The Corporate Rat Race, The Rats are Winning: A Game Plan for Surviving and Thriving in Corporate America, has a unique message for the 85 million unhappy workers of Corporate America. A unique message in that Rat Race is not just another how-to-be-a-success book peering from the “outside in”, but a fresh perspective from inside of Corporate America, by an author who is kindred to the daily trials and travails of the unhappy 85 million. Quotes from The Corporate Rat Race: The Rats Are Winning: Nothing in the Corporate Rat Race is a constant or permanent, because there will always be change. Without change there can be no thriving and without thriving there can be no change. Always keep your vision in focus. At the end of your career in the Corporate Rat Race, only you will be looking back on your accomplishments to gauge any sense of satisfaction that you have achieved what you set out to do. No matter what you do, success is not certain but if you do nothing failure is. Remember what Will Rogers said, “Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there”. Excellence and leadership is what separates success from failure.  Avoid mediocrity and complacency by thriving to run ahead and not rest on the laurels of merely surviving to run another day. When you are called to excellence, you will not fall short on confidence; through grace, the gifts that have been granted to you will not be abused; and your decisions will match your desires through the genuineness of obeying your heart.       Excerpt Since the beginning of the U.S. Industrial Revolution, we have seen the structure and composition of corporations evolve from the narrowly governed monopolies of the late 18th century to multinational conglomerates of the 21st century. The distribution of power and control has followed this evolution as the world’s economic structure transcended from mostly agricultural, to industrialized and finally to service based economies. It is the distribution of power and control or rather the decentralization of it that has given the rise to phenomena I call the Corporate Rat Race

Professional Reviews
Winning the rat race requires adapting to the maze
From the Kansas City Business Journal - March 23, 2007 - By Michael Braude

I love promoting deserving area authors. Paul Ulasien, who lives in Lawrence, recently sent me a copy of "The Corporate Rat Race: The Rats Are Winning."

His book, subtitled "A Game Plan for Surviving and Thriving in Corporate America," was published in 2006 by Publish America.

Paul wrote it after 35 years of experience in several levels of the business world. It is a quick-read paperback, and I recommend it.

The book is a culmination of journals that Paul maintained during his career, which included 12 years at Sprint Corp.

He also has taught on the college level and is the founder of Deafcat Music and Deafcat Records.

Today, he also is a private consultant and executive coach.

In the book, he draws on the experiences of many colleagues who shared their challenges of working in corporate America.

Ulasien maintains that 80 percent of workers today are dissatisfied with their jobs or companies. Our private enterprise work force is estimated to number 107 million.

Consequently, 85 million people must be unhappy at work.

The book traces the path of corporate America from the Industrial Revolution through the Depression, World War II and to today.

The author is very perceptive when he deals with the recent proliferation of corporate scandals.

He believes many directors, managers and supervisors are "oblivious to the impact of their actions on the physical and emotional well-being of subordinates and peers."

He elaborates on this important point by enumerating three actions such people take.

They are: "being substantive versus objective in the matter of performance evaluations," "basing decisions on what is probably true, or inductive versus deductive reasoning," and "using ethics as a mantra for a convenience of style versus the substance of principle."

He has a recurring theme that I believe is true. That theme is that "excellence and leadership are what separate success from failure."

The author also focuses on the proven fact that "change is the one constant in the corporate rat race."

The worker who has a chance to succeed in the race is the one who is flexible enough to continually adapt to change.

It is in regard to change that I believe Paul makes his most meaningful point.

He writes: "When we read the handwriting on the wall versus just seeing it, we give ourselves the opportunity to anticipate change and put a preparatory plan into place, thus making acceptance a moot point. Reaction or anticipation is the dividing line that separates surviving, going with the flow of change, or thriving, being opportunistic in the anticipation of change."

He offers three sound ground rules for dealing with change. I will take the liberty of paraphrasing and summarizing them.

First, never make a quick decision as it relates to change.

Second, discuss the ramifications of change with someone close to you who has your best interests in mind.

Finally, believe in yourself and your ability to carry out your decision for coping with change.

