Monday, August 13, 2018
Law #1 Never outshine the master
Not quite the same as Chip's summary of Ptahhotep's first maxim:
"It's pretty good actually. It's saying if your superior is mouthing off then hold your tongue and don't let your advanced knowledge trip you up. Let him go on and restrain yourself then he will get the reputation of being a know-nothing."
It worked for a young person I know. He was counseled by an older relative to not complain about his boss to her superiors, but to give her enough rope. He followed the advice and ended up with a promotion.
In the service it's called following the chain of command. Now what was that movie where someone defined the chain of command as something they would beat you with if you did not follow their order? Really, I'm asking.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
12 comments:
Firefly. From the TV series. Probably others too.
Jayne: You know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I go get and beat you with 'til ya understand who's in ruttin' command here.
Applies especially to the upper echelons.
I think that might be the one, Rabel, thanks!
Ed, as far as that, I recall reading well into second Gulf War that one reason it was so poorly executed was underlings found it terrifying to make suggestions/corrections to Rumsfeld.
The 48 Laws of Power (1998) by Robert Greene has sold over 1.2 million copies in the United States and has been translated into 24 languages. Fast Company called the book a "mega cult classic", and The Los Angeles Times noted that The 48 Laws of Power turned Greene into a "cult hero with the hip-hop set, Hollywood elite and prison inmates alike".
With this compilation of responses to it at the wiki:
Professor Jeffrey Pfeffer said that Greene's so-called laws are based on isolated examples, and not on solid research.] Kirkus Reviews said Greene offers no evidence to support his world view, Greene's laws contradict each other, and the book is "simply nonsense". Newsweek also points out ways the laws contradict each other and says "Intending the opposite, Greene has actually produced one of the best arguments since the New Testament for humility and obscurity." Director magazine notes "some of Greene's 'laws' seem contradictory" and the work is "plodding and didactic". There has been no empirical research that any of the laws actually achieve positive social results.
The books on your mental shelf and links at your fingertips amaze me, deborah, providing curiously strong splashes of note in the Levity Pond.
deborah said...
Ed, as far as that, I recall reading well into second Gulf War that one reason it was so poorly executed was underlings found it terrifying to make suggestions/corrections to Rumsfeld.
First, I don't think it was all that poorly done* (YMMV), but one point to keep in mind was Rumsfeld was dragged into it kicking and screaming. He thought we had plenty to do in A-Stan.
* The media was desperate to find anything they could hang on Dubya and make him look bad. At the time, he was polling in the 90s and they couldn't allow that.
Perhaps if I regard the coyness of a seemingly real query coming from a seemingly smart person when there is an easy to find answer (on Google and Urban Dic for anyone with enough tech-savvy to find and post the original link and question) as part of a game similar in style to the one played with Whose That Girl posts, I might find myself feeling less irritated and confounded by the set up.
As it is, some form of connection was experienced and I learned something new as a result, as I do with Trooper York's Whose Series, even though I don't usually appreciate the form or focus.
I hadn't heard about this book before this post, which in a round about way introduced it to my awareness, and that's a good thing in the long run. Another splash.
All these rules won't help if you're a dreamy type and if you're a natural shark you don't need to learn them, they're built in.
It's close to miraculous that our Founders had few if any illusions about those who lust after power. Almost to a man they distrusted human nature and, it follows, distrusted themselves. Which is why the Constitution is such an anomaly: few high flown phrases; a painstaking attempt to thwart the accumulation of unaccountable power. Of course they couldn't anticipate the mushrooming of a permanent government bureaucracy near unaccountable. But they tried. What more do you want, a Hershey bar with almonds?
Well said, ricpic. As far as the Hershey bar, sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't.
Ed, I was not aware Rumsfeld was against the war! Must wiki that :)
It worked for a young person I know. He was counseled by an older relative to not complain about his boss to her superiors, but to give her enough rope. He followed the advice and ended up with a promotion.
Giving a superior (a her in this story) enough rope to hang herself requires a surrounding structure with enough integrity to support a hanging.
And yes, a Hershey bar with almonds is what's been and continues to be hoped for. That desire for more, including power and promotions, accompanied by the opposite acts of remaining silent or blaming others instead of bowling down the middle with accountability and acceptance on either side, is described in the Garden in Paradise story, as recorded by the Hebrew Moses, who in addition to talking with Yahweh had the benefit of an Egyptian education.
Must wiki that :)
Too cute!!! Enough to give my meter a weak ding!
"... requires a surrounding structure with enough integrity to support a hanging."
Yep, and thus the struggle this great country is having today. Integrity is a many splendored thing; or something like that.
Post a Comment