems to suggest its a book that will show you the dark arts, or how to—please, forgive me— Steal the Corner Office . And it totally does. But there’s also a bit more to it. Surprisingly, the author seems to betray himself as a warm and helpful person who has clearly struggled in his career. This is mainly done in his provided examples that he both directly and indirectly make clear are either strongly or completely autobiographical. This is a subtle quality, but compared to books that refer to business as ‘war’ or ‘battle’ or ‘DESTROYING THE COMPETITION’, this is a refreshingly mature and respectful change in tone.
Brendan Reid frequently refers to ‘Incompetent Managers’ who cheat or con their way To the Top. And while they of course exist, much of the advice he seems to be sensible and down-to-earth. ('Be positive', 'don’t complain;, 'develop strategically useful relationships'. Obviously its more thorough than that, but there are no ‘Dirty Warfare’ tactics in this book, even if he wants it to sound like there is.)
Anyways, as long as someone chooses to develop their technical competency and ethics, this seems to be a (relatively) more gentle and highly original entry within the ‘Career Power’ sub-genre.
The book’s cover title and dark lighting alone seems to suggest its a book that will show you the dark arts, or how to—please, forgive me— Steal the Corner Office . And it totally does. But there’s also a bit more to it. Surprisingly, the author seems to betray himself as a warm and helpful person who has clearly struggled in his career. This is mainly done in his provided examples that he both directly and indirectly make clear are either strongly or completely autobiographical. This is a subtle quality, but compared to books that refer to business as ‘war’ or ‘battle’ or ‘DESTROYING THE COMPETITION’, this is a refreshingly mature and respectful change in tone.
Brendan Reid frequently refers to ‘Incompetent Managers’ who cheat or con their way To the Top. And while they of course exist, much of the advice he seems to be sensible and down-to-earth. ('Be positive', 'don’t complain;, 'develop strategically useful relationships'. Obviously its more thorough than that, but there are no ‘Dirty Warfare’ tactics in this book, even if he wants it to sound like there is.)
Anyways, as long as someone chooses to develop their technical competency and ethics, this seems to be a (relatively) more gentle and highly original entry within the ‘Career Power’ sub-genre.
December 21, 2016
I believe I am on the tail end of my corporate career, and while I think I’ll have another (not necessarily corporate) career after this one, it isn’t one that I’ll be focused on striving for the corner office at any cost. I’ve always thought of a job as just that, a job. This doesn’t seem to be a popular way of thought as determined by the number of books out there about getting ahead. So why did I read this? I read this more as a post-mortem, to see if it would help me figure out why that corner office job never presented itself to me. Sure, a job is a job, but sometimes a promotion would be one way an employer would show gratitude for good work and more, trust that the employee can be valuable in more than the area he was hired in. In 28 years, I never received a promotion along with a change in job, although I did receive promotions within a job, and lateral moves without promotions. So what did I screw up to garner this rather poor record? “Stealing the Corner Office” suggests a number of self-promotional and issue-avoidance tactics that can make a person look good and can lead to promotion. And I must admit, the descriptions here rang very true from my recollection. Practitioners of these tactics seem to move ahead where I worked. In my estimate, this book Is spot on for a descriptive model of how some people get ahead.
But there is a very negative aspect to the writing that can be reflected in the results. The author positions his tactics as determined by looking at incompetent managers that have been promoted through the use of these same tactics. The author repeatedly uses words like incompetent to describe the users of these tactics, then saying that he is just pulling the tactics so you, smart reader, can implement them to get ahead. The thing is, the tactics tend to lead an employee to avoid activities like coming up with new ways to accomplish things, fighting for your ideas, or handing out with co-workers. I’ve always thought these were some of the activities of a job that were the most fulfilling. And I find that these are also activities that closely relate to some company’s idea of their company culture. To me, and I believe to some companies that value their own culture, at least some of the advice given would not work.
