Career Zen Chapter Six

C a r e e r   Z e n
by Larry Daly, 'The JOB DOC'

Chapter 6.   CAREER STRATEGIES AND TACTICS

Seven Rules for Getting Raises
1. Never ever, ever, ever, ever, ask for a raise! NEVER! To have to 'ask' immediately puts you at a total disadvantage, and makes the outcome a predictable "No", or worse, a "We'll see. . ." type of indirect denial, 99.9% of the time.
2. On the other hand, making a sincere offer to your boss to do something of significant value (to him, in his mind), and making him mention the first dollar figure, then negotiating what it is worth until both parties are satisfied, or as near as possible, makes the outcome a 99.9% predictable "Of course.".
3. Common Sense. Four things are essential:
a.   The timing and setting must be carefully chosen so you absolutely will not be interrupted; so that both parties are comfortable; so that he can not leave until you conclude your presentation; and so that you can both concentrate upon the issue.
b.   Pay attention to other details, also. Privacy is essential for another reason, so neither of you loses face before others in case of failure.
c.   Time. You need enough to present your case and any proof, such as charts or data.
d.   You must gain and hold his attention. I advise having a plan and a script, and rehearsing, with your Support Team, as I have all careerists do in my private career coaching: we use several role - playing scenarios, drilling and rehearsing various alternatives and options in front of my video cameras, so each client can see and correct his faults, and develop the most effective style and attack for his character and purpose, the personality of the target, and so on.

4. You must have a reasonably good relationship with this person, and it should be cooperative rather than adversarial. (It can be an adversarial relationship if he has high respect for you, and will listen fairly to your proposition.) You must be able to address him as an equal. If not, take the time required, even if it takes weeks or months, to move your relationship to a cooperative and mutually respecting basis. If you have a master-and-dog relationship, forget it - you will certainly never get a raise out of him, so quit that job as soon as you can, get a good recommendation letter from him, and find a better job. Remember, Career Rule #1 is to always have a second job, income from at least two sources, so you can quit if you really must, and are not locked into a bad work situation because of economic necessity. And so that you can speak to your manager, or any another person in the world, as an equal. Managers of every kind, if they are good at management, are tuned to any quaver of voice, or any gesture, posture, or other indication of submission, and when they detect it, they instinctively use their power to grant or deny in opposition to the desire of the supplicant, especially in the presence of an audience, if for no other reason than to prove and show that they are the boss. They understand the rule that power must be used, or it is not power. This is truth. Observe, and see.
5. Practice, drill, and rehearse this presentation beforehand, with your Career Support Team (see Chapter 8), or a friend or two, so that you show no hint of supplication or weakness. In my private practice as a career coach, I videotape my clients in these rehearsals and we study every aspect and detail, and drill to exhaustion to achieve perfection. Find a friend with a video camera and do the same. (Did I ever mention that you need all the friends you can cultivate?) It is hard work, but worth the effort. If you must pay them, remember that the few dollars it will cost will gain you back much more within the first year - a $500 investment to gain a $5,000 raise is certainly a good deal: $4,500 profit! Call for details on how we do it in my personal career coaching: 212.876.5483
6. What you are doing is going into partnership with your boss, not kissing ass. Sucking up will only let him use you for his own ends, with no real or permanent gain to you, for the rest of your life together. For instance, usually he wants to move up his career ladder. Find out the next job he is looking at. Then verify this in casual conversation with him, over time. If you do not talk casually, achieving that kind of relationship is another preliminary step. Don't rush it or he will smell a threat. If you offer to help him with his work, maybe his paperwork if he hates that the most, so that he can spend more of his time learning that position he seeks, he is likely to consider your proposition with some interest, rather than automatic rejection. Just listening to his goals and problems can help him come to look upon you as a friend. Or offer to take over something else that is costing him the most time and effort, so he can go and take a class needed to move up. Or a way of getting his boss off his back. The possibilities are infinite, and depend upon your particular situation. Watch, wait, and think. You can even be a 'career coach' to him! Take your time and work it out, well in advance, with your Support Team. But again, you do not offer from submission. Let him make the suggestion or offer, as if it is his idea, so he keeps face. You might say something like, "Joe (another manager) has someone helping him with that paperwork; too bad you don't." Even that can be too much in some circumstances. Have someone else in your mutual support team make the remark in your presence, opening the subject, and carry it from there, or reference it later in private, provoking the response you want. Your boss is not stupid. He would not be over you if he was, so respect his intelligence, his sensitivity, and his ambition, no matter what you may otherwise think of him.
