Coping with Difficult People

Robert M. Bramson, Ph.D.

ISBN 0-440-20201-9

Acquired 1992 June 23 in a class on the same subject at work.

Read 1998 July - September 30

Reviewed 1998 November 19

Bramson writes due to a lack of a condensed text on this subject available elsewhere. It deals with the techniques of coping with (not fixing or beating) various types of difficult people. Each section describes the type of difficult person in question then outlines methods for recognizing and dealing with them. The book can be used as a reference in specific cases. We are all, of course, difficult at times, but this has to do with dealing with the unreasonably difficult.

The first page inside the front cover summarizes the types and pretty much summarizes the rest of the book:

The Hostile Aggressive, who bullies by bombarding, making cutting remarks, or throwing a tantrum.

The Complainer, who gripes incessantly but never gets any closer to solving the problem.

The Silent Unresponsive, who responds to any question with a yes, a no, or a grunt.

The Super-Agreeable, who is always reasonable, sincere, and supportive to your face but never delivers a promise.

The Negativist, who responds to any proposal with an explanation like "It won't work."

The Know-It-All, who wants you to recognize he knows everything there is to know about anything worth knowing.

The Indecisive, who stalls any major decision until it's made for him and refuses to let go of anything until it's perfect, which means never.

The author has pet names for the types and their subsets (like Sherman Tanks, Snipers, and Exploders or Bulldozers and Balloons) and gives real-life examples from his own life and consulting.

Of course, there are variations depending on whether the problem person is under, parallel, or over you organizationally.

I read the book while waiting on the bus to go to and from work. I will now take it back to work and put it on my reference shelf.