ARSE: The Asshole Rating Self Exam

Bob Sutton and the mavens at Electric Pulp have created the ARSE (Asshole Rating Self Exam) to help people to determine if they are assholes. This is an offshoot from Bob’s book, The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t, which I reviewed at the end of October.

I’m sure that none of you need to take this test, but you might know someone who does. :-)

On a related topic, Bob told me about a company called SuccessFactors. It makes performance and talent management software to automate performance reviews across global organizations and create visibility into performance data across the organization. This helps its customers determine how to find, promote, and pay people as well as how to manage succession planning.

The company is a no-asshole zone. It requires employees to agree to sign this document:

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Rules of Engagement

1. I will be passionate—about SuccessFactors’ mission, about my work. I will love what we do for companies and employees everywhere.

2. I will demonstrate respect for the individual; I will be nice and listen to others, and respect myself. I will act with integrity and professionalism.

3. I will do what it takes to get the job done, no matter what it takes, but within legal and ethical boundaries.

4. I know that this is a company, not a charity. I will not waste money—I will question every cost.

5. I will present an exhaustive list of solutions to problems—and suggest actionable recommendations.

6. I will help my colleagues and recognize the team when we win. I will never leave them behind when we lose.

7. I will constantly improve Kaizen! I will approach every day as an opportunity to do a better job, admitting to and learning from my mistakes.

8. I will selflessly pursue customer success.

9. I will support the culture of meritocracy and pay for performance.

10. I will focus on results and winning—scoring points, not just gaining yardage.

11. I will be transparent. I will communicate clearly and be brutally honest, even when it’s difficult, because I trust my colleagues.

12. I will always be in sales and drive customer satisfaction.

13. I will have fun at work and approach my work with enthusiasm.

14. I will be a good person to work with—I will not be an asshole.

I agree to live these values. If my colleagues fail to live up to any of these rules, I will speak up and will help them correct; in turn, I will be open to constructive criticism from my colleagues should I fail to live by these values. I understand that my performance will be judged in part by how well I demonstrate these values in my daily work.

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I hope you pass the ’hole-in-oscopy! If you don’t, be sure to get the book.

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Comments

[Greg Miller]

Y' know, I was curious about the book until reading 'Bob told me about a company ...', and then read the ridiculous "contract". If Mr. Sutton is excited by a company that promotes such a thing (which in itself has a stench of generating sycophancy), he's not someone whose work I have an interest in paying money to read.

[Fedy]

Hey guys, I have found the book extremely interesting!! Do you have any suggestion on how put the method into practice?? It's not easy!!
Thanks
Fedy

[Andrew Chong]

I am a natural born asshole by nature. I stumbled upon your blog and decided to took your survey and this had further confirmed that I was indeed an asshole. I am very proud to be an asshole. Feel free to conduct me, so that we could exchange ideas on how to become a better asshole and excel in the art of asshole.

[Michael]

omg...I wouldn't sign that whatever the job is!

Free PS3

[Matt]

SuccessFactors was the worst company i ever been interviewed for a job - went thru several rounds of interview and everyone followed the same question list…ouch!

The products focus on xml but only a handful of tech are just started learning about it and the managers there have NO clues about technical. I wonder how they manage their technical staffs - probably drinking alot of Koolaids.

[tercüme]

rules of entertain :)

[michele]

I work for a firm that has been rated consistently as one of the top ten firms to work for in this country.

I love going to work, I love the people I work with and for, & I am passionate about what I do. If by mistake idiots are hired, they are given the opportunity to change or else.

It is a very positive environment where even idiots can be reformed. So pledges like the one above are unnecessary. But nevertheless, thank you for sharing!

[Telling on you]

Hi there,
I work in Seattle and I just want to say that I have a list of the top arse-hole bosses, in case you ever run into them:
1) Laura Burgess (Narcassistic personality disorder/compulsive liar/and cleptomaniac)
2) Katie Harrington (Hired consultants to do her job with company money while she clandenstinely went back to school. After she returned, she put a recovering breast cancer patient on probation).
3) Chris Crowell, had an affair with his employee and bonused her 20grand under the table. Later got caught "with his pants down".
4) Jen Bulter, psycho hose beast project manager on an abusive power trip
5) Tammy Bunn, irrational and crazy attending for hospital residents. Her husband "loved" her so much that he "accidentally" hit her nose in his sleep and broke it.
6) Peter Nevius, regularly sexually harassed female employees and asked women in senior jobs to change the printer paper for him. Took business partners to strip clubs on the company credit card. Boinked another woman in his wife's bed while his wife was at work.