As mentioned above, the author’s take on managers is that they tend to be incompetent. Most examples are of some kind of incompetence leading to promotion. Or in the examples showing incompetent employees, the ones who get promoted are the quiet ones that don’t really do anything. I must say that in my history, I’ve seen a number of managers who are not incompetent and who take gambles on their careers get promoted. This is not what this book is about. I suspect the author would agree that his book doesn’t describe all ways to get promoted, and that not everyone that has been promoted is a doofus. But this is not what he writes about here.
Overall, I enjoyed the way the author writes his examples and the categorization he’s come up with for tactics to get promoted. I wish there were more along the lines of getting promoted without the need to scheme. And I’d prefer less name-calling.
But there is a very negative aspect to the writing that can be reflected in the results. The author positions his tactics as determined by looking at incompetent managers that have been promoted through the use of these same tactics. The author repeatedly uses words like incompetent to describe the users of these tactics, then saying that he is just pulling the tactics so you, smart reader, can implement them to get ahead. The thing is, the tactics tend to lead an employee to avoid activities like coming up with new ways to accomplish things, fighting for your ideas, or handing out with co-workers. I’ve always thought these were some of the activities of a job that were the most fulfilling. And I find that these are also activities that closely relate to some company’s idea of their company culture. To me, and I believe to some companies that value their own culture, at least some of the advice given would not work.
As mentioned above, the author’s take on managers is that they tend to be incompetent. Most examples are of some kind of incompetence leading to promotion. Or in the examples showing incompetent employees, the ones who get promoted are the quiet ones that don’t really do anything. I must say that in my history, I’ve seen a number of managers who are not incompetent and who take gambles on their careers get promoted. This is not what this book is about. I suspect the author would agree that his book doesn’t describe all ways to get promoted, and that not everyone that has been promoted is a doofus. But this is not what he writes about here.
Overall, I enjoyed the way the author writes his examples and the categorization he’s come up with for tactics to get promoted. I wish there were more along the lines of getting promoted without the need to scheme. And I’d prefer less name-calling.
July 3, 2018
Different ways of getting promoted, among which the author advises on some which even incompetent employees can use to advance their career. The whole book is enjoyable reading but it mostly falls into the trap of extremes, with different examples presenting 2 competitors with their opporsite tactics to advance their careers, and always, the incompetent win. I do believe that most of the tactic pairs should not be collided but combined to better climb up the career ladder. However, I do get some valuable lessons out of this book to avoid in my career journey: dont be with the herd is one of the core.
January 23, 2019
I witnessed three of my coworkers use the principals in this book to get new jobs.
What this book fails to mention is that you should know your current job prior to moving on to the next job.
Witnessing these people flounder in their "corner office" position was gratifying because they did short change their own peers in the process.
I will attest to using these principals to get into a new role but reader be warned, learn your current job prior to putting this practice into place.
What this book fails to mention is that you should know your current job prior to moving on to the next job.
Witnessing these people flounder in their "corner office" position was gratifying because they did short change their own peers in the process.
I will attest to using these principals to get into a new role but reader be warned, learn your current job prior to putting this practice into place.
April 24, 2020
I doubted this book is gonna help me when I saw the title. However, reading the reviews changed my mind (and I have plenty of time to kill while working at home these days.)
This is not a book of dirty tricks to get you ahead. This is a book that explains the mentality of corporations - not what is right, but what actually happens day after day. Looking at each side of working environments enlighten us to realize what we could do to find opportunities.
This is not a book of dirty tricks to get you ahead. This is a book that explains the mentality of corporations - not what is right, but what actually happens day after day. Looking at each side of working environments enlighten us to realize what we could do to find opportunities.
July 24, 2025
I could have used this book like 5 or 10 years ago. I've made a lot of the costly mistakes the author describes (being too passionate or resisting change, for example).
I dislike that the author assumes that everyone is striving to keep getting promoted. Genuinely I think many people, myself included, may not want more responsibility/stress even if it comes with more compensation. I guess I'm just the "Smart-but-Stationary Manager". Outside of that, good stories and good advice.
