Office%20Politics%20-%20Christians

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Office Politics - Christians Friend or Foe ?

• Sherman Lam
• Dec 2002

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Outline

• What is office politics ?
• Lessons from real cases
• The clues for survival
• The key to success
• The humility of service
• The road to sanctity
• Appendices
• The clues for the clueless
• The 48 laws of power
• References

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Purpose

• To explore some Christian ways to survive,
  succeed and serve in the marketplace / workplace
• To learn from each others experience, struggles
  insights
• To stimulate practitioners to further explore
  faith-work integration

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Your active participation, please

• Pls suspend judgment
• Pls share your experience insights
• Pls provide some real cases for discussion
• Pls ask questions help answer as well
• Pls give feedback

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What is office politics ?

• Your views, please

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• I wish it (The Ring) need not have happened in
  my time, said Frodo.
• - The Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the
  Rings -

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Myths about office politics

• Myth 1
• There is no politics in my office or company.

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• Myth 2
• Politics is game playing. It is an undignified,
  self-serving waste of productive work time.

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• Myth 3
• If I play fair, others will play by the same
  rules and be fair to me.

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• Myth 4
• If you are a good employee, you dont need to
  worry about office politics. Your performance
  will speak for itself.

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• Myth 5
• I dont need to campaign for my own career
  interests. I can depend on others higher in the
  organisation to recognise reward my talent
  contributions.

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• Myth 6
• Chinese and non-Chinese play the same.

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• Myth 7
• Good Christians should not play politics.

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When you talk about office politics, you mean

• Corporate culture / sub-culture
• Organizational ambiguity
• Management fads
• Tribal strife, role conflicts
• Relationship problems
• Performance vs reward
• Ethical issues

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Politics is

• From the Greek word, politikos, which means
• Of a citizen
• Primary meaning is having practical wisdom, being
  prudent, shrewd, diplomatic
• Secondary meaning is being crafty or unscrupulous
• - Websters New Word Dictionary -

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Office politics is

• A fact of organizational life
• If youre in the office, youre in the game
• The way we get things done at work
• It is individuals teams competing resources,
  responsibility, power, position, privileges
• Because our success is defined by those things,
  getting them will determine whether or not we are
  doing a good job
• Building relationship, being diplomatic,
  collaborating with others being an effective
  team player

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Politics could be
Positive Dirty
Win-win for greater good Win-lose for self interests
Empowering Power-hungry
Collaborative, productive Manipulative, destructive
Build, recognise Beat, backstab, trap, flatter
Create credibility Create resentment
Giver Taker
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• I wish it need not have happened in my time,
  said Frodo.
• So do I, said Gandalf and so do all who live
  to see such times. But that is not for them to
  decide. All we have to decide is what to do with
  the time that is given us.
• - The Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the
  Rings -

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Outline

• What is office politics ?
• Lessons from real cases
• The clues for survival
• The key to success
• The humility of service
• The road to sanctity
• Appendices
• The clues for the clueless
• The 48 laws of power
• References

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• Lessons from real cases Source of wisdom

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The tension of being clever vs being simple

• Remember, I am sending you out as sheep among
  wolves so be clever as serpents and yet as
  simple as doves.
• - Matthew 1016 -

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Case 1

• Imagine you are charged to cut 1,000 staff.
  Having made a few vain attempts to persuade the
  top dogs otherwise, you are finally asked to do
  what you are told or leave the company.
• What would you do ?

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Case 2

• 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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Case 3

• When youve done a great job but the credit goes
  to your rival who got the promotion youre
  angling for.
• What would you do ?

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Case 4

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

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Case 5

• Imagine youre a HR Manager directly reporting to
  MD of a subsidiary with dotted line to Group HR
  Director in the HQ. In a meeting, youre caught
  in the middle urged to take side.
• What would you do ?

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Case 6

• Imagine youre trapped by somebody who has
  promised to support your proposal in the meeting
  and turns out to do otherwise.
• What would you do ?

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Case 7

• Imagine youre planning to emigrate. Your boss
  tapped the grapevine and checked with you.
• What would you do ?

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Case 8

• When a big shot forces you to endorse an
  investment which you think is a dog,
• what would you do ?

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Case 9

• When youre muscled by an office shark,
• what would you do ?

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Case 10

• When youre designated to succeed a top dog, you
  worry about your ability to survive the power
  play.
• What would you do ?

