Why We Won't Work with Assholes

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to those who know us, but we have a strict “no assholes” rule in our office. It applies to our team, our clients and our partners, and we’re all but unwilling to bend it. It comes from a deep-rooted belief that creating a better world requires teamwork, cooperation and collaboration, kindness and patience. It also comes from our love of the book, The No Asshole Rule by Robert Sutton -- a book I have been known to share with teams and people that I’ve worked with over the years.  It was shared with me when I was working on an M&A deal years ago by my very fun investment bankers and has guided my thinking ever since.

Because here’s the thing: no one wants to work with assholes. Nothing will kill your culture faster than harboring a complete asshole among your ranks.  That’s why I built my company culture around this notion that success and progress don’t have to come at the expense of your team’s psyche.  And we won’t compromise for the sake of one brilliant know-it-all who invokes terror or diminishes the contribution of others.

You may be thinking to yourself, “that’s bold!”; but I say it’s necessary.  We’ve all worked with them.  You know who they are -- and so does everyone else.  In my team’s combined years of experience, we have found assholes to be the number one deterrent to success and happiness at work. And it isn’t black and white; assholes are like snowflakes... some people think they’re being direct when they’re really being difficult, and it can alienate and damage working relationships much faster than you realize. 

I love this book so much because it specifically defines the types of assholes you’ll come across, at work and in life, and offers suggestions for how to deal with them. Not only that, but the book contains a lot of advice in how to manage and survive the stress that comes with working with assholes. Maybe this book should be called “how to deal with difficult people” because that is what it really is:  A guide for how to work with difficult people and how to ensure you create the type of culture within your organization where the specific behavior is addressed and not tolerated. 

I like to think of it as a tool for personal and professional growth.  But I’ve seen others use it as a weapon. It’s a light read, and I encourage you to use it to guide both your business and personal relationships.  It’s even got this great chapter for self reflection, for when, you know, you turn out to be the asshole.

So how does this relate to our office culture? Well, it impacts the way we hire, who we take on as clients (yes, you can be picky about who you work with and for) and how we interact with one another. Our team is made of people who want to work together to achieve success, and who respect and actually LIKE one another.  Go figure.