“Sometimes you have to make decisions that necessarily exclude the collective. It's more difficult to be a friend - even though they know each other and they treat each other like friends, it's more of a challenge for them. It's just institutional fact; the two characters that are the most aloof are the ones who have the most responsibility.” SometimesCharacterDifficultChallengesDecisionResponsibilityAloof Author:Joshua Ferris
“I think one of the ways you avoid being angry is to avoid being angry at the people in power. They might do crappy things, and piss you off, and make bad decisions, but they shouldn't be hated simply because they're in power. And I thought it was important to humanize them if the book was going to be even-handed to all the different ways you encounter people at work.” PeopleThinkingImportantBookDifferentDecisionHatedBad Decision Author:Joshua Ferris
“I think if there hadn't been the one passage of the book that mostly abandons the humor, and focuses very intently on one person's struggle with cancer, it wouldn't have been a critical success. So that was a very deliberate decision, to say "Well, if you think it's all fun and games, it's not." So that was my approach: We're going to have as much fun as I can possibly provide, but the serious things that might normally pass by you are not going to be lost.” ThinkingBookFunDecisionStruggleSeriousCancerAbandon Author:Joshua Ferris
“All broken hearts are circumstantial. Every lovelorn jerk is the victim of bad timing, good intentions, and someone else’s poor decision making.” HeartDecisionPoorBrokenVictimIntentionDecision MakingTimingGood IntentionsJerkBad TimingPoor Decisions Author:Joshua Ferris