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To fight or not to fight, you may 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

• What is office politics ?
• Lessons from real cases
• The clues for survival
• The key to success
• The humility of service
• The road to sanctity
• Appendices
• The clues for the clueless
• The 48 laws of power
• 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

• What is office politics ?
• Lessons from real cases
• The clues for survival
• The key to success
• The humility of service
• The road to sanctity
• Appendices
• The clues for the clueless
• The 48 laws of power
• 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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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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Outline

• What is office politics ?
• Lessons from real cases
• The clues for survival
• The key to success
• The humility of service
• The road to sanctity
• Appendices
• The clues for the clueless
• The 48 laws of power
• References

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• The humility of service
• Respond to the call

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The parable of goats and sheep

• And the King will answer and say to them, ,
  Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did
  it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the
  least of them, you did it to me.
• - Matthew 2540, 45 -

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The call

• Be yourselves
• Do what you are
• Ours for others

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Be yourselves

• Focus on who you are
• Accept who you are not
• Be honest about your personal strengths
  weaknesses
• Who you want to be gt what you want to do

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Do what you are

• Dont make false promises
• Dont pretend to be able to deliver what you
  cant
• You cant please all customers and they know
  this
• But you can please some figure out what you are
  good at and do it

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Ours for others

• Authorship
• Help others to do something they love doing, to
  use their chosen skills, or to express something
  important about their deeper selves
• Unlock the creative freedom of others talent

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Ours for others

• Power
• Empower others to make a difference and influence
  the world around them
• Look for the workers help them to produce the
  greatest return, but respect their lack of desire
  for the limelight

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Ours for others

• Love
• Take the risk of showing others genuine
  appreciation, caring and affection
• Take the blame for a subordinate strategically
  (not blindly)
• Lessen the amount of the mob violence
• Gain a powerful ally
• Give others psychic support personal fellowship

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Ours for others

• Trust
• Build healthy teams and respect their autonomy
• Build trust by being loyal to those absent, then
  you retain trust of those present
• Significance
• Help others feel that they matter their works
  makes the world a richer place

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The ethics of service

• Work is a blessing, therapy, and service
• What is your call ?
• Who you are and who you are not ?
• What you are good at and what you are not ?
• Possible conflict between meeting the needs of
  our customers and preserving our values
• Who are our customers and who are not ?
• What are their needs ? Can you fulfill ?
• Are you willing to promote others not for return
  ?
• How about mixed motive ?

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Outline

• What is office politics ?
• Lessons from real cases
• The clues for survival
• The key to success
• The humility of service
• The road to sanctity
• Appendices
• The clues for the clueless
• The 48 laws of power
• References

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• The road to sanctity
• Get your hands dirty
• Dirty here means engagement

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In your context, work is
Co-creation, Actualization ?
Gen 127-29 91
Work As
Gen 28,15
Gen 317-19
Curse, Punishment ?
Blessing, Therapy ?
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your choice could be
Actualization gtSuccess
Work Context v. Office Politics
Curse gt Survival
Blessing gt Service
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After all, well grow w/ life struggles
Success
Rationalization ? Mixed motives ?
Contradictory ? Exclusive ?
Office Politics
Sequential ?
Survival
Service
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• We are not human beings struggling to be holy,
  but holy people struggling to be human
• - Source unknown -

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• Office Politics - Christians Friend or Foe ?

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• Office Politics - Christians Friend or Foe ?
• and !

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Your feedback / questions, please
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Appendix 1 The clues for the clueless
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Outline

• Cluelessness Trap
• Escape Map
• Escape cluelessness I to X

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Cluelessness Trap

• Personal
• Not knowing enough about ourselves, our actions,
  and our impact on other people
• Situational
• Baffled by structures systems, mystified by
  culture symbols, terrified by political games
  of power self-interest, etc.
• Spiritual
• Not sure about our beliefs, our values or our
  life path to follow

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Escape Map

• STOP 1 The murky underworld of politics
• To learn how to map political playing field get
  enough power to get things done
• STOP 2 The emotional world of people at work
• To find ways to improve relationships with others
  make a bad job better
• STOP 3 The red-tape land of bureaucracy
• To study feudalism a guided tour of monarchs
  serfs
• To learn tricks for shaping structure to work for
  you

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Escape Map

• STOP 4 The depths of tribal life at work
• To learn how to decode cultural puzzles
• To pick up some ways to give the workplace a
  little more excitement fun
• STOP 5 Change leadership
• To grasp ways to survive the endless changes that
  keep sweeping over you
• To learn nudging things in more ve directions
• STOP 6 A silent companion at work
• To tell yourself what life path you really want
  to follow

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Escape cluelessness I Face the problem

• Work is often confusing chaotic
• We need to understand why were clueless what
  we can do about it
• Were at risk of 3 forms of cluelessness
• Dont understand ourselves
• Dont understand whats going on
• Dont understand where were going

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Escape cluelessness II Map the political
terrain

• Accept the political reality
• Assess interest clout of key players
• Seek ways to rally allies, lure fence-sitters,
  neutralise opponents
• Know when to hold when to fold

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Map the playing field

• Who are the key players ?
• Who the players are (personality)
• Where they are (position)
• Who their friends are (group membership)
• What are their interests ?

