Adams, creator of the Dilbert comic strip and author of The Dilbert Principle
and other huge sellers, now shares his sentiments on the office colleague everyone loves to hate: the weasel. This crafty character is the co-worker who stabs colleagues in the back and manages to get ahead without lifting a finger. As one cartoon illustrates, the weasel is the guy who tells poor Dilbert, "I'm Bucky, the project manager. Your assignment is painfully difficult and probably unnecessary. If you need me, I'll be complaining about you to your boss." Being a weasel isn't all bad, though; Adams observes that weasels often have successful careers without ever doing much work. There are several ways to accomplish this, one being, "For every task you plan to do, it's a good idea to have sixty tasks that you've promised to do later if you ever find the time. This gives everyone the impression that you are valiantly battling an avalanche of work and fighting against long odds to make the company successful. Or they might think you're a worthless, inefficient weasel. Either way, the pay is exactly the same and it cuts down on your workload." In short chapters, Adams discusses a variety of weasel behaviors, including leaving incorrect phone numbers to confuse callers, mastering the art of whining, and communicating effectively (which is "to say as much as possible without saying anything"). Sprinkled with Dilbert cartoons throughout, the book will strike a chord among the countless cubicle-dwellers to whom the weasel is all too familiar. 50 cartoons. (Nov.)
Forecast: Given Adams's track record, along with a 25-city radio tour, a 15-city NPR campaign, a TV satellite tour and national advertising, this one is likely to take off quickly, especially among those disillusioned—or just plain fed up—with corporate America.
