Bosses are often the craziest guys around

The USA Today (May 21, 2007) included a review of "Crazy Bosses."  The introduction to the book begins with "After nearly 6,000 years of evidence on the subject, one thing stands clear: the people who end up as leaders in any organization, large or small, are often the craziest guys around."

Author Stanly Bing, pseudonym of Gil Schwartz, CBS' head of public relations, spotlights five crazy boss types:

•Bully. Driven by rage, manifested by frequent mood swings, manipulation and aggression. Most difficult to manage. "Management by terror has been a time-honored technique because it works."

•Paranoid. Motivated by fear, always on the verge of hysteria, highly mistrustful of others. "You can be instrumental in driving him from a low boil to volcanic heights of irrationality."

•Narcissist. Incapable of viewing others as real people with real needs. Short attention span. "Just because the guy is a preening rooster, don't get lulled into the idea that he's benign."

•Wimp. Driven by anxiety, timid, impressed by fads, takes credit for others' work. "Central to the wimp's pathology … is the neurotic desire to be liked by everybody."

•Disaster Hunter. Desire and lust are key motivators, doesn't listen, vicious when thwarted, workaholic. "There are few treatments for workaholics, because society doesn't yet see a need for one."

To read more about "Crazy Bosses," go to http://www.usatoday.com/money/books/2007-05-20-crazy-bosses_N.htm?csp=34