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Review by Franziska Niemann

I found the book to be not only extremely helpful and enlightening concerning organizational politics, but also very entertaining.

What first stood out to me was the well-structured table of contents, which not only helped in getting an overview, but will also make it very easy to find certain tips to refresh your memory when looking for them. The headlines throughout the book also helped to keep that overview while reading. It was also very useful to have the most important stuff written in cursive or as bullet points etc. and to have the content manifested in the formal aspects of the book that way.

(What I also liked was — as silly as it may sound — the font, including size and line spacing. Even though it might seem irrelevant, I think it’s a big problem (especially with non-fictional books) that the fond is often uncomfortably small to read. So that instantly made a good impression on me.)

What I really came to love throughout the book were the cartoons at the end of every chapter/rule and I was actually kind of disappointed to find that they were missing after, for example, Rule 12 and I hope that they will still be added for the final version. It almost felt like a little gift at the end of every chapter, which in my opinion really brought the book with its style and humour together.

I also liked that the book starts at the very beginning explaining what organizational politics even means and what exactly it is about, since I would not have known that if I hadn’t taken the course. And I think that is true for many students my age.

What I also thought to be important was the [statement] (p. 24f) that you can still have morals and become somebody in a position of power. Even though this might be obvious, it wasn’t to me and I thought it was important to state that at the beginning of the book.

In general, I enjoyed that the book was written humorously especially since at the beginning of your career everything about it seems rather intimidating so it was a very good way of keeping a light tone.

What was very useful was that there were specific examples and also specific sentences to use, and the rules were not just kept abstract. Therefore, I was obviously a big fan of the appendix and I think it would be great if there were even one or two more examples of CVs/cover letters. I would’ve really liked tips on how to design your CV when you are at the very start of your education and you haven’t had the chance for internships etc. yet and you’re just trying to get a job/internship etc. for the first time (not only but also to have something to show for on your CV). So for me, tips about how to create a CV/cover letter when you don’t have impressive experience/education yet would have been really valuable (so that one will be able to get the internships etc. that will later on make an impressive CV).

The anecdotes/short stories were also really beneficial to understand the rules better and gave the book such a unique style. Sometimes, for just a page, it kind of felt like reading a novel, which wasn’t what I expected at first, but what was one of the things that made the book so easy to read. The tips [were] more understandable and –as already said — it helped in not making the book too serious (even though it is about a very serious topic of course, it is still good to be able to enjoy reading it instead of feeling nervous about it).

Furthermore, for me personally, it was really interesting that there was a chapter specifically about how to succeed at a government job, since I would also like to go in that direction. So it was incredibly interesting and helpful to get insight from someone who has already worked there.

I also thought the book had a very good length because I’m sure a book about this topic could technically be a thousand pages. But this way I felt like everything was included and detailed enough to make one understand the tips in depth, while still not being too repetitive or too long.

I really believe that this is a book young people should read at the beginning of their careers because firstly, it makes you aware of the fact that there is a lot more to success than being good at your job, which I don’t think I would’ve even thought about if I hadn’t read the book (and taken your course). And secondly, it teaches you so much about what else exactly it is you need besides talent.

- Franziska Niemann

Law Student


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