Power plays in meetings

[RosieH]

So I have a new boss who is clearly big into NLP and body language and all of that "seven habits of highly effective people" bullshit.

Anyway, turns out he analyses people by where they choose to sit in a meeting with him (which is tricky when there are four of you around a table that seats six - not that many options).

But my future contract with this company rests in his hands. Anyone know anything about this horseshit? Or suggest ways to confound him? I'm thinking it might be early days to sit on his knee...

[woofmarkthedog]

Have...

..you read "The Game"

It's essentially sold as a dating book but really it's about power interaction, negging, plus a whole lot more

I read it when I was involved with a design group

Very good for strategic game playing but long term very exhausting

I can lend it to you IYW

W**F

[????]

..you could try his face

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

here's a site which explains the horseshit: power play in the board room.

Bear in mind however, if you are a spy, you need to sit facing the door with space for your gun arm and with a convenient window to leap out of.*

*Don't do this on the 17th floor.

[????]

...say "sitting at meetings tends to make them inefficient and overlong, let's all stand"

[HAL9000]

Stephen Potter wrote a couple of books that may be helpful under the circumstances you describe. Good Luck.

[giggirl]

Poor you Rosie - you have my sympathies. This is indeed a load of b**llocks.

Years ago, in the early 90's, I had a boss who was a complete prat and liked to play games at meetings. Nobody liked him. He always insisted that the bottled water was fizzy water so I used to give his bottle a little shake before meetings.

Ha - a man with wet pants is not so scary.

[KidKruger]

Make sure there are only 3 chairs in the room and ensure he gets delayed on the way to the meeting..

[Brendan]

Oh brother. Why do people insist on being such utter cunts ?

Personally I wouldn?t hire anyone who gave any credence to some sort of office power politics, where to sit, self-help manual.

Aren?t these people able to use their own intuition and common sense?

[giggirl]

Brendan Wrote:

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>

> Aren?t these people able to use their own

> intuition and common sense?

That would be a no Brendan.

[Michael Palaeologus]

Because of "Back Problems" you prefer to stand during meetings. See what he makes of that as he has to look up at you.

[dubluke]

???? Wrote:

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> ...say "sitting at meetings tends to make them

> inefficient and overlong, let's all stand"

then dive under the desk to dodge the barrage of evil looks from your co-worker

[Queen of Dulwich]

Well, sit at the head of the table. Best position ever, as it irritates people no end. Everybody expects big shot to be sitting there...

Colleague of mine always goes in first and puts their docs down at their chosen spot, then leaves again to get a glass of water, usually enters as last person and is p***ed off when docs have been moved B) and seat has been taken. That's another version of the Powerplay.

[giggirl]

I remember from the distant past a French & Saunders clip in which one of them attended a meeting and proceeded to lay out their gonks and other girly parephenallia all over their bit of the meeting table. Give that a whirl.

[giggirl]

Back in the 90s I pitched a client some tosh in some boardroom somewhere at which a tampon fell out of my bag, rolled across the table and came to rest in front of him. Of course I carried on talking, feigned indifference and stretched across for him to pass it back - but inside my head the ground needed to open up and gobble me up. It's funny now though.

[RosieH]

I once did an entire pitch with sugar nipples.

The projector wasn't working and I had leaned down to try to sort it out, seemingly pressing my breasts against a plate of sugared doughnuts in the process. I was wearing a black top, so created a pair of gorgeous white sparkly outerwear nipples. Presented for an hour. Won the pitch. No one ate the doughnuts.

Wonder if I might bring new boss a plate of iced buns with glace cherries.

[HonaloochieB]

RosieH Wrote:

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> I once did an entire pitch with sugar nipples.

>

> The projector wasn't working and I had leaned down

> to try to sort it out, seemingly pressing my

> breasts against a plate of sugared doughnuts in

> the process. I was wearing a black top, so

> created a pair of gorgeous white sparkly outerwear

> nipples. Presented for an hour. Won the pitch.

> No one ate the doughnuts.

>

> Wonder if I might bring new boss a plate of iced

> buns with glace cherries.

Silly bastards, I'd have been scarfing them down two-handed on the basis of some possible extra flavouring.

Honestly, you do something nice for people...

[katie1997]

Oh RosieH - there's nothing you can do or say if this guy is going to judge you using those 'values'. He sounds like a right wanker.

Can't you just roll up late, sit on the table, smile sweetly, crack open some champagne, offer it around to the meeting and say "So - where were we?"

I didn't recognise one of THE Grand Fromages who happened to be using a meeting room I had booked for MY meeting the other day and after politely giving them five minutes grace to finish up, I walked in there and sat down. Oh well....

[Huggers]

My sister-in-law got into NLP in a big way and imposed its deconstructing ways on all the family. Instead of it helping communication it just became a bullying device. Her labelling of everyone and intense interpretation of everything brought no wisdom, no honesty, no compassion to family dynamics but oppressed, suppressed and frustrated everyone. My brother, who had been married to her for 30 years, buggered off and eventually married someone who wasnt full of sh**.

Be unpredictable. Sit somewhere that confounds him- cross legged on the floor perhaps so you can 'see things laterally'.. Drop into the conversation that youve just read an exposee of self help books and say anyone who can't have an independent thought without being told how to think by a book shouldnt have any responsibility. Then chuckle as if you are all on the same side.

Fight bullshit with bullshit.

[PeckhamRose]

And yes, bring cakes, and wear a business suit but flowers in your hair. Confuse but charm. I read some NLP books, they do have their uses but when it comes down to it, I agree with the fight bullshit with bullshit approach! (Which in a way is very NLP!)

[Smiler]

giggirl Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

>

> Years ago, in the early 90's, I had a boss who was

> a complete prat and liked to play games at

> meetings. Nobody liked him. He always insisted

> that the bottled water was fizzy water so I used

> to give his bottle a little shake before meetings.

>

> Ha - a man with wet pants is not so scary.

Hee hee, I have done the shake-up-the-fizzy-water one as well! Has excellent results as long as don't get caught!