The Curmudgeon Summary

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In the first chapter of The Curmudgeon's Guide to Getting Ahead: Dos and Don'ts of Right Behavior, Tough Thinking, Clear Writing, and Living a Good Life, by Charles Murray focus mainly on the presentation of oneself in the workplace and examples of the behavior that can hurt your future successful and perception from others towards you. Charles opens up with the definition of a curmudgeon and how it can impact your success in the workplace. Some points Charles makes are not sucking up to somebody, don’t use first names with people who considerably older than you until asked, and sometimes not even then, what to do if you have a bad boss, and manners at the office and in general. What Charles Murray says for each of the tips to behave in the …show more content…

In addition, one does not want to suck up to a less competent or incompetent person because they’re not in the position to help you as much and there’s too much danger that the people that one wants to impress will remember it and observe you brownnosing. Also not using first names with people who are considerably older than you until asked. What Mr. Murray says, is when addressing somebody “Mr.” or “Ms.”, and down the road the person will say to you, “I think its time you called me by my first name.” Another behavior tip the author talks about is “what to do if you have a bad boss”. Charles mentions that if you even have a thought about the boss behavior and is not being ethical or has …show more content…

One thing I learned was there a certain way of responding to your work collages if you are sharing personal information about yourself or events you are attending, there’s a professional and sappy way of saying thanks fro telling this vs. thanks for sharing. Another lesson I learned was usage if the bare bones usage primer. Finally, I learned about the recalibration of your perspective on time. One needs to realize that it take time to get good at you do and without time and practice you wont be a strong person who can deal with larger problems. What I liked about this book was the practical issues and lessons that are taught and explained in great detail relating to the experience people my age have been in or experienced. For example, coming to grips with the distinction between can do and may do. What I took from this was in certain situations we choose these phrases based on the outcome and perception we want from

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