Corp politics and intra dept warfare

slang · 10-13-2003, 03:51 AM

When I was writing the post on the micro non-manager I thought about how I would have dealt with this conflict in the white collar world.

In that environment, the plan would have been very different.

So I'm wondering. Does anyone have any stories from work specifically of conflicts and results? Maybe some dirty tricks that were played on you, something you did to make someone else look bad, passive aggressive techniques of insubordination, or some specific event you planned and executed as revenge. Did you ever become the boss of a boss you hated? Maybe you broke some unwritten rule of the company and it's effects, arguments in meetings, blantant name calling in meetings, or even physical confrontations at work.

Or on the other side of the coin, some friendship you had in the company that shielded you in some way. Did some high level manager ever take an interest in you to put the screws to your boss, with his help? Were you ever a "spy" within the company for some upper level manager ? Did you ever fall on the sword for a boss you liked?

I'm interested in all angles of the company/corp politics and your personal strategy and experience in dealing with them.

There's a few good ones I could write about but I want to read your stories about surviving/winning corp politics and intra dept warfare.

10-13-2003, 05:47 AM

At a big, big company, where I am but a peon, my goal is quite simple: make my boss look like a hero. When I do this, he is happy, because his boss looks like a hero. And he's happy, because his boss looks like a hero. I am not here for name recognition. I am here to put games in my consoles and food in my big belly.

When my boss gets mad (as he is prone to do - he flies off the handle quite easily, but I still like him quite a bit), I let it run its course. He'll say "you did this wrong!" and I'll go "okay, let me check on that and I'll get back to you." He's always not-as-mad later on, and that's when I can go back to him and say "See, I actually did this right, but I see why you thought I did it wrong." And he goes "Oh, okay." I used to try to point it out to him right then, and guess what? That's a battle I can't win. You never win by making your boss look like a dickhead.

One stupid thing I did, and other SAIC employees will understand this... my ops manager's name is Rob *****. I'll leave that last name blank. Anyway, my second day of working here, I'm a stupid 19 year old, and I get introduced to him - by my boss' boss. Rob ***** is my boss' boss' boss' boss. Anyway, as we're shaking hands, he goes "I'm Rob *****." And I say "I'm not." Not "I'm Dave Ham" or "Pleased to meet you, sir who could have my fired immediately." Yes, that actually happened, to my eternal shame. Don't do that.

One real good tip is to always get everything in writing. If your boss tells you to do something, email him and go "just wanted to confirm, I'm supposed to be doing _______." When he responds "yep!" then you're good to go. My boss is prone to assigning me fourteen different things, not telling me the priority, and then barking at me when I don't have ____ done by ___. I'll say "Dude, you told me to do ____ first" and he'll say "No no no no no." That's why you get it in writing - they can't refute that!

slang · 10-13-2003, 06:37 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by dave
One stupid thing I did...... Don't do that.

I can relate. Generally speaking people in the upper levels of management understand people being nervous when meeting them or having people (especially young people) trying to be witty.

Good stuff dave.

xoxoxoBruce · 10-13-2003, 09:57 AM

When you're in someones office, never, ever comment on personal photographs of people (family?). Believe me, no good will come of it and the best case scenario you come out neutral. Pictures of pets are usually OK but be aware the pet may be dead.

elSicomoro · 10-13-2003, 11:39 AM

El Sicómoro is dealing with a slightly irritating boss situation right about now...I was telling UT about this Saturday. At least I don't have to deal with it today...whoohoo! Paid days off rule!

My boss left the company last month. And it doesn't look like his position is going to be filled until January, so until it is, his boss is now my boss.

Unfortunately my "new" boss is not overly familiar with the functioning of my department. Since coming to the company 9 months ago, her main focuses have been the other department with which we're grouped, and our new database, which we roll out in February.

When I first came back to the company, I would have questions about things that needed to be done, like any rookie. And my boss normally didn't start work until 1:45p, so I would wind up asking her. Well, this became a tad problematic, as she just didn't "get" what I was asking or just didn't really know. So, I quit asking her questions, unless it was something that absolutely needed a boss's answer.

She and I "miscommunicate" all the time. I think b/c her focus has been the new system, and b/c she just doesn't know our department very well, we just completely miss each other. When she asks me about a procedure, she's looking at it in terms of the new system, while I'm still thinking current system. One day a couple of weeks ago, she asked me exactly what we do as a department, and when I explained (while showing her at the same time), it was completely new to her...and apparently confusing as well.

And while she is a fairly nice person, I don't like the whole miscommunicating thing...Jesus Christ, it drives me nuts. And I was dreading the day my boss left, b/c I knew I'd have to deal with her more frequently.

Any time she asks me something now, I focus very intently on what she is asking. And if she asks me to do something, I always make sure I know exactly how she wants it (lots of detail, summary, etc.). Actually, I'm curious as to how she is going to reply to the information I threw at her before I left Friday night. We'll see tomorrow. But so far, it seems to be working well.

Plus, I can post out to another department in January if she irritates me too much.

arz · 10-13-2003, 12:03 PM

My boss is on the east coast. I'm out here in Cali. I've met my boss face-to-face once since being re-orged under him on January 1, 2002.

I rule.

:p

Elspode · 10-13-2003, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sycamore
whoohoo! Paid days off rule!

You get Columbus Day off with pay?!! What kind of politically incorrect, imperialist dogma, native people exterminating, resource stealing organization do you work for? The Federal Government?

elSicomoro · 10-13-2003, 12:19 PM

No, I became eligible for vacation/personal days yesterday. So, I took today off.

