The No Asshole Rule (20th Anniversary)

Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't

An updated new edition of the definitive guide to working with, surviving, and banishing bullies, creeps, jerks, tyrants, tormentors, despots, backstabbers, egomaniacs, and all the other assholes who do their best to destroy you at work.

“What an asshole!”

How many times have you said that about someone you work with? You’re not alone!

In this 20th anniversary edition of his groundbreaking book, Stanford University professor Robert I. Sutton helps you understand why assholes can be so destructive to your company and the best way to deal with them. The No Asshole Rule is a rollicking and research-based New York Times bestseller while also being practical, compassionate, and downright funny. That’s why it is the first book people who are plagued by assholes, and leaders who want to build civilized workplaces, turn to for help. And why it has sold over a million copies in more than 20 countries.

This update of professor Sutton’s definitive guide offers:

A new foreword by the author on what he’s learned over the past 20 years from being “the asshole guy”
Strategies on how to pinpoint and eliminate workplace assholes and their negative impact
An evidence-based recipe for building civilized workplaces that bar and banish assholes
Tips for surviving nasty colleagues, customers, and workplaces
A self-diagnostic test and a program to identify and keep your own “inner jerk” from coming out.

The No Asshole Rule is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestseller.

Pre-Order Your Copy

“If you’re not on board with the vision laid out in this book, you might be an asshole.”

Adam Grant

Organizational psychologist at Wharton, bestselling author of Think Again and Vibe, host of the TED podcast Re:Thinking

“Less assholes, more badasses! The No Asshole Rule is more relevant now than the day it was written. With his trademark brilliance, wit, and kindness, Sutton walks the talk and shows us that an asshole-free world is possible, if we follow one rule.

Alison Fragale

author of Likeable Badass: How Women Get the Success They Deserve

“More timely than ever! The assholes have been turning up their volume–Bob Sutton shows us how to turn it back down.”

Kim Scott

New York Times bestselling author of Radical Candor and Radical Respect

“The evergreen brilliance of this book is that it isn’t exactly about assholes. It’s about realizing that our colleagues are humans, with their own quirks, powers, vulnerabilities and delights. Humans haven’t changed since this guide was published twenty years ago – and neither have Sutton’s powerful insights.”

Susan Cain

NY Times bestselling author of Quiet and Bittersweet, and host of The Quiet Life Substack

“The No Asshole Rule rules. I once headed a production team that adopted the Rule, and because everyone knew it, we never needed to evoke it.”

Garry Trudeau

Pulitzer Prize winning creator of the Doonesbury comic strip and Amazon’s Alpha House

“This is a management book with a rule simple enough for even management to understand. Bob combines rigorous research, practical advice, and the technical term we’ve been using privately for years. By the way, if you think your organization doesn’t have an asshole, check the mirror before celebrating.”

Guy Kawasaki

host of the Remarkable People podcast and chief evangelist of Canva

“Direct and punchy . . . meticulously researched. Sutton uses accessible language and a bevy of examples to make his case . . . a how-to guide to surviving environments where assholes freely roam . . . deserves influence in corporate hiring and firing strategies.”

Publishers Weekly

“Vivid . . . Satisfying . . . Sutton advocates a tough zero- Tolerance policy for jerks at work.”

Newsweek

“The No Asshole Rule is a book well worth reading, and a rule well worth following.”

Forbes

“Entertaining and important . . . this book is a blow for humanity as well as management. Life is too short.”