Admit it: You've had a boss or two who was so overbearing, obnoxious, or unreasonable (maybe all three) that you wanted to tell him or her how you really felt about their comments or behavior.

Then, sanity and reason got the better of you as you thought about the possibility of a ruined career and a life without a job and the safety net of unemployment compensation. So while you were at least a little bit angry, you kept it within.

I've been there. One day in a previous job, I was in a meeting of about a half-dozen people. After I made a point to the group, one of the executives made a comment about the lack of hair on top of my head. My reaction was one of silence: I gave him the iciest of stares and let his words hang amid the silence so everyone in the room got the message that he was out of line and offended me. I don't mind being bald (my hairline has been receding for about 25 years), but I do mind when someone makes a gratuitous remark about it.

Thinking back on it, here's what I would have said if I hadn't been facing an immediate firing. "My brain needed to expand, so some of my hair had to go. Why do you think you still have a full head of hair?"

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