I carry my laptop and a stack of files with me everywhere I go, and I walk fast so people think I’m actually going somewhere and everyone must think I’m very busy. If one of my twelve bosses stops me to ask me to do something, I’ll first ask them a question from one of the reports I’m carrying: “We used to ship in units and now it’s cases. Why the change?” And he’ll go off on a 10 minute self-important rant as to why the change was made along with the pros and cons and how the cons have a point but he can also see where the pros stand and he’ll puff up his chest as if he’s about to share something profound but then spill some noncommittal drivel to hedge his bet and I’ll nod approvingly and close with a, “Well put sir. It’s been driving me crazy all week and you’ve resolved it quite nicely” and I’ll be on my way. He’ll walk away feeling good because he shared his non-opinion and I’ll not have to do that project I know he was going to ask me to do. I imagine after I walk away, he remembers what he was supposed to tell me and does a half-turn as I disappear out of sight and he probably thinks, “I’ll just do it myself” because he never does come back. I’m working through my MBA and I’ve had courses on ethics, practical applications, leadership, and delegation but I haven’t come across any on office politics, purposeful misdirection, and scheming against others while pretending to be their friend to get the promotion, but I still have another year to go so there’s time.