7. In such offers, do not make the offer immediately, but take your time, and be ready to withdraw before full disclosure, if you sense any opposition. Use questions to confirm interest, at every step of your presentation. The person who is ready to walk away from the deal, in any deal, has power over the person who wants it more. So your first step may be to create or develop recognition of that need or desire. "How would you like it if I could help you with . . . ?" might be a good beginning. Or use "someone" instead of "I". Or "What would it be worth if . . . ?"   (Never, of course, make an unconditional offer.) If the answer is not a delighted affirmative, desist immediately and casually, as if it did not matter much to you either. Sometimes it takes a day or two for what you said to sink in, and generate interest, and hook your target. Wait a week or so, studying your target more carefully, until you are certain of an affirmative answer, before making another offer, and in a different way, "Did you ever find anyone to . . . ?" There are many other openings. You might want to study the arts of negotiating and advertising, acting and clear speech, and you certainly have to know his personality type and preferred communication style, to become really good at this, but common sense can usually prevail. Don't ever let him make a yes / no answer, always ask open - ended questions that require him to talk to you and share his ideas and needs and goals. Basically you both need to know what you each want, and how to work together to get it. Sometimes a clear flat - out statement, in the simplest possible words, staring him right square in the eye, can work best: "Charlie, you want to be chief burner. I'd like to have your job when you move up. How can we work together on this, so we both win?"

Your Boss, and His Boss
You can deal with any boss without brown - nosing, sucking up, or kissing ass.
Business is very simple. While the details of any particular business can become complex, basically in every kind of for - profit business you have a product or service to supply to your customers, at a profit. Your company has owners or stockholders, management from the board of directors to president or CEO, staff management in departments and specialties, vendors you buy from, customers you sell to, a plant and machinery, and the workers who do all of the actual day-to-day work. If the company makes a profit, it stays in business and grows; if not, it goes broke and closes and lays off its employees.
In the not-for-profit and government sectors there are analogous divisions and functions, though their purposes are sometimes not quite as clear, simple, and overt as some mission statements make them out to be, and they usually never go out of business but perpetuate to eternity, no matter how useless they are.
Learn these things in your organization, both in a simple one-sentence overview like the above, and in actual book-length detail, and in theory, and in practice.
Then locate yourself on that organizational chart, and determine the location you want to be at next year, or in two or five or ten years.
Now you can map out a route from here to there, and, like going to Paris, work out the details of your trip: what is needed, the steps, who to deal with, and so forth.

Big Secret:
Your boss already has a similar plan! (I was a boss, so I know.) Now you can talk to him as equals, as companion travelers on your parallel trips. He has to deal with you, and you have to deal with him. If you help him up, then he can pull you up with him. This is not sucking up - this is making a deal between equals, and once you put it on that basis, you become partners, a mutual help team.
It is that simple in real life, once you get past the personality differences and other minor barriers.
Earlier we looked at personality types. Now is the time to apply that information. You know what type you are. You have observed your boss, and worked out what type he is. You know how one type best deals with another.
Now apply that in action.
If you are both the same type, you do not have to change. In fact, you have to be careful not to change, but to be yourself. (Maybe unless you are both Type A's, in which case, you gotta do what you gotta do, and I can't help you.) If you are different types, go back to the I-Speak styles and Myers-Briggs types, and simply rephrase your approach in the style best understood by him, as if he was your client, as if you were selling a product to him, which you are. You are your own product. Sell it. Better yet, get out of the way and let him sell himself on it.
Help your boss deal with his boss, and up his line of superiors. Then help his boss deal with his boss, and up his line of superiors. If you work directly for an owner, remember that he still has bosses -- his customers. Without them, he has no job, and no business. This can get a little more complicated, but similar rules still apply.
Pretty soon you will have many friends in that company, all the way to the top.

His Problems
Everybody up and down the line has basically two kinds of problems: people problems, or thing problems. If it is about tools, materials, machinery, technology, etc. it is a thing problem. If it is dealing with bosses, workers, schedules, time, money, customers, vendors, suppliers, etc., it is most likely a people problem.
But be careful. Anyone who treats things like people or people like things will worsen the situation. Keep them separate in your own mind, or you can become your own worst problem. Remember that Zen item in my forward, to always think clearly, with ends and causes and results in mind, and not be fooled by contradictory appearances. Sit back and get to the basics, and don't let them rush and confuse you, and you will do okay.
