Gary Gade

The Wage Slave's Toolkit Gary Gade

Nearly everyone in an organizational hierarchy develops a few self-limiting fears and practices that open the door to stress and surprises. Your happiness and success in the workplace depend on the quality of your work and relationships and your ability to cooperate. Author Gary Gade shows you how to grow by using simple, repeatable techniques and best practices that apply to most business and personal situations.

Manage your time. If you've been repeatedly asking yourself, "Have I done anything important with my time today?" then it's likely because you're not good at managing time. By following a few simple rules, you can transform your day. Build confidence. Self confidence, a key ingredient in a successful life and career, is the belief in self that lets you envision mastering the skills needed to accomplish interesting and challenging goals. Confidence is a skill, and developing it is a step-by-step process. Relieve stress. Whether your stress arises from your own choices, the people around you, or forces outside your control, relieving it is one of the most important skills you can acquire. A few drug-free coping tools can go a long way. Become a political animal. Don't get caught by surprise by the key decisions that your group or your boss makes, or end up too often on the losing side of those decisions. Discard the idea that workplaces are meritocracies and develop your inner Machiavelli. Negotiate like a pro. A skilled negotiator seeks mutual benefits without making contentious attempts to convince the other parties to do something that they don't want to do. Use the low-stress methods of skilled communicators to ask for a raise, agree on a price, promote cooperation, or buy a car or house. Overcome procrastination. Wring more productivity out of your day without working any longer or harder, sacrificing quality, or developing a sense of panic. Speak confidently to any audience. By preparing technically and emotionally, you can deliver an effective, polished speech or presentation at work, a party, or a ceremony. Speed read. Improve how fast you absorb information, while boosting your comprehension and retention. Manage up. Direct a healthy fraction of your time upward by influencing your boss proactively. Resolve conflicts. Uncover hidden interests, identify divisive issues, separate people from the problem, overcome barriers to resolution, and repair your relationships. Deal with a toxic boss. Consider your options, identify the risks, think about when and how to speak up and do something, make the best of a difficult situation, and create an action plan.

Contents1. Managing Your Time2. Building Confidence3. Relieving Stress4. Engaging in Office Politics5. Negotiating and Achieving Mutual Benefits6. Overcoming Procrastination7. Giving Presentations and Speaking in Public8. Speed Reading and Strong Recall9. Managing Up and Influencing Your Boss10. Managing Conflict and Repairing Relationships11. Working for a Toxic Boss

About the AuthorGary Gade is an author, speaker, and consultant who splits his time between New York City and Silicon Valley.