31 Days to a Better Boss

Catherine Jewell
Success Address Press (2006)
ISBN 0970160801
Reviewed by Cherie Burbach for Reader Views (5/06)

A combination of self-improvement and business tactics, “31 Days to a Better Boss” is formatted like a gift book – and would be a welcome addition to anyone that’s ever struggled with frustration at their job. (And who hasn’t?) The book provides a tip “a day” (hence, the name) in the form of a daily calendar. These bite-size tips to ponder are just right for a busy worker already too stressed to read yet another “self-help” book. The book begins with tips on preparing yourself to leave if you need to – and then proceeds with tips to use to make your work life and relationships with your boss even better. In other words, getting a handle on your work life and putting it in the right perspective will allow you to live your life without being miserable and sabotaging yourself for future success.

Author Catherine Jewell states that people dislike their jobs more than they love them. However, she believes people can find happiness in their work. Like anything else in life, you have to take responsibility for it first. Jewell reminds us, “you have a job – you are not owned by the company.”

“31 Days” is meant to help people figure out what’s wrong with the situation where they are before they move on to somewhere else, and provides thirty-one ideas based on “solid evidence about the way business works.” The book is based on a change model of: SEE-DO-HAVE. In other words, to HAVE results, one must DO something differently; in order to DO it differently we need to SEE the situation in a new way. Each daily idea is designed to be a meditation, an initiative, and an action to bring about change. The author advises us to read one idea each morning and at the end of the thirty-one days then ask yourself if you want to stay or go. However, she makes a special note that if someone has a toxic boss, that is, someone that behaves as a bully, you should get out now!

Each of the thirty-one tips is highlighted first by a “day,” then a page with the tip, then typically two pages more of background verbiage further describing what the tip means and how to implement it. One of the facts that surprised me in this book was the statement, “we are in an age when business knowledge becomes obsolete every 18 months.” Also important is the concept that “you were hired, not because of what you know, but because of what you can learn” and thus, if you don’t get training in a job, you need to realize that companies today don’t have the training programs to keep up with the changes going on in the business world.

“31 Days to a Better Boss” is unique little book to get you out of the habit of complaining about work and into the habit of bettering yourself, your attitude, and your happiness. I think every one of us has had a situation in which we felt helpless about a negative work situation. “31 Days to a Better Boss” will help people understand the importance of keeping current with the market, handling communication problems at work as you would a marriage, dropping the unimportant things that can detract your focus from leaving on good terms, and finally, finding the right new job for you.

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