Be wary of your own orientation. If you are a people person, you may see everything as a people problem -- be careful not to ignore the mechanical stuff. If you are a techie, or thing-oriented, you may see everything as logical - be careful that you do not forget or undervalue the emotional and people sides of every situation.
Whichever you are, seek out a partner with the other viewpoint and discuss it, and listen fully and carefully to his opinions and ideas before making decisions and taking action. Be 90% ear and 10% lip. Have at least one person with the other orientation in your Career Support Team, for this purpose. (Saying nothing and just staring them in the eye and looking wise can be worth a lot; practice it in front of a mirror every day, until you can stop them dead in their tracks when you put it on. This is really neat with salesmen -- if you can just sit there and stare at him, and out-wait him, until he just has to say something, then get up to go, you can always get a break on points or dollars or terms.)
Once you have defined any problem, the old saying applies: "By the yard it's too hard, but by the inch it's a cinch." Break it down into bite-sized parts to work out, step by step.
Some problems are obvious at first glance. Others are not. The machine breaks down, so the solution is simple: fix it, or get a new machine. It's a thing problem. But wait. Not so fast. The purchasing department or board of directors has to approve such big purchases, so you have to get someone who is good at dealing with them to get their approval to spend the money. It's a people problem, too, not just a thing problem.
I don't know your specific problem or your boss's problems today, from here, so I can't advise you in particular, but I can say that, in general, thing problems are usually much easier to solve than people problems, because people have emotions, preconceptions, misinformation, biases and prejudices, and other factors that often preclude simple logic and clear immediate solutions.
To deal with people and bosses, here's a list of strategies and tactics that may help, or may backfire on you if misused. Be very careful.

Some Basic Tactical / Strategic Rules & Tools & Truths
Compiled and distilled from Machiavelli, Buskirk, Sun Tzu, and many others, my personal experience, observation, pragmatic experiments, etc. (Unfortunately, the box of these notes fell and they got mixed up, in the wrong order, and there are some duplications, and some lost, so you must correct and re - arrange them as necessary.) Some of these are not clear or obvious, nor is it always clear how to use them in your particular circumstances, so always discuss them, make sense of them, before use. Good luck.
Life is not fair. Those who expect fairness, equality, honesty, and goodness in life will be disillusioned, unhappy, and used, abused, and exploited all their lives. Most of us verbally support all those fine beliefs, however, which keeps all those believers trusting, exploitable victims, and thus no competition to us. The most well-intentioned people and the most despicable criminals thus cooperate in causing the most trouble in this world through hiding the truth and harsh reality, and fostering confusion and unrealistic expectations in the name of the same high ideals and kindnesses, or for their own gain.
Aim at your enemy's weakness and most vulnerable areas, as any penetration demoralizes his troops
Aim at your enemy's strongest areas, and his leader, for with success there, his whole defense will collapse
Appear respectable, conventional, conservative, consistent; do the expected, building reputation for strength, consistency. Do the unexpected, catch the target off guard, build reputation for creativity, originality. Be consistent in some things, unpredictable in others, as the case demands.
Act, don't react. Plan and make firm clear-cut policies and programs and stick to them, instead of reacting to every special case that comes along. Emergencies and confrontations involve emotions, and no rational action can result; later loopholes, inconsistencies, inequities, and exceptions and problems do and will occur, causing confusion, bad feelings, trouble. Solid policies and plans and programs are pre - made 'Decision Assistance Systems', and relieve the manager of decisions under pressure, and thus reduce potential mistakes.
Don't burn your bridges behind you, say anything unforgivable in heat of anger, lest you get stuck on the wrong side. Revenge, retaliation, snobbery, other unforgivables can alienate a person who may someday be your boss, or in position to block or hurt you, or help or raise you.
Always leave a door open for compromise, discussion, dealing; never be so harsh you harm yourself. Beware ultimatums and finalities; use 'maybe', 'possibly', 'perhaps', 'if', and other conditionals. An old adage: "Treat your friends as if they may someday become your enemies, and your enemies as if they may someday become your friends." Be professional, polite, cordial, and avoid personalities, emotions, anger.
Keep the discussion rational, logical, avoid letting it get emotional. Never act from emotion, but always only after rational thought, considering results of various choices, like results of moves in a chess game. Emotions can cost you friends, money, trust, time, waste, sorrow, and you look dumb, too.