[Disgruntled girl]

So, what does a girl do when she has a psycho-hose beast of a female boss? The worst thing is, I work at a "feed the children" non-profit where we are supposed to conserve costs so we can feed more children. Now, that is a great mission, but when the female hose beast boss goes and stays at the Mandalay bay resort on the company's dime for two weeks, and furthermore gets away with it, there's a problem. Bob, how do we bring down the female arsehole who gets away with all but murder, and maybe that too!

[paul sez]

Paradox: I believe that only an asshole would have the cheek to write a book entitled "The No Asshole Rule."

Bob Sutton should leave the proseltyzing to Jim Collins or other more capable minds.

[JOHN]

Gen. Swartzkopf said it succinctly "Don't take yourself too seriously."

In light of the "Golden Rule" you could keep it simple and treat one another with respect, no matter how demented or idiotic your counterpart seems. A second rule could be that no matter how demented or idiotic your counterpart seems, you may eclipse them at some point. Third rule could be that Rule Number Two remains in effect no matter who is in charge.

Been there, done that as a commander, and a follower. It's a difficult minefield to walk through unscathed.

My father had a good way of handling a__hole officers. He was respectful, but gave them the sh_ttiest salutes possible.

Being a dick for the sake of being a dick is not leadership, but a display of weakness no matter what your rank or station. Swearing is part of military culture and has its place as an adjective for what task is at hand versus who you want to accomplish the f___ing mission. It has no place in the civilian world, unless you want your "arse" kicked. Same goes for pointing with a finger in either setting.

[Shane]

The ARSE is a great little app for promoting the book. Quick, bold, entertaining ...

I scored a 7 out of 15 which I'm perfectly happy with. Not too mushy and not too much of an a-ho.

It's always good to have balance as a leader. And a good sense of humor.

[Phil Dourado]

Well, I'm glad you Yanks are spelling it correctly at last - We've been saying 'arse' not 'ass' for hundreds of years. I suspect Bob Sutton is an Anglophile and knew that in UK English an arse *is* an ass. Guy: always entertaining and inspiring to read your stuff. Thanks, as ever.

[brian]

Much as I like the no-asshole contract theory for SuccessFactors, I'd say that any company that creates automated performance reviews is, at best, an asshole-enabler. Performance reviews are the most assholic events, documents and practices a company can engage in. Helping some management toady push a button and automate an employee review can only make them more dehumanizing, wasteful and counterproductive: in short, making anyone who uses it more of an asshole.

For guidance on the appropriate use of performance reviews, see the work of quality management guru W. Edwards Demings, who wrote that evaluation of performance, merit ratings, and annual reviews of employee performance comprise the third of his "Seven Deadly Diseases" of management.

[savita]

we should have rules but in return company should provide something like strong.
It should always give and take relation with company.
Actually company should deserve for it.
No issue working with these rules.

[alan p]

omg...I just could not join any company that wanted me to sign that. Its worse than having an a***hole boss :).

That list was tongue in cheek, right?

[Qwerty Quick]

Glad I didn't pay Success Factors any more attention than marvelling at the "I will be passionate" ... thought that was cool.

Success Factors attempted twice to interview me for a Tech Support position. We never went beyond email exchanges (even when I was unemployed) because they couldn't comprehend that embedded hardware new product technical support might be a wee-bit more demanding than tier 1 call center script reading tech support.

Personally I am getting VERY VERY ANNOYED at HR/IT organizations outsourcing all their crap to third parties who have no "speak to human ONSITE reps who use the identical benefits & tools" as Joe/Jane Blow employee. So you work for the HR vendor but you can't answer my question about the Dental Plan or Review process because y'all don't use it yourself??? HELLO!!!

Anyone have any good Google Interview stories ;-);-);-)

[April]

OK, I stopped laughing long enough to take the test. I scored a wopping 1. Yeh, that's right, I'm a cream puff and I actually like people:] Thanks:}

[David]

Bob,

just got the book through Amazon yesterday here in Germany. The title sounds promising and I´m looking forward to read it.

[st_labrat]

I am depressed now: I am not score high enough on ARSE to be the "ass" to gain a "visibility", fast moving up until bust... I do not have the "clean bill of health" to be the "nice guy" to play on a team... like Bob's team. I am not even score high enough as an potential up-coming "ass"... Lack of potential indeed.

[Glen Cabbage]

Mike said:
"I think no assholes is a great rule, but as far as building a company, I doubt you can build a great company when people are too scared of losing their jobs to have civil disagreements."

