Nearly 2 months since my last post? Already? Wow time flies, especially when that time is spent plotting, fighting, manoeuvring in "high" level corporate politics in order to get that promotion you've been eyeing for over a year.
Well did I get it? No. And yes it sucks. But lets try to look at the bright side: within 6 months, I've been taught 2 or 3 MAJOR life lessons. They all hurt, badly, but hey I'm 30, so I'll recover.
Let me very briefly outline them, and maybe I'll post some detailed thoughts on each of them at a later date. Then again, maybe not.
Lesson 1: never, ever, ever trust anybody in the corporate and business world. Every one has an agenda. Of course, a fun part about business is meeting and working with great people with whom you travel, eat well, party, and of course build good business... This obviously builds strong links, which can blurr the lines. Just never forget, no matter how much fun you have and no matter how much great business you build... the simple fact is that your interests vary and everyone has different agendas. Never loose sight of that or you will get burned.
Lesson 2: the corporate world is not a meritocracy. See previous posts. Definitly not.
Lesson 3: power is TAKEN, not given. Do NOT expect to be given anyting, and never rely on "the good judgement" of anyone. TAKE what you want.
I'll end this short entry by copy/pasting this short blog post from Jeffrey Pfeffer that more adequatly sums up my current dark thoughts. The original can be found here.
Take Care of Yourself First
9:31 AM Wednesday July 14, 2010
by Jeffrey Pfeffer
Drafts of my new book on power (and the HBR article drawn from it) provoke strong reactions. One reason is that I show little concern for any aspect of organizational effectiveness. In stark contrast to virtually all of the management literature, I focus on ensuring that people build the insights and skills that will ensure their organizational survival and success.
My perspective is that organizations — which have laid off millions, which have workplaces filled with disengaged and dissatisfied employees, and which regularly, even in partnerships, cast people aside — can (and do) take care of themselves. My point of view is quite consistent with the popular idea of employees as free agents and the evidence on the ever-weakening bonds between people and their employers.
This is not to say that by helping people help themselves I am in any away against organizational effectiveness. A manager's success and the success of her employer are positively related. But let's be clear — this relationship is often small and sometimes absent. In the world of financial services, Stan O'Neal of Merrill Lynch and Frederick Raines of Fannie Mae were just two of many executives who oversaw the downfall of their companies while walking away with many millions of dollars. At lower levels, research shows that salary and job progression depend on educational credentials, years of experience, social similarity, and political skill, not just performance (either individual or organizational). It's not enough to do good work. People who are not politically skilled will be outmaneuvered.
This basic fact of organizational life hit me again just the other day as a woman who had effectively run one of the centers at Stanford Business School for more than a decade sat in my office on the verge of tears. As part of a staff survey, one of her recently-hired subordinates had sabotaged her by questioning her efforts and commitment. The center directors she had served so well — and who, by the way, up until that point had consistently praised her — chose not to get involved. Now she is on her way out, good work, helpful demeanor, and center success notwithstanding.
Should my friend have been caught by surprise? Or should she have been more aware of what her "colleague" might be up to, and how she might protect herself? Focused on getting the work done and confident in its quality, she learned, as many others have, that organizational life is not always fair.
The first and most important message in my course on the "Paths to Power" (pdf) and in the writing I do on that subject is that you need to take care of yourself — and do so by whatever means necessary. Don't rely on the kindness of strangers, much less the unselfish support of colleagues or the good auspices of your employer. You have to fend for yourself, or like my friend and soon-to-be former coworker, you may find yourself in a bad situation.
Jeffrey Pfeffer is the Thomas D. Dee II Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, where he has taught since 1979. His forthcoming book from HarperBusiness is Power: Why Some People Have It and Others Don't.