Get angry, scream, cry, break things, stage histrionics, be unreasonable, or calm and controlled, as needed to frighten, motivate, control, direct, or otherwise manipulate others, turn their logic emotional, to get your way.
Confuse, distract and irritate your opponent, to cost him time and worry and possible error you can exploit. Play with his mind and emotions, to get him off pace, mad, mistake - prone.
Arm fully before battle; details, materials, people, site, logistics, costs, losses versus gains. Drill & rehearse (from both sides), with a buddy playing enemy and devil's advocate. Study your opponent, your staff, yourself, your allies, his, and anyone else with a possible interest in the outcome, who might come in on your side, or against you, or well-intentioned interferers, traffic cops, white knights, etc.
Avoid direct confrontation and open battle if you are at a disadvantage (facing superior weight of numbers, money, power); use appeasement, diversion, delay, negotiation, compromise, agree to opponent's plan, then later, if you can't find funds, manpower, etc., for it, it's not your fault.
Be the fall guy, take a hit for someone else, to gain a grateful ally or buy a future favor or get the situation ended gracefully and quickly and get on with business, but only with something you can afford to lose over.
Be discrete in dealing with press or media or other critical situation, especially in public, never try to be cute, humorous, minimize the situation, be defensive, simplify, explain; be calm, polite, and formal and promise to come back with facts, truth, data, that are needed, and consult others involved as to the best course of action, statements, etc.
Silence maintains confidence. We all like to talk, show off, impress others, prove we are 'in', exhibit how smart we are about something, and thus say too much or wrong things sometimes, cause trouble, get a bad reputation. Avoid talkers, get them out of any critical jobs into harmless, or indirectly recommend them to competitors. But first, find them, encourage and reward them, listen, and let the talker flow. Don't look eager if it is useful, or change if it is not, as the talker may try to impress you later with something you cued. You get valuable time to think about it, by letting them do all the work, you just listening and thinking. Then get rid of them. Use a blabbermouth, but never trust one.
Beware your own pride, vanity, need for admiration, acceptance, praise, greed, arrogance, other weaknesses, before you blame others.
Bluff; learn to play poker well.
Choose the battleground for your advantage, take the high ground, with sun behind you and in the enemy's eyes, good cover from which to ambush. Has social and business uses as well as military: be morally and legally in the right, economically strong, enough people backing you, God on your side, etc. Avoid letting the opponent choose: "Come to my office." Isolate the target and demolish; go one-on-one, separate him from his support, so no distractions, no witness if you fail to win, to keep your troops' morale up.
Get lost, remain incommunicado, go away, so you cannot hear or know the bad news, rule change, vote, issue, say or do the wrong thing, so you have an excuse for ignorance, etc.
Duck and run for cover, tactically, temporarily, until you regroup your forces, get the support you need or the right numbers needed to answer the bosses question, and return when an explosive emotional situation or unreasonable person has cooled down, instead of arguing pointlessly, pouring gasoline on fire, and getting upset also.
Clear out, take a vacation, leave town, hole up, let #2 handle it, if situation is untenable but future events will solve it and you need only wait. Any confrontation you can't win right now, or reasoning that will look like excuses, or unmanageable emotions, or physical violence, are cues for a trip.
Consult those who will be affected by your decision, any change, before you do it, and especially those above you, unless, of course, they will say no; in which case present them with a Fait Accompli, sometimes a tricky and dangerous tactic causing enmity; do you need more enemies? an old saying: it is easier to get forgiveness than permission, especially if what you tried works.
Contacts, contacts, contacts.
Develop a good 2nd in command, and a 3rd, so you can share and delegate work, so you can be several places at once; so you can leave with confidence on vacation and work trips, and can take a better job quickly (already having a trained replacement), and to blame for errors; have sub run meetings, etc., acting only at critical points if necessary.
Volunteer in related governing associations, to make contacts, know upcoming legislation, and to influence or affect legal control over your product, service, etc.
Develop an inside person in the other camp, and in your own. Spy on your help? Absolutely. Always.
Direct others to do what they probably will anyway.
Direct frequently, as people dislike a management vacuum or being ignored, or taken for granted. Exercise your power constantly so it does not get rusty or dissipate, so people know you have it and don't forget, but do not abuse it, balance with giving jobs out, with responsibility, rewards, praise, scaled to results. (e.g., a patent not defended is a patent lost.)
