Page 102 - Executive Warfare

EXECUTIVE W ARF ARE

in sync at a business than it is at a nonprofit or a university because every-
body is at least working for a common currency. It’s called money.In a
corporation, you can actually dislike each other quite a bit, and it may not
be pretty, but you will still make sausage.“We’re not making sausage”dis-
cussions are not allowed.
Unless, of course, you happen to be in the middle of a race like this,
where your primary concern is your own survival. And in the short run,
that survival depends not on the whole organization doing well but only
on your boss getting promoted and carrying you with him. Needless to
say, this is not a very brilliant way to run
a railroad, but that’s a different issue.
HE WAS A The question is, if you find yourself in a
STRATEGIC situation like this, what do you do?
PLANNER, WHICH I remember one guy who worked for
IN CORPORATE LIFE the head of the retail divisions of Com-
IS A EUPHEMISM mercial Credit. Let’s call him Steve. He
FOR EITHER “A was a strategic planner, which in corpo-
VERY SMART rate life is a euphemism for either “a
PERSON I DON’T very smart person I don’t know what to
KNOW WHAT TO DO do with” or “some boss’s cousin.”
WITH” OR “SOME Steve was neither as smart nor as
BOSS’S COUSIN.” connected as he should have been, but
he was plenty arrogant. He decided on
a very aggressive approach with his
peers in the other divisions, lobbying us constantly for his boss, trying to
push his boss’s products through, attempting to argue us into cooperat-
ing with him.
As a result, we wouldn’t do a thing for him. The corporate cold shoul-
der. It was amusing because we would be in very serious meetings, and
Steve would be there strenuously defending his boss’s point of view and
be completely ignored. His boss was weak and could do nothing about it,
either, except whine and blather.

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