Actually, I did get Columbus Day off with pay when I lived in DC. Many companies close on Federal holidays in the DC area.

10-13-2003, 03:51 AM	#1
slang St Petersburg, Florida Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 3,423	Corp politics and intra dept warfare When I was writing the post on the micro non-manager I thought about how I would have dealt with this conflict in the white collar world. In that environment, the plan would have been very different. So I'm wondering. Does anyone have any stories from work specifically of conflicts and results? Maybe some dirty tricks that were played on you, something you did to make someone else look bad, passive aggressive techniques of insubordination, or some specific event you planned and executed as revenge. Did you ever become the boss of a boss you hated? Maybe you broke some unwritten rule of the company and it's effects, arguments in meetings, blantant name calling in meetings, or even physical confrontations at work. Or on the other side of the coin, some friendship you had in the company that shielded you in some way. Did some high level manager ever take an interest in you to put the screws to your boss, with his help? Were you ever a "spy" within the company for some upper level manager ? Did you ever fall on the sword for a boss you liked? I'm interested in all angles of the company/corp politics and your personal strategy and experience in dealing with them. There's a few good ones I could write about but I want to read your stories about surviving/winning corp politics and intra dept warfare. Last edited by slang; 10-13-2003 at 03:56 AM.

10-13-2003, 09:57 AM	#4
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	When you're in someones office, never, ever comment on personal photographs of people (family?). Believe me, no good will come of it and the best case scenario you come out neutral. Pictures of pets are usually OK but be aware the pet may be dead. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

10-13-2003, 05:47 AM	#2
dave Guest Posts: n/a	At a big, big company, where I am but a peon, my goal is quite simple: make my boss look like a hero. When I do this, he is happy, because his boss looks like a hero. And he's happy, because his boss looks like a hero. I am not here for name recognition. I am here to put games in my consoles and food in my big belly. When my boss gets mad (as he is prone to do - he flies off the handle quite easily, but I still like him quite a bit), I let it run its course. He'll say "you did this wrong!" and I'll go "okay, let me check on that and I'll get back to you." He's always not-as-mad later on, and that's when I can go back to him and say "See, I actually did this right, but I see why you thought I did it wrong." And he goes "Oh, okay." I used to try to point it out to him right then, and guess what? That's a battle I can't win. You never win by making your boss look like a dickhead. One stupid thing I did, and other SAIC employees will understand this... my ops manager's name is Rob ***. I'll leave that last name blank. Anyway, my second day of working here, I'm a stupid 19 year old, and I get introduced to him - by my boss' boss. Rob * is my boss' boss' boss' boss. Anyway, as we're shaking hands, he goes "I'm Rob ***." And I say "I'm not." Not "I'm Dave Ham" or "Pleased to meet you, sir who could have my fired immediately." Yes, that actually happened, to my eternal shame. Don't do that. One real good tip is to always get everything in writing. If your boss tells you to do something, email him and go "just wanted to confirm, I'm supposed to be doing _______." When he responds "yep!" then you're good to go. My boss is prone to assigning me fourteen different things, not telling me the priority, and then barking at me when I don't have ____ done by ___. I'll say "Dude, you told me to do ____ first" and he'll say "No no no no no." That's why you get it in writing - they can't refute that!

10-13-2003, 11:39 AM	#5
elSicomoro Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 12,486	El Sicómoro is dealing with a slightly irritating boss situation right about now...I was telling UT about this Saturday. At least I don't have to deal with it today...whoohoo! Paid days off rule! My boss left the company last month. And it doesn't look like his position is going to be filled until January, so until it is, his boss is now my boss. Unfortunately my "new" boss is not overly familiar with the functioning of my department. Since coming to the company 9 months ago, her main focuses have been the other department with which we're grouped, and our new database, which we roll out in February. When I first came back to the company, I would have questions about things that needed to be done, like any rookie. And my boss normally didn't start work until 1:45p, so I would wind up asking her. Well, this became a tad problematic, as she just didn't "get" what I was asking or just didn't really know. So, I quit asking her questions, unless it was something that absolutely needed a boss's answer. She and I "miscommunicate" all the time. I think b/c her focus has been the new system, and b/c she just doesn't know our department very well, we just completely miss each other. When she asks me about a procedure, she's looking at it in terms of the new system, while I'm still thinking current system. One day a couple of weeks ago, she asked me exactly what we do as a department, and when I explained (while showing her at the same time), it was completely new to her...and apparently confusing as well. And while she is a fairly nice person, I don't like the whole miscommunicating thing...Jesus Christ, it drives me nuts. And I was dreading the day my boss left, b/c I knew I'd have to deal with her more frequently. Any time she asks me something now, I focus very intently on what she is asking. And if she asks me to do something, I always make sure I know exactly how she wants it (lots of detail, summary, etc.). Actually, I'm curious as to how she is going to reply to the information I threw at her before I left Friday night. We'll see tomorrow. But so far, it seems to be working well. Plus, I can post out to another department in January if she irritates me too much.

10-13-2003, 12:03 PM	#6
arz Hand-of-Kindness Extender Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: So Cal Posts: 137	My boss is on the east coast. I'm out here in Cali. I've met my boss face-to-face once since being re-orged under him on January 1, 2002. I rule. :p

10-13-2003, 12:19 PM	#8
elSicomoro Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 12,486	No, I became eligible for vacation/personal days yesterday. So, I took today off. Actually, I did get Columbus Day off with pay when I lived in DC. Many companies close on Federal holidays in the DC area.

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