Direct operations through department heads, delegating authority, responsibility, but requiring accountability; stay close to the battle, in communication, in charge or authority or ready to take over if necessary.
The Romans said it first. Still valid. Divide your enemies and conquer them individually; strongest or most dangerous first, before they can consolidate, become a bigger danger.
Do all things with other people, never alone. Everyone distrusts a loner. Have (credible) witnesses to your intentions as well as your words and actions.
Establish personal bonds with key people, but never be pals to subordinates, never invite them to your quarterdeck. Every good manager is lonely there; if he is not, he is not a good manager.
Feed your opponent a victim, preferably another enemy, to decoy, delay, distract, appease, etc.
Find someone seeking revenge against your enemy. Encourage another to fight someone else if helpful result. Take advantage of grudges, bad feelings of someone against others
Fold the enterprise, lay down your cards if they are no good, no hope of victory, and certain destruction is likely. To sell off a division or drop a product line that is not producing and could drag down the whole company, or resign a bad position, can be the wisest course at times. Canceling a plan of action when the situation changes, or getting out of a bad investment when the market changes, are smart moves, preventing you from sending good money after bad. Don't let your ego sink your whole ship. Admit defeat and go on to fight again, win other better battles.
Form alliances. (Look at how well Bill Gates does it!) Get on the bandwagon; get everyone on your bandwagon - the more signatures you get, the more you can get. Marshall all forces against a common enemy; strength in unity. Mutual non-aggression pact: don't stone my dog and I won't kick your cat, can confuse, distract, delay a potential opponent. To make alliances, keep stressing target's similarity and common interests with you and yours, and his differences with others. Arabs: My enemy's enemy is my friend.
An open frontal assault is seldom wise, even when it works, usually wastes manpower, costs too much, etc. Great generals outflank, deceive, never waste lives, equipment, supplies. However, attack may be a must if you are in right and stronger, and to wait will weaken self or situation, or help your opponent. If attack, beware irrational, unpredictable reaction of the enemy; beware if other is stubborn, contrary, always ready to fight every little detail. Outflank, go another way, be flexible, keep aces up sleeve.
Once won, don't let opponent rebuild to fight again; grace has limits; cut off the head and disperse the body parts, rename, stigmatize, rewrite the history . . . Should Bush have taken Saddam down for good?
Get feedback directly from troops or workers, avoid well-meaning filterers and all sycophants; lieutenants or managers always have their own agendas, which certainly concern your position, either overtly, by giving you altered information, or covertly, by letting you, or helping you, make mistakes, not have critical knowledge in time
Test the water, before introducing changes, new products, people, etc. Have someone else bring it up, if necessary, to save face in case it bombs. Get others to introduce dangerous or unpleasant subjects. Get target to relax, lower guard, become receptive to idea.
Seek open debate if it is to your advantage, avoid if not. Negotiate, if you can gain; avoid if not. Negotiation usually weakens the stronger side; compromise means loss, so make outrageous demands, demand more than expected (both as a confusion and delay tactic, and to have something to give away, give back, in bargaining), ask for more than you want or expect - you might get it. Conversely, beware what you ask for - you might get it, and rue it.
Make decisions in committee, in camera, to spread blame if it can go wrong or will not survive public scrutiny. Conversely, force others to make decisions in public, before witnesses, commit themselves, so can't sneak something through the same way you would
Get ahead of the crowd, to lead them your way, to your goal. Take leadership away from opponent, get out ahead of his parade, and when they are following you, lead them where you are going, or confuse by going too far, discrediting them. Throw your own party if not invited to other's, and make it better, take best guests
Give the public circuses and cake to distract, from Romans to Louis 14 to Clinton
Give a cornered opponent a way out, to retreat, save face, or he may get desperate, do something wild, harm everyone, destroy the whole company. Best to never let cornering happen, but to finish him cleanly, permanently, first thing.
Give blame as if praise: "using your recent excellent suggestion, we will now . . . ". Deliberate misunderstanding is sometimes a very useful tool.
Never fire anyone. Harass him, reduce his privileges, budget him out, make him resign, get another to hire him, or whatever. A disgruntled former worker can be very dangerous - he knows where you work, maybe where you live, and more, if a former pal. People rarely blame themselves, but seek others for emotional outlet. Don't be a target.
Have security people standby when there is possibility of an emotional crisis, as in firing someone, giving bad news, etc.