High Power Low
Allies Fence-sitters Opponents
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Escape cluelessness III Get a bigger slice of
the pie

• Understand 3 forms of power get the one you
  need
• Understand 4 approaches to workplace politics and
  opt one of them
• Set your agenda move ahead
• Embrace your friends befriend your enemies
• Make win-win deals

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Get the power you need

• Who you are (personal power)
• Characteristics charm, energy
• Competence knowledge, skill
• Credibility - track record, reputation
• Where you are (positional power)
• Job, position, department, organisation, etc
• What you have got (resources power)
• Friends, allies, resources, information, etc

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Choose your stance
Political Savvy
Low
High
(Good for company bad for you) Good Soldier (Best long-term bet) Pro
(Option for losers) Victim (Hit it big, or take on a big hit) Pol
High
Organisational Commitment
Low
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Make win-win deals

• Separate people from the problem
• Focus on interests, not stances
• Invent options for mutual gain

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Escape cluelessness IV Know ourselves

• We all suffer from the gaps what we do what
  were doing
• Better relationship begin with knowing ourselves
• Decide whether to muddle, exploit or learn
• We learn help others learn through
  interpersonal feedback

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• Why do you see the speck on your neighbors eye,
  but not notice the log in your own ?
• - Matthew 73 -

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Johari Window
Unknown to
Self
Others
Public Self Hidden Self
Blind Self Uncharted Self
Self
Known to
Others
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• Everyone sees what you seem, but few know what
  you are
• - Machiavelli, The Prince -

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Receive or give feedback

• Ask and you shall receive
• Say thank you
• Ask before giving
• When asked, give your best
• Tell the truth

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Escape cluelessness V Make or find a better
job

• Work doesnt have to be miserable
• Good workplaces
• Hire and retain the right people
• Invest and empower their workforce
• Fix your job or get a new one
• Fix at yourself
• Form a coalition
• Fight back
• Find a better job

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Escape cluelessness VI Understand hierachy

• Position shapes behavior
• Hierachy creates monarchs, lords and serfs in
  organisations
• To escape feudalism
• Study the system
• Stop blaming
• Swim upstream
• Or step out of the flow

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Escape cluelessness VI Understand hierarchy

• We all want clarity predictability but hate red
  tape effective structure balance efficiency
  flexibility
• Design system around customer and reduce cost of
  bureaucracy

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Escape cluelessness VII Shape structure to
circumstance

• Bad structures harm both people productivity
• Structure depends on circumstances
• Top-down, vertical control works best for simple
  tasks in stable environments
• Turbulent, fast-changing situations call for
  flatter, more fluid structures

107
Escape cluelessness VII Shape structure to
circumstance

• Improve structures by
• Setting clear goals
• Aligning structure to situation
• Putting people in the right job
• Rewarding performance
• Clarifying relationships

108
Escape cluelessness VIII Crack the cultural
code

• Every group organisation creates cultural ways
  to make sense and give meaning to life work
• Cultural ways traditions dictate what people
  wear, how they speak what they do
• Understanding culture reduces surprise stress,
  increases understanding confidence

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Escape cluelessness VIII Crack the cultural
code

• Study cultural clues
• Enlist guides
• Connect to the grapevine
• Watch for spies
• Form cabals
• Understanding the existential underbelly lets you
  shape as well as be shaped by culture

110
Escape cluelessness IX Cope with change and
learn to lead

• Sometimes we choose change often someone else
  choose it for us
• Change efforts run into 4 universal barriers
• Individuals resistance to anxiety feeling
  incompetent
• Disruption of established patterns
• Conflict between winners losers
• Loss

111
Escape cluelessness IX Cope with change and
learn to lead

• Change takes leadership
• You can lead from anywhere if
• You know your goal
• Enlist others
• Part the waters
• Make sure people know their job
• Deal with conflict
• Celebrate
• Lead with focus, passion, wisdom, and courage

112
Escape cluelessness X Choose a life path

• Which path are you following ?
• Fog you are not sure where youre headed
• Bog you are too mired in the muck to get where
  you want to go
• Piracy youre seeking adventure or treasure,
  via plunder if necessary
• Service in search of a better life or better
  world
• If youre going no where, or in a wrong
  direction, find a better path

113
Appendix 2 The 48 laws of power
114
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
115
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
116
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
117
Appendix 3 References
118
References

• Books
• Clever as serpents Business ethics office
  politics
• By Jim Grote and John McGreeney
• A Michael Glacier book published by The
  Liturgical Press _at_ 1997
• Comment A must-read classic for Christians to
  lead a corporate life cynical though, its
  repeated wake-up calls for ascetic detachment
  may echo in veterans hearts
• Rating
• Escape from cluelessness A guide for the
  organisationally challenged
• By Lee G. Bolman and Terrence E. Deal
• New York, NY AMACOM Books, 2000
• Comment A simple, easy-to-read handbook for the
  rookies
• Rating

119
References

• Books
• The 48 laws of power
• By Robert Greene and Joost Elffers
• Viking Penguin _at_ 1998
• Comment A must-read classic for power games
• Rating
• Cubicle warfare Self-defense strategies for
  todays hyper-competitive workplace
• By Blaine L. Pardoe
• Prima Publishing _at_ 1997
• Comment A practical guide to craft strategies
  for different cases already translated into
  Chinese
• Rating

120
References

• Movies
• Disclosure
• Comment A must-watch classic for the boss to
  trap the subordinate the latter to fight back
• Rating
• Wall Street
• Comment A classic for the boss to manipulate
  the mob / the market
• Rating
• Journals (www.gcf.org.hk)
• Office politics, GCF Journal 2001, Vol. 8
• Compromise, GCF Journal 2001, Vol. 7