Ok...I LOVE the book..."What Would Machiavelli Do? - The Ends Justify The Meanness" by the great Stanley Bing!
This is MUST READING for anyone in the ruthless world of corporate backstabbing. Which by the way ... if you have a job ... definitely includes you. And if you think your job or company is an exception ... you need this book more than most!
OK pundits...
Here is one of the gems in this little goldmine of wisdom...
He Would Feast On Other People's Discord
How do you get people to do what you want? More importantly, how do you force people who work for you to be loyal to you, only to you, and not develop some sniveling affection for one another that transcends their fealty to you, their God?
You set them at one another. And watch them rip out one another's throats in an effort to please you better.
They call it "creative tension," which is as good a name as any for making normally productive people turn into vicious, snarling engines.
Try these five things to help them get on each other's nerves:
- Invite select associates to some meetings, while excluding others. Do not be consistent. Create a continuous sense of uncertainty in people around you about whether they are in or out.
- Assign the same task to different people without telling them you have done so. Let them find it out for themselves.
- Talk about others to their peers. Sometimes you can compliment them, sometimes you can bitch about them. Create the feeling in all people that you're willing to talk about them behind their backs, and pretty candidly, too.
- Be very clear in discussions that someone else's priority has effectively killed those of their peers. "I would have the time/money/interest in that, Fred, but Betty's project got in first/looks better/is more interesting."
- Praise people publically in a way that shames others. "If all of you had Bob's moxie/brians/contacts, we'd be doing better," you might say. Direct praise that does not involve the degradation of others is virtually worthless.
What you want is an atmosphere of high-energy, cutthroat rivalry among those who surround you. This focuses all activity in the neighborhood on your approval. All action, no matter how smart or lucrative, is valued only if it meets with your strong approval and places the actor one notch up on his associates.
Machiavelli may have said this years ago. And it's as true as ever. People do this and much worse things everyday at the office. The worst part is that you may not even see it. Get a step up in the workplace and buy this little gem.
You can get it here.
Ok...on to filming my next videoblog!
Until next time...
Peter
http://www.peterwink.com/
PS...I've already taped my first video blog and its available here.
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