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Cubicle Warfare: Self-Defense Tactics for Today's Hypercompetitive Workplace
Dilbert may make people laugh, but he doesn't show them how to succeed. Cubicle Warfare will train today's Dilbert's to become tomorrow's CEOs. This take-no-prisoners survival manual reveals the rules of corporate warfare--and how anyone can play to win. It even includes survival skills for people who want to stay neutral in their office war games.
256 pages, Paperback
First published August 20, 1997
20 people want to read
About the author
Blaine Lee Pardoe
95 books118 followersBlaine Pardoe is a New York Times Bestselling and award winning author of numerous books in the science fiction, military non-fiction, true crime, paranormal, and business management genre's. He has appeared on a number of national television and radio shows to speak about his books. Pardoe has been a featured speaker at the US National Archives, the United States Navy Museum, and the New York Military Affairs Symposium. He was awarded the State History Award in 2011 by the Historical Society of Michigan and is a silver medal winner from the Military Writers Society of America in 2010. In 2013 he was awarded the Harritt Quimby Award as part of the induction ceremony at the Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame. Mr. Pardoe is also a member of the League of WWI Aviation Historians.
His books have even been mentioned on the floor of the U.S. Congress. His works have been printed in six languages and he is recognized world-wide for his historical and fiction works. He can be followed via Twitter (bpardoe870)
His books have even been mentioned on the floor of the U.S. Congress. His works have been printed in six languages and he is recognized world-wide for his historical and fiction works. He can be followed via Twitter (bpardoe870)
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 9, 2023
The author begins his book washing his hands of his ideas through a weak disclaimer along the lines of “hey, these are kind of not-good-things-to-do you know, use these ideas at your own risk, and if something happens, I have nothing to do with you”. He was encouraged to do so by some of his closest relatives, which should serve you as a hint of how "good" his advice actually is.
Let us begin by outlining the positives of this book.
The first one is that it answers the age-old question: “Why would a loving God send someone to Hell for all eternity?”. The answer is simple: God does not send anyone to Hell, some men and women use their free will and choose the path that ends there. Most of the strategies and advice offered in this book will get you on the fast-track to the lake of burning sulfur. God uses different means (like putting a random reviewer to warn readers about a book that contains bad advice) to discourage us from making bad decisions that will lead us to Hell, we can freely accept His suggestions or reject them.
The other positive aspect is the first 15% of the book, which is well written and describes the sad reality of the modern workplace. In a world wounded by sin, the author does a good job uncovering that there are evil people out there who take work as a lawless game for power and personal profit. Because they see it as a game, they have a complete disregard for the consequences of their actions. Painful to read, it helps us “mindless slugs” (name given by the author to those who work for their paycheck trying to do the right thing) to understand that not everyone at work is good-willed. It also breaks some popular myths on career advancement, promotions, internal communications and social networking.
After that there are a few scattered pearls of wisdom along a flood of just bad advice, which makes the remaining 85% of the text: 200 pages with a few self-tests, considerations on corporate espionage, backstabbing, blackmailing, political maneuvering, IT warfare, recon and boss/coworker takedown in the office. And this is where the negatives begin.
The first problem is that all the “intelligence gathering” ideas given by the author will get you in jail because they are easy to detect.
The second problem is that the author works on the assumption that his ideas throughout the whole book have no consequences outside the workplace. He scorns average employees who just want to do the job without getting too involved in office politics by calling them “mindless slugs”, and underestimates them by insinuating that they will accept being thrashed and go back home quietly afterwards. This is just foolish and dangerous, believing that you can mop the office floor with John Doe without fear of him blowing your head off with a shotgun in a dark alley, or kidnapping and killing any of your family members? Does Blaine Pardoe even read the news?. Paraphrasing Jason Statham in the movie Snatch: “for every action, there is a reaction... and some people's reaction is quite a huge thing”.
The third problem is that the use of the vast majority of these tactics for profit and/or career advancement is gravely immoral; even if you manage to succeed performing any of them on a coworker/boss without retaliation and you avoid jail, you will still have to face judgement by God after you die. And chances are you will face eternity in a very hot and dark place burning and lamenting what you did in this life. This is NOT a fairy tale to scare people, in the internet you can find several testimonies of near-death experiences of people who and were about to be damned and clearly saw that they deserved to go to Hell.