Having witnesses can intimidate an opponent.
To intimidate or threaten is usually unwise - you warn your opponent and allow him to arm, find support, allies, and build defensive / offensive strength. Do whatever you must, but don't talk about it first - let it be a surprise to him when it actually happens.
Help your opponent feel overconfident, so he extends and commits too much, and can be sandbagged. Lead or provoke him into making foolish extreme statements or commitments, hang himself. When he has overextended, committed, become too confident, be quick and ruthless in destroying him completely.
Hire professionals, avoid amateurs and the inexperienced.
Ignore the static - if it is only noise, let them vent, let off steam, have their say, and get back to work.
Impress by knowing someone socially, in finance, government, . . .
Keep your staff informed (and selectively un- or mis-informed when necessary) or they will believe the worst rumors.
Keep others from discussing, joining up against you.
Keep opponents guessing, so they can not commit, plan, act together.
Laugh it off, and change the subject, if you do not want to seriously consider an idea or suggestion. Or want to steal it later for your own use, reward, etc. Good weapon to put down another person, especially a sensitive one, or criticism, or don't have an answer to give, or to demonstrate poise, ease an awkward social situation, defuse tension, turn tables on another, gain time to think of an appropriate reply, etc. But laughter at an inappropriate time or situation or subject labels one a fool or buffoon, insensitive, etc.
Let them win, giving up poisoned queen to decoy, suck them in, ambush, convert or conquer.
Let the guilty set their own sentences, put the onus upon their own shoulders; they often make their own punishment worse than you would, but you are freed of resentment and bad feelings. Phrase the request so you are not obligated to accept it if you disagree: "What do you suggest?" Use when others are watching if morale a problem, example needed, but don't want to fire someone who is otherwise a good worker and just made a mistake.
Let opponents furnish their own rope, to hang themselves if they fail at their goal, but be careful not to be embarrassed if they succeed. Be polite and 'fair' and keep hands clean. If boss likes to be away, take over his work and let him be negligent, until you can get attention of top management to how well and why you are doing his job. If subordinate wants freedom to make his own decisions, protest but give it, and hang or promote him by his results.
Muddle through, react on the spot, hoping for good judgement as needed, by knowing your stuff down cold, in every detail. Better than doing nothing, being seen as indecisive.
When image equates prestige and power, never allow someone to insult you, lest they gain power, become a threat, weaken you. Act to protect and keep your dignity at any cost, to not let opponent win even a little, if it will help his morale or cause, or hurt yours. Rare, but then critical.
Never offend or insult anyone by accident, only on purpose.
Never wound a king; either leave him alone, or kill him.
Never get caught playing one person against the other, or even appearing to, unless you do it openly, with a company - wide announcement: "Whoever makes more sales next month gets the Sales Manager job."
Favoritism is a silent killer of good careers.
Personalize with correct names; recognize birthdays, good deeds; ask personal help; establish bonds; to not be seen as a cold fish; never demand or force; lest you alienate help.
Play dumb. Misconstrue on purpose.
PPPP (Praise in Public, Punish in Private).
Push them off the dock and let them swim or sink, to see if they can handle challenge, to separate men from boys; learn, develop fastest, prove their mettle, test toughness, dedication.
Righteous indignation is to be used only when facts are incontestable, acts indefensible and clearly must be punished, and a guilty person can be put in no position to retaliate, such as by firing him. Innocent sometimes become defensive anyway and fight back, using their own righteous indignation, so this can be a dangerous tactic.
Run for it; pursue an opportunity or break with great vigor, take chance; carpe diem (L. seize the day).
Schedule critical events so they will not upset workers if something can go bad. Last thing Friday afternoon?
Share proceeds, credit for a good job, with your partners, workers, others.
Speed; get it to market, do it now, do it quick, do it faster than others / competitors can.
Steamroller power play over a weaker opponent only if there is no way he can retaliate later.
Subvert from within via spies, espionage, gaining adversary's confidence, undermining defenses, defend or work with another to neutralize him or keep him from suspecting you, but this is a dangerous, often unethical tactic, often culturally offensive (and considered contemptible no matter how honorable the intentions, to the western mind, but common and respected in the east and mid - east), to be used only when desperate and may lay you open to future blackmail from those who help you.
Support your help, partners, boss, company, nation, team; be seen and known as a supporter; never detract or badmouth.