Will be sharing this with coworkers.
I dislike that the author assumes that everyone is striving to keep getting promoted. Genuinely I think many people, myself included, may not want more responsibility/stress even if it comes with more compensation. I guess I'm just the "Smart-but-Stationary Manager". Outside of that, good stories and good advice.
Will be sharing this with coworkers.
July 11, 2021
Insightful. Wish I'd read it 10 years ago.
May 18, 2016
Quick read. Really depressing at first but ultimately a good read. The books is about why incompetents tend to climb up the corporate ladder while talented, passionate, hard-working and smart employees stay at the bottom, and it makes a lot of sense. It gives a lot of counter intuitive advices such as:
- Do NOT be passionate with your work (get a reputation for being the most objective instead).
- NEVER make decisions yourself (present options and let other people make decisions).
- NEVER be too good or too talented at a specific skill (focus on being average at a lot of things instead).
- Your main competition isn't another company, it's your teammates.
- Being reliable and focusing on delivering constant results is IRRELEVANT (focus on getting a few big wins instead).
- Be the first to embrace change and big decisions, even if they are obviously bad decisions.
- Have a career plan.
The book is a good argument for not wanting to work in big corporations as well.
- Do NOT be passionate with your work (get a reputation for being the most objective instead).
- NEVER make decisions yourself (present options and let other people make decisions).
- NEVER be too good or too talented at a specific skill (focus on being average at a lot of things instead).
- Your main competition isn't another company, it's your teammates.
- Being reliable and focusing on delivering constant results is IRRELEVANT (focus on getting a few big wins instead).
- Be the first to embrace change and big decisions, even if they are obviously bad decisions.
- Have a career plan.
The book is a good argument for not wanting to work in big corporations as well.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 9, 2014
I'm not quite sure what to make of this book; I fought it. That's not the point of the book, because the author explicitly tries to tell those of us who (still) believe in the "traditional" strategies that this book will force you to change how you're thinking. I think I'm fighting it because I can't believe in the techniques the "idiots" use to get ahead... I'm going to reread it and see how that changes my feelings on the book.
July 16, 2020
This book seems underrated, maybe because of somewhat sarcastic and funny tone of the author, maybe because he simplifies his story by only focusing on how “incompetent managers get promoted, while you are not”.
While without doubt there are plenty of competent managers who also get promoted, I think this is simply not the focus of this book. Brendan Reid is trying to address that irritating and unfortunately common situation when you seem to work hard and do your best, yet you keep finding yourself not being appreciated by your bosses, being stuck with the same responsibilities, or maybe even in conflicts or fired, while less competent people somehow do better and get that promotion you thought was fully yours.
The book identifies common pitfalls many smart people tend to fall into and then compares them with tactics that less competent employees use with much greater success. Stories are very illustrative, following by lots of practical advice that you can start incorporating as of tomorrow.
And despite its funny tone, I do believe that the book was not promoting any “dirty” or unethical techniques to move up the organizational ladder, the author is just being honest and pragmatic when it comes to how any institution works. A company is not some idealistic and unified “organism” with one common mission that stays unchanged, no - organizations consist of humans and it’s humans who make daily decisions, change plans, merge and divide. Meaning - to advance one’s career the better tactic would be to start focusing on people’s aspects of work rather than just working hard and investing emotionally in some big purpose that will change anyhow with time.
To put it simply - companies, projects and work objectives change; humans stay humans. Your career advancement strategy should bet on the latter, yet many smart people tend to over-invest in the former.
Not to spoil the whole book - it’s fast and easy read, try it - below are his key 7 points to focus on for advancing your career:
1. Never be passionate about your ideas
2. Embrace the changes everyone else hates
3. Learn to promote your projects
4. Avoid the farce of results orientation
5. Don’t be part of the herd
6. Find big problems to solve
7. Don’t hold people accountable
While without doubt there are plenty of competent managers who also get promoted, I think this is simply not the focus of this book. Brendan Reid is trying to address that irritating and unfortunately common situation when you seem to work hard and do your best, yet you keep finding yourself not being appreciated by your bosses, being stuck with the same responsibilities, or maybe even in conflicts or fired, while less competent people somehow do better and get that promotion you thought was fully yours.
