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You're Too Smart for This
Book

You're Too Smart for This

Beating the 100 Big Lies About Your First Job

Michael Ball
Sourcebooks, 2006

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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Innovative

Recommendation

Michael Ball’s book is a brutally candid manual for the new college graduate starting out in the corporate world. Written in a witty, often bawdy style, it parses out specific advice and general wisdom, distinguishing between the expectations the new employee may hold and the realities of entry-level work. Ball’s straight talk is dressed up with pertinent quotes from a broad range of sources, including philosophers and novelists, management books, business case studies and popular culture. Some of his advice is common sense, like admonitions against romancing your co-workers or being too vocal in meetings. Some of it exposes nuances of the corporate environment, including office politics and how organizations form and operate. getAbstract.com recommends this book to the novice job holder, who will benefit from being forewarned. We also recommend it to human resources executives, managers who deal with recent college graduates and senior managers who want insights about what is going on at the ground level. The book’s structural gimmick - its refutation of so-called "lies" about the corporate world - can seem like shtick. Although the lies are entertaining, the book actually communicates a number of useful truths. Those who learned life’s lessons the hard way will find confirmation in Ball’s maxims; they may be the first to suggest that those who are starting their careers should start reading this first.

Take-Aways

  • The tumultuous transition from college to the working world forces young employees to reconsider elements of their identities.
  • The most successful new employees are flexible and willing to work outside the constraints of their job descriptions, while being prudent about new responsibilities.
  • The relationship between new employees and their immediate managers is not necessarily simple or straightforward; but, handled properly, it benefits everyone.

About the Author

Michael Ball is the founder and CEO of a Los Angeles entry-level training consultancy catering to new employees of Fortune 1000 companies. Ball holds a degree in psychology and business from the University of California at Los Angeles.

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