Surrender quickly on little things. Don't fight every battle, just the important ones, so save ammunition, time, pain; be graceful about small things, to put an opponent off guard, making him overconfident and disdainful of you, to his surprise and confusion when you trap and hit him hard on something where he expects another easy surrender.
The best and biggest crooks go where the most money is, which today (1998) is government, Washington, military, NASA, high tech, in that order. (What is it, and in what order, when you read this, perhaps years after it was originally written?) Will tomorrow be different?
Beware friends and staff and allies as much as your known enemies. Walls have ears. Everyone has his own agenda. Test them in little things first, before committing to larger.
Corporations often marry with results as disastrous as for lovers, but much more costly. No matter what they say, to save costs by dumping redundant people (RIF) is the main reason for mergers, which is why so many fail. Makes your friends your worst enemies, too. Best to bail out at first hint, remembering Career Rule #1.
Touch all the bases formally yourself: dot all the legal eyes, cross tees, etc., if you are responsible, serious, professional, capable; rely on others only as far as you can see them.
Trust nobody, and especially not the plump and glossy most respectable and trustworthy; they did not get there by being honest nice guys, no matter their appearance.
Trap play: feint with one approach that will lose, get commitment 'if..' other way, get promise, then spring trap.
Treat your troops, workers, and other people, with the respect you expect from them, listening to whole story and all the connotations, never making decision on spot, always with deliberation showing weight of value of their input. Do as judges do, go 'into chambers' for 15 minutes to make a weighty decision, then come out with pomp and circumstance befitting a serious situation, even if just a hangnail.
Use others to do the dirty work; keep your reputation up; pay others or a subordinate or outside person (a 'consultant') or hatchet man to do firing, cut budgets, tell bad news, administer discipline, or other dirty work, to keep your own hands clean; someone who can then be gotten rid of in turn, to salve those who are upset about it, and restore calm.
Walk away as if this battle or loss is no matter, or laughing, as if you have actually won, and they will see it later. This can really confuse some people, to your advantage.
Walk through the plant every morning, to let workers know you care, and that you see them working. If you are seen to care, they will care. If you don't care, why should they?
What people believe is much more important, more powerful, more useful, than any number of actual facts. If you can affect that belief in your favor, through advertising, promotion, rumor, promise, warning, precedent, myth, creating something that sounds logical, emphasizing or inflating or concealing a fact, or building on a partial truth, facts become irrelevant, and forgotten. Conversely, of course . . .
When you want to stifle change, or help it along, suggest a fact-finding or steering committee and volunteer to chair it or get appointed to run it, and select the people you know will stymie or help; control what you want done by choosing the right people, doers or non-doers, and still look good.
When you go on a raiding party, leave enough people behind to defend your home base.
Reposition your enemies, using words that make them appear less credible, dishonorable, and you more.
Blackmail, or greenmail, is despicable, but often used in business to form alliances, and obtain other advantages -- be careful who you trust and how much and for what.
Never get in so deep you can't get out if necessary.
What else?

End of Chapter Six
Click HERE to go to Chapter 7

Click HERE to go to the Introduction
Click HERE to go to Table of Contents
Click HERE to go to Chapter 1    Your Career, your Life Work
Click HERE to go to Chapter 2    People Study
Click HERE to go to Chapter 3    Your Career in Context
Click HERE to go to Chapter 4    Setting Your Career and Life Goals
Click HERE to go to Chapter 5    Long Term Career Development
Click HERE to go to Chapter 6    Career Strategies and Tactics
Click HERE to go to Chapter 7    Realistic Expectations
Click HERE to go to Chapter 8    Your Personal Career Support Team
Click HERE to go to Chapter 9    Team Management; Research and Writing
Click HERE to go to Chapter 10   How to become an Expert
Click HERE to go to Chapter 11   Miscellaneous, and Executive Summary
Click HERE to go to Chapter 12   Your Personal Career Research Resources
Click HERE to go to Chapter 13   Those Awful People At Work Problems
Click HERE to go to Chapter 14   Assumptions and Expectations
Click HERE to go to Appendices
Click HERE to go to Bibliography
Click HERE to go to Index
Click HERE to go to Personal Career Coaching FAQ
Click HERE to return to my HomePage, to access COP and other documents

Careerists, please contact me directly to obtain your own personal printed copy of Career Zen, more complete and up to date, especially with the latest on Internet career information sources and research.   Note that Career Zen is privately published, is only for my clients, and is not available in any bookstore or from any other source.

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