The book identifies common pitfalls many smart people tend to fall into and then compares them with tactics that less competent employees use with much greater success. Stories are very illustrative, following by lots of practical advice that you can start incorporating as of tomorrow.
And despite its funny tone, I do believe that the book was not promoting any “dirty” or unethical techniques to move up the organizational ladder, the author is just being honest and pragmatic when it comes to how any institution works. A company is not some idealistic and unified “organism” with one common mission that stays unchanged, no - organizations consist of humans and it’s humans who make daily decisions, change plans, merge and divide. Meaning - to advance one’s career the better tactic would be to start focusing on people’s aspects of work rather than just working hard and investing emotionally in some big purpose that will change anyhow with time.
To put it simply - companies, projects and work objectives change; humans stay humans. Your career advancement strategy should bet on the latter, yet many smart people tend to over-invest in the former.
Not to spoil the whole book - it’s fast and easy read, try it - below are his key 7 points to focus on for advancing your career:
1. Never be passionate about your ideas
2. Embrace the changes everyone else hates
3. Learn to promote your projects
4. Avoid the farce of results orientation
5. Don’t be part of the herd
6. Find big problems to solve
7. Don’t hold people accountable
November 30, 2022
This is a book that I would love to come back again and again.
It's got some incredible insights into the workplace. I had been seeing it all wrong. There are other things more important than hard-work and dedication.
[Rant - although I was able to apply it last year, I haven't been able to apply it this year. This year I've reverted back to my old state of just focusing on hard work and hoping that my boss will be impressed. But this book did open my eyes.]
I would highly recommend it to everyone who's slogging their a** of at work and is fed up of office politics. Read this book so that you can focus your efforts at least to where it really matters.
It's got some incredible insights into the workplace. I had been seeing it all wrong. There are other things more important than hard-work and dedication.
[Rant - although I was able to apply it last year, I haven't been able to apply it this year. This year I've reverted back to my old state of just focusing on hard work and hoping that my boss will be impressed. But this book did open my eyes.]
I would highly recommend it to everyone who's slogging their a** of at work and is fed up of office politics. Read this book so that you can focus your efforts at least to where it really matters.
August 10, 2019
Easily finished in 3 hours. Very engaging, with the precise amount of corniness in its stories to make you smile. I've made a number of mistakes in my career thus far, and this book perfectly underscores some of the areas I'm weak in. In particular, I've been occasionally passionate about my ideas to the point of being brash, and the stories in Stealing the Corner Office distill perfectly how career-limited this behavior can be. Sincerely intend to reread it as I work to putting these ideas into practice. Definitely a good read for a young professional, manager or not!
December 26, 2021
Despite the corny title Thai book wasn’t half bad and I couldn’t help but think how helpful it would be for my (ex-)colleagues and other folks I knew and know currently in middle management or who hasn’t yet broken into management ranks yet. There’s lots of practical advice, many of which are great and that I can vouch for having seen them work first- and second-hand.
I also loved the stories and examples: these little vignettes of work felt sincere and not over-the-top (some barely but even then within reason), and created memorable imagery that helps with retaining key concepts.
I also loved the stories and examples: these little vignettes of work felt sincere and not over-the-top (some barely but even then within reason), and created memorable imagery that helps with retaining key concepts.
March 8, 2021
Feeling generous so giving a 5, 4.5 for sure.
This book is on the dark arts of corporate career management. Drops truth bombs, talks about organizational patterns, shares stories and also comes with tactical advice.
Going to complain to my B-school that their curriculum has some gaping holes!
This book is on the dark arts of corporate career management. Drops truth bombs, talks about organizational patterns, shares stories and also comes with tactical advice.