I think you're setting up a straw-man, sir. This is the very essence of my disagreement with many of the posts here: Behaving respectfully and professionally to one another does not preclude disagreeing or even being painfully blunt with one another. The principle isn't intended to dictate that everyone will float around with a painted smile on their face. It simply emphasizes that one examines their words, manner, and motives in their business dealings with colleagues and beyond.

[Mike]

While the sentiment is laudable, I think you run the risk of creating a kool-aid driven environment, like SuccessFactors, where employees avoid the honest and reasonable examination of company ideas and processes out of fear of losing their jobs.

I realize this is a statistically invalid sample, but I interviewed with SuccessFactors once and it was Jonestown in San Mateo.

SuccessFactors prides themselves on their newsroom environment, which is the loudest workspace I have ever been in. It was so loud that I couldn't hear the interviewer over the sales call going on next door. Because the founder believes this is a productive environment (despite all scientific studies on engineering productivity to the contrary), every single employee repeated the party line verbatim without being able to provide a single argument in favor. [Now I will say to their credit, unlike many CEOs who preach this crap, their founder and CEO did follow his own teachings.]

I think no assholes is a great rule, but as far as building a company, I doubt you can build a great company when people are too scared of losing their jobs to have civil disagreements.

[Glen Cabbage]

Wow. I must admit I'm both surprised and disappointed by the many people who summarily dismissed the notion of SuccessFactors and others codifying the simple tenet of "don't be an asshole".

Many bloggers here expressed that a company would do better to "provide employees with autonomy", "lead by example", or myriad other admonitions. To assume that such things are not already in place is faulty logic and a non-sequitur. Why do you so quickly assume that such that pragmatic behaviors are not already in place?

Rather than assume that platitudes take the place of substance, I choose to believe that the 15 tenets posted by SuccessFactors reflect the policies and practices already established by the management and employees. I believed it enough to apply and become hired. Thus far, I've seen nothing to change my opinion.

[Elaine]

The argument that the "no-asshole" rule is worthless because it is impossible to have every employee be perfect enough to conform to it is preposterous. Of course it's impossible to live the rules perfectly. That's not the point. The contract is a symbol. It is a symbol of the CEO's commitment to creating a positive work environment, and signing the contract is a symbol of each employee's commitment to doing what they can to making it a positive work environment. The no-asshole rule is only one part of creating that environment. Kaizen is also a huge part of the culture at SuccessFactors, and emphasizes the fact that we understand that people screwup and that it's ok. I have heard repeatedly from my own manager that he is more than ok with people making mistakes, because it makes our people and our organization smarter. And I've personally seen his support and encouragement when I've made my own mistakes. If anyone implies that all it takes is a piece of paper with signatures to create a good working environment, well then yes, I do think that's stupid. SuccessFactors doesn't wave around signed sheets of paper and think that it makes everything ok. SuccessFactors tries to live these principles to the best of our abilities, starting from the very top, using multiple intiatives, including but not limited to the contract. The fact that it is a priority and that they make it a priority for every employee is what I think sets us apart from the rest.

[Max Goldman - SuccessFactors]

Guy,

Thanks for helping to spread the word about how we think about people and about working together at SuccessFactors. The comments, both pro and con, are really interesting and worth considering.

My own personal experience with "no assholes" at SuccessFactors is very simple. Once, my boss was being a jerk. I told him so - in those words. Instead of getting mad, he accepted the comment and we moved on. Later, he thanked me for telling him. My boss thanked me for calling him a jerk. Let me repeat that. My boss thanked me for calling him a jerk. Calling the spade a spade helped everyone work better together and get more done.

I wonder if your readers can do that at their companies? If not, I think the value of the stated no-assholes rule becomes pretty evident. At The SuccessFactors blog, I've posted some more quotes from SuccessFactors employees for people who want to understand how it impacts our work and our thinking.

[Ann-Marie]

A no asshole zone? Try providing employees with the autonomy to think big and execute, an environment where their opinions matter and the trust that they'll do the right thing, and the culture will be 100x better and more genuine than a forced "no asshole" clause. If you appreciate your employees and let them know they're the heart and soul of your organization, there isn't much they won't do for you.

[Andy H]

Since it appears that Bob Sutton is participating in this discussion, I'll share an idea. I took the ARSE exam. I scored a 2, but I have asked a few close colleagues and my wife to use the exam to create a third party rating for me. They certainly know better than I.

Isn’t one of the defining characteristics of an a-hole that they are not self-aware, and therefore don’t KNOW that they’re an a-hole? If my theory is correct, it would be interesting to have others use the test to rate us, creating a great performance metric: the A-Hole Delta, i.e., the difference between one’s a-hole self-perception and the reality of one’s a-holishness.

