I've talked a lot here about methods for enduring abusive bosses and co-workers.  Some of these tips come from your comments and e-mails, some from the No Asshole Rule, and some from academic research. But I have only presented these tips in bits and pieces, so I thought it would be useful to list some of the most effective methods in one place.

Before I get to the rest of the tips, one is in a class by itself:

 From our four part series, "The Foundations of Mediocrity" 

The bread and butter of all the foundations of mediocrity, the one that most of us really commit our mindlessness to, is the schedule. Scheduling your project, that can absorb almost all of your craziness. And with a single fell swoop, at that! It can paralyze your thinking, blunt your imagination, break your creativity and reduce your procreativity to zero. The schedule is a potent nullifier. It is the queen of all mediocrity fountains.

Early in my career, the management team of a large professional firm asked my opinion about how they were conducting their affairs. I responded with a very honest, direct and candid answer-"Here are the things you are messing up, and this is what you should have been doing!" To my surprise, I was fired for being a disruptive influence. This was hard to understand, since I knew (and I knew that they knew) that I was correct in my diagnosis and prescriptions.

Last time we posted at geekleaders, we told the story of how a collection of best practices know as the Core System came to be. These are commitments and personal/interpersonal protocols, a sort of software for your head.  Here is one very useful protocol. It is presented as a game, but it is a transcendent game.

India has become the hot low cost outsourcing destination for many western companies, and everyone is hating and loving it at the same time. As it is a hot destination too many western businessmen often burn their hands by touching the wrong buttons. But, any international businessman who wants to successfully take advantage of the pluses and minuses of India must first understand the complex kaleidoscope of this country and the way Indians think, act, see, hear and believe. Doing business with India is more than just a low cost English destination, computer technology expertise, flexible contracts, better quarterly earnings, leadership, customer satisfaction, business value and other jargon.  To have a long-term business relationship with India and most south Asian countries around India, you need to understand the unsaid and the unspoken that may often seem to have no connection or an impediment to business needs.

Have you ever observed that you feel highly energetic, bubbly and full of energy on certain days, and feel exactly the opposite on some days?  And you may have also observed these high and low feelings can last inside you for several days. But, wait a minute. Doesn't your company mission and vision statement make it mandatory for every employee to be always excited, energetic, and passionate about everything, every minute and every hour?

The lumber tax is a cost you incur whenever you do business with men. Men achieve more-and with less friction-when there is a clear hierarchy among them, when their accomplishments are celebrated, and when the perquisites of rank, perceived power, and compliments flow in their direction.

In November, 2006, I had breakfast with Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard.  Okay, she sat at the table next to mine, and there were about 300 other people at the breakfast, but I was looking forward to hearing Fiorina speak.

Fiorina recently published her memoir, Tough Choices (published by the Penguin Group, ISBN 1-59184-133-X).  This talk, co-hosted by Friends' Health Connection and New Jersey Association of Women Business Owners, was a stop on her book tour.  Fiorina spoke on a range of topics from her book, every word of which she assured us she wrote herself.  She then answered numerous questions from the audience.  I took detailed notes, and while I am not quoting Fiorina exactly, much of the wording in the remainder of the article is hers and not mine.