Tips for the Dark Art of Manipulation by P. T. Elliott

Author:P. T. Elliott
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781510776531
Publisher: Skyhorse
Published: 2023-05-17T00:00:00+00:00

Tip: Army training for British Special Forces includes how to act when captured. The tactic is to become the “gray man” and make yourself as bland and featureless as possible.5 To seem unimportant and irrelevant works as psychological camouflage. While not exactly a getting-ahead strategy, it’s something to keep in mind for when you are next feeling vulnerable.

OFFICE PARTIES

Sociopaths, alcohol, dates, and bosses present a potentially dangerous combination. But suck it up and be smart. Properly utilized, the holiday party offers a three-way goldmine: you can display and expand your agreeable persona, maneuver though power channels that aren’t normally open to you, and pick up a double-edged secret or two once everybody’s drunk.

Circulate with robust good cheer like an agreeable, promotable asset. A team player. If you can swing it, borrow, beg, or steal a hilarious and hot date to provide cover and make you look cool, even if you are never going to sleep together. Otherwise, come alone. Don’t overdress and don’t act excited about the free booze and food. This behavior is for plebes. The food will be awkward to eat, so skipping it altogether is safest, though clumsily trying to wrangle a Swedish meatball on a tiny plastic sword can provide some comic relief and make you seem endearing to your peers.

The office party offers a unique opportunity to strike up a conversation with those above you who you might not normally have access to. Everyone is slightly out of their element, so the game is looser than at the office. But you need to make sure you strike at the right time. In Power! How to Get It, How to Use It, author Michael Korda gets technical with office party power maneuvers. I’ll roughly paraphrase. Those in power will come late and leave early. At 00:00 the first wave of sheep arrive, excited about the buffet, the booze, and having a jolly time. 00:30 the rest arrive, playing it a little more nonchalant. This is when you should come in. 00:40 the bosses start to show up, to talk to their workers. 00:55 the bosses will clump together and talk to each other. During which time everyone else is assessing who is talking to whom, and who’s garnering a crowd. It’s a big time for posturing beneath the good cheer. Bide your time. The sweet spot for interlevel hobnobbing is the second hour after the party starts.6 The boss clump will dissolve, indicating a hierarchical free-for-all. Just make sure to wait until those above you are finished saying hello to those above them. Then you should drop in for a quick, breezy conversation with a superior you want to impress.

Don’t get drunk and dance on desks. On the other hand, refraining from drinking at all will make people think you’re an alcoholic, so drink some beer. The third hour is a great time to glean compromising information that can be useful later. Think of a party as a fact-finding mission. Be professional when no one else is.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.