Don't Put Socks On The Hippopotamus and Other Rules of Business Life

Terry Kelley

Writing humour is one of the hardest challenges to any author, and for a writer of management books doubly so, because insights into good management must nestle inside the humour to make the whole task worthwhile.

Terry Kelley, an American IT expert living in the UK, has concocted 75 rules for effective management, grouped into ten parts, ranging from Rules about work to Rules about rules. And yes, you've guessed it, rule 75 is And some rules are made to be broken! Although light-hearted, many of the aphorisms (not all are truly rules) contain some sense, and the anecdotes about his own business experience set the book in the everyday world of (largely) US business.

Is it funny? Well, it's not totally unfunny (that's damning with faint praise), but the thinness and the triteness of some of the ideas would have been made less obvious by a greater humour quotient, which makes it somewhat monotonous after a while. However, there is some enjoyment to be had from dipping into the book, more or less at random, when you're looking for a quick read or want to give yourself a stimulating break.

Why shouldn't you put socks on a hippopotamus? Because there are some jobs that just aren't worth doing - the effort and the reward are totally out of balance.

by Terru Kelley (Gower: 1998 £19.99)

Review from 'Progress' published by NEBS Management, October 1998