I wonder if the reality is that we’re all bigger a-holes than we think? I will have to buy the book and see if Bob answered this question. If not, then I’ve finally found my doctoral thesis topic!

[John McCoy]

In my 40 years of work experience I have never seen any organization whose employees from the CEO down try so hard to live the by their principles. I joined SuccessFactors because of the principles, and am thankful every day to be a part of the organization that has these principles and lives them and every day demonstrates a solid commitment to my success.
That's what I say in the pub at night.

[Brad Hutchings]

"I will focus on results and winning—scoring points, not just gaining yardage."

How about... "I will not use football metaphors unless I really understand the game." I.e. sometimes when things aren't lining up your way and clicking on all cylinders, you have to play for field position.

[April]

OK, Guy, you're going to have to stop making me laugh hysterically; it makes my chest hurt:} And no, I didn't take the test:}

[T.G.]

Signing an irreverent-sounding no-ahole contract is IMO a bit like a town putting up a pithy "This is a drug free zone" sign with every local mucky-muck showing up to get their picture taken, then walking away.

Both examples are certainly gratifying, and it makes for great "theater," but both offer little in the way of effective action.

No, the best way to foster a positive workplace is same as it ever was: for the leaders to "be" that positive workplace and lead by example. If the leaders lead with ethics and integrity, the aholes will, uh, stick out like sore thumbs! :-)

[James Clark]

Hire slowly, fire fast. Get the a-holes out as soon as possible. You know who they are, your employees know who they are. Trust your gut (otherwise known as the a-hole detector), no survey needed.

[Matt]

I would question the viability of a company that feels the need for its employees to sign a "no assholes" agreement. In my experience, good companies build an environment where people don't want to act like assholes - nobody needs to be bound by an agreement.

Perhaps it is simply a joke to have employees think about their behaviour. If this is the case, I would still worry that in many employees eyes it will create an implicit bond on the employer to *never* act like an asshole. When backs are against the wall, this will be very hard to live up to.

[Morgan Ramsay]

... men of caliber do not ordinarily use profanity ...

I know plenty of respectable and successful business leaders who use profanity in their everyday language, at work and play.

"Men of caliber" are just people. People say and do all sorts of stupid, clever, and crazy things. The pedestals we place people upon, or upon which they place themselves, usually crumble when we realize they, too, have bowed before the porcelain gods at some point in their lives. That's the point I was trying to make.

[Paul Ding]

"People who think 'men of caliber' do not use profanity are deceiving themselves."

Caliber is just a measure of how big the bore is. (Pun intended.)

The reason men of caliber do not ordinarily use profanity is not because it hurts the reader, but it hurts the writing. Ordinarily, it screams so loudly that the rest of the words are never heard.

Hugh Macleod's cartoon, in the right sidebar, says that "Hi... I'm on my cellphone, waiting to get my head kicked in." If he'd said "waiting to get my ass kicked", it'd have been less funny. It's the dichotomy between the quiet words and the violence indicated that makes us pause.

Similarly, when a man of caliber needs to scream, profanity isn't just allowable, it's mandated. Even the most abusive of all profanity, the n-word, is sometimes used to good advantage by excellent writers, the editors of Esquire argue in the current issue.

But arse? Profanity? Only in the sense of being irreverent. It's hardly abusive, indecent, or lewd.

[raj]

Guy, was disappointed with this blog- doesn't make sense for a person like you to hawk a average book -

*********************

Raj,

Have you read it? Because it's not out yet. If you haven't read it, how do you know it's onlt average?

Guy

[Infonaut]

Re: SuccessFactors. As soon as I see the words "automated performance review" and "performance data" in connection with employees, a little alert light goes off in my brain.

It may be that SuccessFactor's software makes organizations better places for employees, but it could also be that SuccessFactors is helping to generate the very kind of 19th Century "worker as cog" organizations that it is trying to avoid becoming. When people are treated like widgets, their propensity for a-hole behavior jumps accordingly.

[Morgan Ramsay]

I scored "0" on the ARSE.

I like the "Rules of Engagement", but the real asshole is the person who abuses the rules to measure others. Wikipedia is an excellent experiment in how a group of people can use "rules" to transform a utopia into a living hell.

Neil McDonnell: Don't be an asshole. (Yes, those are all words that Princeton University recognizes.) The post is about an exam titled the "Asshole Rating Self-Exam" created by Stanford professor Bob Sutton, who authored the book "The No Asshole Rule".