The fourth problem is that the book does not make any practical and/or moral considerations for managers/employees on how to promote a good work environment where conflicts are addressed ethically and constructively. At times I had the impression that I was reading the letters from Uncle Screwtape (“The Screwtape Letters” from C.S. Lewis) due to the evil (or even infernal) advice given.
The fifth problem is that it rarely tells the reader how to detect or assertively communicate when being threatened with the tactics described in the book. The book would be far more beneficial if the author presented his material as a wake-up call on what can be seen in the modern workplace and provided ethical and effective guidelines to tackle each tactic without falling down to the level of a psychopath. Most of the advice I found throughout the book can be summarized as “fight fire with fire”.
I am unsure if Blaine Pardoe reads the reviews for his book or if this review will find him. If this book summarizes his personal history and/or philosophy at work I would strongly encourage him to do a thorough examination of conscience and look for a priest in order to receive the sacrament of confession before it is too late.
Let us begin by outlining the positives of this book.
The first one is that it answers the age-old question: “Why would a loving God send someone to Hell for all eternity?”. The answer is simple: God does not send anyone to Hell, some men and women use their free will and choose the path that ends there. Most of the strategies and advice offered in this book will get you on the fast-track to the lake of burning sulfur. God uses different means (like putting a random reviewer to warn readers about a book that contains bad advice) to discourage us from making bad decisions that will lead us to Hell, we can freely accept His suggestions or reject them.
The other positive aspect is the first 15% of the book, which is well written and describes the sad reality of the modern workplace. In a world wounded by sin, the author does a good job uncovering that there are evil people out there who take work as a lawless game for power and personal profit. Because they see it as a game, they have a complete disregard for the consequences of their actions. Painful to read, it helps us “mindless slugs” (name given by the author to those who work for their paycheck trying to do the right thing) to understand that not everyone at work is good-willed. It also breaks some popular myths on career advancement, promotions, internal communications and social networking.
After that there are a few scattered pearls of wisdom along a flood of just bad advice, which makes the remaining 85% of the text: 200 pages with a few self-tests, considerations on corporate espionage, backstabbing, blackmailing, political maneuvering, IT warfare, recon and boss/coworker takedown in the office. And this is where the negatives begin.
The first problem is that all the “intelligence gathering” ideas given by the author will get you in jail because they are easy to detect.
The second problem is that the author works on the assumption that his ideas throughout the whole book have no consequences outside the workplace. He scorns average employees who just want to do the job without getting too involved in office politics by calling them “mindless slugs”, and underestimates them by insinuating that they will accept being thrashed and go back home quietly afterwards. This is just foolish and dangerous, believing that you can mop the office floor with John Doe without fear of him blowing your head off with a shotgun in a dark alley, or kidnapping and killing any of your family members? Does Blaine Pardoe even read the news?. Paraphrasing Jason Statham in the movie Snatch: “for every action, there is a reaction... and some people's reaction is quite a huge thing”.
The third problem is that the use of the vast majority of these tactics for profit and/or career advancement is gravely immoral; even if you manage to succeed performing any of them on a coworker/boss without retaliation and you avoid jail, you will still have to face judgement by God after you die. And chances are you will face eternity in a very hot and dark place burning and lamenting what you did in this life. This is NOT a fairy tale to scare people, in the internet you can find several testimonies of near-death experiences of people who and were about to be damned and clearly saw that they deserved to go to Hell.
The fourth problem is that the book does not make any practical and/or moral considerations for managers/employees on how to promote a good work environment where conflicts are addressed ethically and constructively. At times I had the impression that I was reading the letters from Uncle Screwtape (“The Screwtape Letters” from C.S. Lewis) due to the evil (or even infernal) advice given.
The fifth problem is that it rarely tells the reader how to detect or assertively communicate when being threatened with the tactics described in the book. The book would be far more beneficial if the author presented his material as a wake-up call on what can be seen in the modern workplace and provided ethical and effective guidelines to tackle each tactic without falling down to the level of a psychopath. Most of the advice I found throughout the book can be summarized as “fight fire with fire”.
I am unsure if Blaine Pardoe reads the reviews for his book or if this review will find him. If this book summarizes his personal history and/or philosophy at work I would strongly encourage him to do a thorough examination of conscience and look for a priest in order to receive the sacrament of confession before it is too late.
September 2, 2021
A bit dated now, but the advice is still valid.
March 29, 2013
A should-read book on office politics which will happen to you and around you whether you participate in politics or not.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews