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I have to agree with Sean. Especially in one company I used to work for (who
will remain nameless), if your lips weren't firmly planted on the right
person's buttocks, you went nowhere. Hard work was rewarded with a
publicized slap in the face, and do-nothing babble from the butt-kissers was
richly rewarded with raises, management titles, and public praise.
How do I know?
A few friends and I actually put this to the test. We worked hard and
documented our "treatment", and then kissed ass hard and documented that
"treatment". The two documents did not compare. One highlight from the
work-hard list was that (to paraphrase) "you work well outside the direction
(read: micro-management) of senior management and have identified yourself
as someone who is not a team player." One highlight from the ass-kissing
list was (again, paraphrasing) "your insight and knowledge is just what
we're looking for in an employee. We hope to see more of this in the
future." Now, I have to add that the ass-kissing approach involved no
thought or research into true corporate solutions, but rather rambling
techno-babble and other nonsense.
Cool, huh?
So, in my experience, there are some companies in which authority flows not
from ability, but from fabricated rhetoric. Conduct a simple ph test to
determine what kind of a company you're working for. High acidity favors the
rhetoric.
Have a day!
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BILL SWALLOW
Technical Writer
C O U R I O N C O R P O R A T I O N
1881 Worcester Road
Framingham, Mass. 01701
T E L * 508-879-8400 x316
F A X * 508-879-8500
www.courion.com
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-----Original Message-----
> From: Andrew Plato [SMTP:intrepid_es -at- yahoo -dot- com]
> I don't think I need to tell you that skill and capability have NOTHING
> whatsoever to do with title or pay. To think otherwise is truly nieve.
>
Absolutely, 100-percent accurate. Yes.
> Authority flows from ability. If you can regularly demonstrate the ability
> to get work done and keep people motivated, then you can honestly claim a
> title of manager or senior.
>
Maybe at your company, Andrew, but in my experience authority flows from
being a good sycophant. Responsibility _without_ authority is the result of
being able and motivated. Claim what? The managerial jobs go to those who
suck . . . up and demonstrate the skill of saying "yes" to everything but
otherwise being quite.
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