Using profanity says little about the person using profanity. To claim otherwise is presumptuous, at best. People who think "men of caliber" do not use profanity are deceiving themselves.

[Neil McDonnell, PMP]

Wow Guy...you've really disappointed me today with your post. Why on earth would a man of your caliber figure he needs to use profanity in his blog?

Please don't think you have to stoop to profanity just to have an interesting or funny post. You are funny and interesting without it.

It's one thing for us to use profanity off the cuff, but to actually think it's appropriate in writing tells a lot about a man. I'm hoping that in this case it's a one-time thing and doesn't actually reflect on your overall character.

I highly recommend your blog to others and would hate to feel compelled to stop. Please keep them coming, just drop the profanity all together. Perhaps our two Super Bowl coaches can be examples for us all.

[Joachim Simon]

I am interested to know what the employees of "successfactors" say about these rules when they are having a beer in the pub at night. I would also like to know how they came up with these rules - a top-down management decision? A buttom-up process where employees could give theire input? I assume it is a topdown process and if this is true I am quite sure that there will be low commitment. I also see a similarity to sects...they also have those kinds of rules...

[Tim Holt]

Agree with the "the list is lame" comments. You hire people who match the vision.

[Mauro Mello Jr.]

Why not ask readers to submit their ARSE scores so you can tabulate and display our collective profile?

[George Bezou]

I think the reason why the rules of engagement need to be so explicitly stated is because "expectations" can vary widely from employee to employee and manager to manager. Agreeing not be an A-hole is not easily misunderstood.

Speaking of which, is your boss an ass? You should rate him or her at http://www.TheBossAwards.com and warn the others.

[LKM]

What a demeaning, patronizing, idiotic and stupid contract. How can anybody sign a contract that says shiitake like "I will have fun at work"? How can you even control that? Having fun at work comes from the workplace, not from the person working there. Sounds like somebody is trying to get rid of responsibility. If I had to sign something like that, my first thought would be "so people who work here don't have fun unless you make them have fun, huh?"

[Bob Sutton]

Keith,

A number of people have told this morning that the questions are too easy to check "no" on, and as you say, further fuel the asshole in denial. One of the reasons they are so blatant, I suppose, is that my wife -- who was managing a large law firm at the time -- saw such behavior so frequently that, when we started talking about it, these seemed "normal." Perhaps the stereotype is true. On the other hand, for personal reasons, I am glad I didn't make it any easier... I scored an 11! So I am borderline.

[Duncan Drennan]

Biggest problem is the true asshole who would sign this and then proceed to question everyone's actions against "the list" :)

[heri]

the rules of engagement is a great idea, but 14 rules is just too much, i am sure there is a way to trim it down to, say 3. You cant print 14 rules and display it in your company. You could but it would be in small print. You cant expect people to work and think by the 14 rules at anytime. It is impossible. Whereas with 3 rules, you could display it everywhere, and employees would have a less harder time to remember it

[Ben Roodman]

Being an asshole is one thing, and a manager can be respected at the end of the day for having a high expectation of quality. It’s another thing to have the perception of caring more about PowerPoint presentations than people. If you want the best people in your company or want to make quality investments, then it’s important not to lose focus of the person you’re being an asshole to over font size.

[Matthew Stibbe (Bad Language)]

Hmmm. By their fruits yea shall know them. Anyone can sign a bit of paper. Trust requires consistent performance over time. The worst employees I ever had would have signed this in a flash but betrayed its intentions. Similarly, the best employees I ever had would have scorned this document and perhaps even refused to sign it.

The quiz is quite fun but it would take a very dim-witted arsehole not to realise which answers were the 'right' one, even if they secretly wanted to give the other answer.

[keith ray]

If the questions were worded slightly differently, they probably would be more effective at actually detecting arseholes. But many of them are worded so that a person who doesn't believe they are an arsehole (but actually is) will score in the middle rather than the high end of the scale.

Very view arseholes believe they are. The ones that do believe it may actually be less offsensive than the ones that don't.

[Eric Berlin]

Forcing employees to sign "Rules of Engagement" is kind of lame, don't you think? Shouldn't the expectation be that you're going to be passionate, thrifty, refrain from asshole-ism, etc.?

[Shefaly Yogendra]

I think anybody who *begins* by thinking that they do not need this test is probably hovering close to the boundary. No? You disagree? With me? I mean come on, you have to admit it is pretty funny ;-)

(Usual caveats and disclaimers about internal validity, reliability, bias and consistency in the 'research' design from market research/ questionnaire design 101 apply.)