Several times in his very sensible book Ulasien quotes Will Rogers.

My favorite one of these sums up the thesis of this book: "Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."

There is a lot of common sense in "The Corporate Rat Race." I am glad Paul sent me his book!



Rat Race’ author pens survival tips
From The Lawrence Journal World - May 6, 20006 - By Mark Fagan

Paul Ulasien isn’t a rat, doesn’t want to be a rat and remains frustrated with the very notion that he’s spent a career surrounded by and managed by an ever-increasing number of rats.

Now he wants to turn the tables and help all of us unwitting employees become workplace felines — or, at the very least, give us enough sense to hide the cheese.

“We’re all racing,” said Ulasien, a Lawrence resident, business professor, music promoter, freelance writer and, now, first-time author. “I don’t care how smart you are, or how hard of a worker you are. People give all they can, get to be my age and they’re just miserable. And they stay in the race.

“Sometimes, you don’t have a choice.”

That’s where Ulasien’s new book, “The Corporate Rat Race: The Rats Are Winning, A Game Plan for Surviving and Thriving in Corporate America,” comes in.

In his book, Ulasien, 52, argues that the rats that dominate corporate America are those people who put their own interests, or those of groups of people, ahead of a business’s greater good. The rodent metaphor has been around for years and will continue to endure, he says, as human nature often reduces people to their selfish needs.


Photo by Richard Gwin

Paul Ulasien relaxes in his home office in west Lawrence, focused on selling his new book, “The Corporate Rat Race: The Rats Are Winning.”
Ulasien argues that people should work to understand the rat races going on within their own employers, and to work hard both to survive and thrive in spite of them.

After a career that has included playing trumpet in a symphony, pushing mounds of coal with a bulldozer and engineering new, futuristic technologies in telecommunications, Ulasien has leaned on co-workers, instructors and his own experiences to offer a few workplace suggestions:

• Always have an exit strategy from your job. If you get a promotion and spend all the money, you won’t be able to leave easily if the pressures become too much. Always remain flexible.

More about the book
6News video: Business professor shares employment advice
Ratracebooks.com
Amazon.com: The Corporate Rat Race
• Follow the rules, both written and unwritten. Being a team player, keeping a clean cubicle and wearing appropriate attire all are crucial to success.

• Protect yourself. “Everything that we do, especially when it concerns matters of conflict and confrontation, needs to be documented, saved and filed at work,” he writes. Designate a person to cover for you when you’re gone. Don’t let inattention to detail leave you susceptible to unwarranted blame.

• Avoid gossip and pettiness at the watercooler. It just wastes time, and can lead to distractions, and impediments, to your advancement and success.

• Play to your strengths, combining both passion for the job and an ability to do it.


Photo by Richard Gwin
• Seize opportunities. Many companies offer training classes, certification programs, tuition reimbursements and other benefits. Use them. They can lead into new interests and bolster efforts for advancement.

• Embrace change. One of Ulasien’s previous employers had encouraged, but not mandated, its engineers to get certified. Some did, others didn’t. When it came time for layoffs, all of those who had earned certification survived; many who did not were laid off. “You must anticipate and be prepared for change when it comes,” Ulasien writes, “for it will come.”

His book, from PublishAmerica in Baltimore, is being released today and is available at area bookstores and through online booksellers. For more information, go to www.ratracebooks.com.

About the Author
Name: Paul Ulasien

Occupation: President and co-owner, DeafCat Music/Records LLC, Lawrence; professor of business, University of Phoenix in Kansas City, Mo.; author, freelance writer.

Previous work experience: Emerging technology engineer, Sprint Corp., Overland Park; information technology manager, Marsh & McLennan, Kansas City, Mo.; equipment operator and field computer engineer, Board of Public Utilities, Kansas City, Kan.; engineering technician, Black & Veatch, Kansas City, Mo.; trumpet player, Kansas City Philharmonic Orchestra.

Education: Associate’s degrees in foreign languages and computer engineering technology, Kansas City Kansas Community College, 1970 and 1987; bachelor of business administration, Baker University, 1998; master of business administration, Baker University, 2002.

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