You might possibly think that you wouldn’t want to read a book about a business system like the soul-crushing corporate machine where layoffs, back-stabbing, and brainless management decisions are rampant. For example, you might think, “That sounds like my company and I’m depressed enough already.” Or you might think, “I don’t work in place like that and you couldn’t pay me enough to join one.”But if you work in a soul-crushing company, it might be helpful to find out more about them. And if you don’t, you might want to know what to avoid. Not only that, the soul-crushing corporate machine can be pretty entertaining. There are characters like Ladder-Climbing Larry and Gluttonous Glen. And the anger-management-challenged CEO who shaved his head to demonstrate contempt for his employees and motivate them to greater productivity. And the office manager who counted cars in the company parking lot on snowy days to make sure that employees were not skipping out on work just because it was too dangerous to drive. And the human resources director who wasn’t quite as “touchy feely” as he pretended to be. And the company president who accidently laid off his best business developer but just couldn’t admit that he made a mistake. And the executives who laid off an entire office by video tape. And the project management consultant who decided to use a Reign of Terror as a motivation tool. Oh yes, the soul-crushing corporate machine is a veritable fountain of characters, stories, and lessons about what not to do. Written with liberal doses of ranting, sarcasm, cynicism, humor, and hope, this book will help you to understand, survive, and/or avoid the soul-crushing business world – and to keep soul-crushing practices from spreading.ContentsChapter 1: A Soul-Crushing Company?Chapter 2: I Get Sucked into the Soul Crushing Corporate Machine – and SurviveChapter 3: Layoff ManiaChapter 4: Layoff IntermissionChapter 5: More Layoff ManiaChapter 6: Head Shaving and Other Dubious Motivational MethodsChapter 7: We’re from Human Resources and We’re Here to HelpChapter 8: Leaders that Follow the Soul-Crushing LeaderChapter 9: Teamwork: Soul-Crushing Corporate Machine StyleChapter 10: In Our Soul-Crushing Company We Trust (or Not) Chapter 11: Management 9-1-1Chapter 12: How to Take a Highly Motivated, Profitable Group and Send it into a Death SpiralChapter 13: Clients: The Good, The Bad, and The Corporate Death StarsChapter 14: How to Recognize a Soul-Crushing CompanyChapter 15: A Career Survival Guide for the Soul-Crushing Corporate MachineChapter 16: FarewellsChapter 17: Lessons Learned and Suggestions for a Non-Soul-Crushing WorkplaceThe Cynic’s Soul-Crushing Corporate Machine Glossary