Mojo Monday has been a casualty of many things, not least of which is work obligations. In honor of that, I would like to offer my observations from the Cube Wars in hopes that I can help somebody survive the ruthless office politics many suffer under.
First a brief Mojo Monday advertisement. Many of us can not contribute during the day, even if some can read an occasional diary. This (regular) feature was designed as a space where us folks can gather at the end of the day and mojo each other silly. And comment. And share. I am trying to puzzle out some way to solve a particularly vexing problem with missing daytime diaries, but I may not get to it today. Do you feel lucky? Hold my hand and let's go u p and o v e r the fold.
(end hiatus)
Better than the event, better than the memory... the anticipation. I hope you have all been anticipating this as much as I have; I enjoy taking the stage at the Great Orange Satan, however briefly, and spouting off whatever I feel like spouting at the moment. One of my favorite parts of www.dailykos.com America's blog of record, is that ANYBODY can be at the top of the diary list for at least some small period of time. Where else can you headline a gig like this one?
Suggestions:
No You tube embeds, links only. (The embeds crash my last-century electric abacus-like computing device.)
Be polite. If you want to argue with somebody, put up a yadnoM ojoM diary. I promise to come tip you if I see it. But take the squabbles outside.
Mojo, Mojo, Mojo antil you can't stand up. Then come back tomorrow and Mojo, Mojo, Mojo whatever you missed the first time.
Now for the meat of the matter. I work in a fairly large office and have had some trouble with a new boss lately. We have had trouble coming to a meeting of the minds and I realized that in my 10 years in corporate America (sometime I will share what I did for money before this gig) I have accidentally become somewhat adept at navigating the shoals of big business. Here are my top 3 tips off the tip of my head. If people start conversing I may expand or add to them, I think I just might have something somebody could use. Another time I may codify my general rules, these are some tactics I have found useful.
- Always offer to be the note taker. When you are recording decisions and Next Steps, it will be very helpful for you to frame them to your liking. Be very generous about editing them later, including other ideas, removing some of yours... but starting with yours means that it tilts your direction.
- To quote Donald Rumsfeld, "A's hire A's, B's hire C's." One of the best pieces of advice I have ever heard for dealing with business, it can be applied to yourself, or used to explain the behavior of others. Never be afraid to work with the best. People will start to think of you in the same breath as those superstars, some of it will rub off on your reputation. Let them make you look good. B's hire C's because they don't want to dim in comparison. But even if you are a B and you hire an A, you get to take credit for their success because you were smart enough to hire them. (By "hire" I just mean who you choose to work with. Find a project with somebody at the top of their game and go along for the ride.)
- Praise in public, kvetch in private. Even if you are 100% sure the audience agrees with you 100%, keep in mind that whoever they quote you to may not. And the quote may be taken out of context. Mention people by name when they have been helpful. cc their boss if it is appropriate. Never be afraid to share credit, especially if you are already being recognized... in your acknowledgment of the kudos, be generous to those who helped.
I know that these won't always work, and may not even be wise. Some workplaces are so dysfunctional that you would be better off getting advice from a domestic violence shelter. Seriously. Mental abuse does go on at the workplace and if that sounds like you I strongly urge you to get some mental health support ASAP.
BONUS: The bigger the company the more likely it is that HR can help. Even if your tormentor is a super-duper bigwig, at very large companies that doesn't help (unless they are the CEO. If you are getting grief from the CEO of a giant company, I am afraid I am not much help.)
Ask away, let this undercover hippie help you navigate your way to a stellar career with The Man.