Ever wonder why you didn't get that promotion? Or why you suddenly find yourself slinking through the hallways at work with your back to the wall and your eyes darting about feverishly? Chances are you have been stabbed in the back. As you cry into your beer with the comiserations of your colleagues ringing in your ears chances are you blame your boss/ ruthless peer/pushy underling for this state of affairs. But Jerry B Harvey would beg to differ.
After a while, having recovered your dignity you straighten your shoulders, thus presenting an inviting target for the knife yet again. This happens because, according to Mr Harvey, you have learned nothing. In his engagingly long-titled meditation on office politics Harvey spends a lot of time saying very little in an engaging manner. His thesis is if you get shafted it's because not only did you bring it on yourself but were a willing participant in this office ritual. He deconstructs the whole modus operandi of a backstabbing in a way which will elicit nods of agreement from anyone who has ever been involved in this bloodless yet brutal act.
The process is broken down into three parts. The first is the message brought by a concerned colleague who asks for secrecy in exchange for information on the upcoming backstabbing. The second is the victims refusal to confront the backstabber, hobbled as he is by the secrecy clause and the third ins the act itself: the promotion lost; the damning entry in your review or the boot. Harvey is at his best in this murky area of office politics but there are other gems to be found in this map of the pitfalls and quagmires inherent in climbing the corporate ladder.
He analyses the Last Supper as a board meeting where all the members collude in forcing Judas to act as he does in order for the organisation to realise its full potential. And then alter the minutes and spin the facts to cover up their actions. He is also quite good on the refrain which is regularly heard at any committee/board meetings one cares to mention: `Why are we just sitting here and not doing anything?' Because inactivity is better than facing unpalatable truths or engaging in activity which, though principled, may prove costly, according to Mr Harvey's analysis.
Another of his insights concerns the no-nonsense manager, a commodity, according to the jobs ads, in ever-increasing demand. No-nonsense mangers lack a sense of humour, an ingredient Harvey says is vital if one is to survive the absurdities inherent in working within any organisation. Amen to that.
comidheach@irish-times.ie