Going to complain to my B-school that their curriculum has some gaping holes!
July 16, 2022
A former coworker recommended this book to me and I was skeptical of some of the concepts at first, but by the end I could see how effective they are. It’s also the complete opposite of what I’ve been doing in my career. Looking forward to taking action on some of these ideas.
June 9, 2024
This is an excellent book for understanding American business and corporate relationships. It's particularly beneficial if you're not a native, and I would highly recommend it to anyone starting their career in America. 10/10.
April 12, 2025
I almost didn’t want to read this recommendation based on the vibe. I thought it was going to be filled with a bunch of underhanded tactics. Thankfully, I was wrong. The lessons are insightful and definitely worth keeping in mind. I could add a few personal stories to some of them.
January 4, 2018
A book about basic office politics. Provides basic principals, such as not to rub people the wrong way, that will keep you from self-sabotage in a corporate environment.
January 3, 2022
Must read for corporate professionals.
April 7, 2022
Someone should really be handing these out at career day
August 15, 2022
Insightful. Lots of strategies proposed/points of view that at first i strongly opposed to, however realizing in the end it's the reality of the corporate world we work in
December 28, 2022
What a freaking good book. Was recommended to me by one of instructors in my leadership courses. Amazing book. New to re read it again year by year.
February 8, 2023
Written for middle management, for which it's just perfect. But still useful for junior people working in a corporate.
September 15, 2023
Practical way to apply the Emotional intelligence principles.
Read
February 25, 2025Amazing tactics
I like the way and the flow of the book
, it's simple demonstration for day to day challenges
I recommend for managers
I like the way and the flow of the book
, it's simple demonstration for day to day challenges
I recommend for managers
June 25, 2025
Clever book with subtle, yet powerful recommendations on managing your career.
April 13, 2024
A heavy dose of reality. Must read for any ambitious corporate worker
February 26, 2017
This was a fast read. A few chapters were really actionable and highly useful.
August 31, 2021
I’ve met a lot of smart but incompetent managers. One of my managers was a smart guy who was also politically savvy- but he was not reliable as a manager like getting balls rolling in an important strategic project with little support, having your back in a difficult scenario, etc. He gets ahead because he has self-preservation in mind beyond all else. But I’ve seen more not-so-smart and incompetent managers who 100% should not be in their roles and do absolutely nothing but attend meetings, get in a vibe, and parrot.
The trouble with these strategies is that there are a lot of things that don’t end up happening if you stick with these tactics. You can spend years trying to wait for that moment of change to happen where you can seize the opportunity to play politics and move up.
The hardest thing to do is to not care and to wait and see before you attempt to execute anything remotely smart.
You have to have a certain attitude to move on up. You have to be focused on yourself- that you deserve that status in life more than others. Because you’re smart, right? But then you have a problem. You’ve now become smart but incompetent because self preservation and self interest are way more important.
If the working conditions of some other area of business are less than stellar and you want change to happen that will result in win-wins, you will have to resign to it not happening until you find an opportunity to make it important to someone else.
And what if you have the corner office but your team’s one of the examples given? They are smart but assholes and lacking guidance. How do you make use of them to get things done and align them better?
Just really sucks.
The trouble with these strategies is that there are a lot of things that don’t end up happening if you stick with these tactics. You can spend years trying to wait for that moment of change to happen where you can seize the opportunity to play politics and move up.
The hardest thing to do is to not care and to wait and see before you attempt to execute anything remotely smart.
You have to have a certain attitude to move on up. You have to be focused on yourself- that you deserve that status in life more than others. Because you’re smart, right? But then you have a problem. You’ve now become smart but incompetent because self preservation and self interest are way more important.
If the working conditions of some other area of business are less than stellar and you want change to happen that will result in win-wins, you will have to resign to it not happening until you find an opportunity to make it important to someone else.
And what if you have the corner office but your team’s one of the examples given? They are smart but assholes and lacking guidance. How do you make use of them to get things done and align them better?
Just really sucks.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews