II. Surviving Office Politics In A Christian

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II. Surviving Office Politics In A Christians
Way

• GCF Retreat Workshop
• 1 May 2004

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A Warm-up Question

• A sister in your company has been designated to
  succeed a top dog, but she worries about your
  ability to survive the power play.
• Shes seeking your counsel,
  what would you advise her ?

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Outline

• Lessons from real cases II
• The clues for survival
• The key to success
• Lessons from real cases III
• The humility of service
• The road to sanctity
• References

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• Lessons from real cases II Source of wisdom

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Case 1

• Shortly after your new boss has come into play,
  he receives an anonymous letter complaining your
  partiality towards some staff. He shows the
  letter to you,
• what would you do ?

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Case 2

• When your boss subtly put his boy into your team,
  
• what would you do ?

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Case 3

• When an important project fails, everybody is
  passing the buck and making you a scapegoat.
• What would you do ?

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Case 4

• When your boss tries to make you an accomplice
  against companys tendering procedure, you know
  if you reject it he will make your life hell
  ruin your career.
• What would you do ?

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To fight or to flight, you need to calculate
What are the biblical ethical norms ?
Standard
After all, be accountable for your decision !
Do you get the power you need ? Are your guts
up ?
Whats on stage ? Whats behind the scene ?
Self
Situation
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Outline

• Lessons from real cases II
• The clues for survival
• The key to success
• Lessons from real cases III
• The humility of service
• The road to sanctity
• References

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• The clues for survival
• Master the art of invisibility

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Strategies for survival

1. Be in the crowd, but not of the crowd
2. Make your boss look good
3. Detach from blame credit
4. Keep your P/E low

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Strategy I Be in the crowd but not of the crowd

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The mob

• At these words the whole audience was filled with
  indignation.
• They rose up and expelled him from the town,
  leading to the brow of the hill and intending to
  hurl him over the edge.
• But he went away through their midst and walked
  away.
• - Luke 428-30 -

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The idol, the victim and the mob

• Pilate said to the Jews, Behold, your King !
• They therefore cried out, Away with Him, away
  with Him, crucify Him !
• Pilate said to them, Shall I crucify your King
  ?
• The chief priests answered, We have no king but
  Caesar.
• So he then delivered Him to them to be crucified.
• - John 1914-16 -

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Strategy I Be in the crowd but not of the crowd

• Be corporate chameleon blend into the mob but
  closely observe its movement
• Dwell in the shadow of others
• Beware of insult by omission
• Avoid attaching to celebrity or becoming a
  groups idol / a scapegoat
• Remember, all scapegoats start by being different

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Strategy II Make your boss look good
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The boss

• I dont want any yes-men around me. I want
  everyone to tell me the truth even if it costs
  them their jobs.
• - Samuel Goldwyn -

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The golden rules

• Rule 1 The boss is always right.
• Rule 2 If the boss is wrong, please refer to
  rule 1.

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Strategy II Make your boss look good

• Never go around your boss
• Tell him what he wants to hear, even when he
  claims that he wants dissenting views
• If he wants something dropped, drop it
• Be sensitive to his wishes so that you anticipate
  what he wants
• Dont report something that he doesnt want
  reported, but cover it up. Do what your job
  requires, and keep your mouth shut
• - Robert Jackall, Moral Mazes The World of
  Corporate Managers -

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Strategy III Detach from blame credit
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The blame

• God asked, Have you been eating of the tree I
  forbade you to eat ?
• Adam replied, It was the woman you put with me
  she gave me the fruit, and I ate it.
• Then God asked the woman, What is this you have
  done ?
• The woman replied, The serpent tempted me and I
  ate.
• - Gen 311-13 -

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The credit

• "There are two kinds of people, those who do the
  work and those who take the credit. Try to be in
  the first group there is less competition
  there."
• - Indira Gandhi -

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The blame and the credit

• The seven phases of a project
• Enthusiasm
• Illusion of progress
• Panic
• Disillusionment
• Search for the guilty
• Punishment of the innocent
• Praise / honors for the non-participants

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Strategy III Detach from blame credit

• Accept blame (for others) in small ways it tends
  to inspire loyalty
• Practice creative incompetence
• Avoid winning battles but losing the war
• Dont get caught in the clash of Titans
• Share credit win yourselves friends
• Remember, blame follows credit

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Strategy IV Keep your P/E low
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Political price-earnings ratio
Utility
Low
High
Politician (IPO w/ no earnings) CEO (expensive growth stocks)
Bureaucrat (widow orphan stocks) Worker (value stocks)
High
Visibility
Low
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Peter Lynchs Rules

• Buy a stock with a boring name
• Buy a stock that does something boring
• Buy a stock that is boring and disagreeable at
  the same time

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The Peter Principle

• In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to
  his or her level of incompetence.

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Strategy IV Keep your P/E low

• Be the worker low visibility, high utility
• Trade higher security for lower pay
• Peter Lynchs Rules boring can be a hidden
  asset
• Avoid the Peter Principle
• Remember, low risk low return

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The ethics of survival

• Work is a curse, filled with conflict of
  interests therefore, our obsession is with
  security
• Should security be our ultimate value ?
• Should low P/E compromise ROI (Return on
  Investment) (Gods given talents, resources,
  opportunities) ?
• Possible conflict between obedience to our boss
  and obedience to our values
• How far are we willing to stretch our integrity
  in order to survive ? Without our integrity, who
  is it that survives ?

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The parable of dishonest steward

• The master praised the dishonest steward for his
  astuteness. For the children of this world are
  more astute in dealing with their own kind than
  are the children of the light.
• Use Money, tainted as it is, to win yourselves
  friends, and thus make sure that when it fails
  you, they will welcome you into the tents of
  eternity.
• - Luke 168, 9 -

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Outline

• Lessons from real cases II
• The clues for survival
• The key to success
• Lessons from real cases III
• The humility of service
• The road to sanctity
• References

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• The key to success
• Focus on your goal

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Strategies for success

1. Bank on your competency
2. Play positive
3. Confront the darkness
4. Detach from your enemies

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The parable of talents

• His master said to him, Well done, good and
  faithful slave you were faithful with a few
  things, I will put you in charge of many things,
  enter into the joy of your master.
• - Matthew 2521, 23 -

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What is success ?

• What do I want ?
• The true measure of success is achieving your own
  goal, not someone elses

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Strategy I Bank on your competency

• Know what youre good at
• Do what youre passionate youll do it well
• Set your goal and focus on it
• Dont borrow other peoples desires and goals
• Make things happen
• Deliver what you advertise
• Be the CEO and yield high ROI
• Remember, high risk high return

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Strategy II Play positive

1. Know the big picture
2. Volunteer for special tasks
3. Dare to be different
4. Ally with right people
5. Collaborate with peers
6. Tell the truth
7. Be professional
8. Choose your battles
9. Have fun

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Strategy III Confront the darkness

• Aware beware of the 48 laws of power (Appendix
  2)
• Political problems are primary and technical
  problems are secondary
• When it isnt broke, dont fix it
• When in Rome do as the Romans
• Be in the office, but not of the office
• Know when to hold and when to fold
• Remember, be as formless as possible

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The 48 laws of power
1. Never outshine the master 9. Win through your actions, never through arguments
2. Never put too much trust in friends, learn how to use enemies 10. Infection. Avoid the unhappy the unlucky
3. Conceal your intentions 11. Learn to keep people dependent on you
4. Always say less than necessary 12. Use selective honesty generosity to disarm your victim
5. So much depends on reputation, guard it with your life 13. When asking for help, appeal to peoples self-interest, never their mercy
6. Court attention at all cost 14. Pose as a friend, work as a spy
7. Get others to do the work, but always take the credit 15. Crush your enemy totally
8. Make other people come to you use bait if necessary 16. Use absence to increase respect and honor
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The 48 laws of power
17. Keep others in suspended terror. Cultivate an air of unpredictability 25. Re-create yourself
18. Do not build fortresses to protect yourself isolation is dangerous 26. Keep your hands clean
19. Know who youre dealing with do not offend the wrong person 27. Play on peoples need to believe to create a cultlike following
20. Do not commit to anyone 28. Enter actions with boldness
21. Play a sucker to catch a sucker seem dumber than your mark 29. Plan all the way to the end
22. Use surrender tactic Transform weakness into power 30. Make your accomplishments seem effortless
23. Concentrate your forces 31. Control the options Get others to play the cards you deal
24. Play the perfect courtier 32. Play to peoples fantasies
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The 48 laws of power
33. Discover each mans thumbscrew 41. Avoid stepping into a great mans shoes
34. Be royal in your own fashion Act like a king to be treated like one 42. Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter
35. Master the art of timing 43. Work on the hearts and minds of the others
36. Disdain things you cannot have Ignoring them is the best revenge 44. Disarm and infuriate with the mirror effect
37. Create compelling spectacles 45. Preach the need for change, but never reform too much at once
38. Think as you like but behave like others 46. Never appear too perfect
39. Stir up waters to catch fish 47. Do not go past the mark you aimed for in victory, learn when to stop
40. Despise the free lunch 48. Assume formlessness
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Strategy IV Detach from your enemies

• Dont chase what your competitors have focus on
  your own
• Love yourself as your neighbors you become what
  you hate so as to succeed
• Befriend your enemies convert them
• There are no real enemies, only paranoid
  projections
• Remember, the only real competitor is your own ego

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The ethics of success

• Work is creative, playful self-expression and
  self-actualisation
• Is self-actualisation our ultimate value ?
• Our obsession is with winning
• For whom for what are we fighting ?
• Possible conflict between defeating our rivals
  and protecting our values
• Have your competitors disappeared ? If not, you
  have not achieved success

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Your feedback / questions, please