How Employees Escape and Evade

I recall a story about the FBI in the days when J. Edgar Hoover ran it with an iron hand. Tired of seeing agents who were pushing pudgy or beyond, Hoover sent out a directive that all sworn personnel had to meet a certain weight standard or else dire things would happen.

An agent who worked at one of the FBI’s field offices learned that the Director was going to pay a visit. The man had tried dieting, but he was a backslider and the pounds were not rolling off. As the days passed, his anxiety grew. J. Edgar Hoover was coming! What was he to do?

At this point, the genius that enables employees to flow like water around the strictest requirements began to emerge. The agent rushed out and purchased a suit that was a couple of sizes too big. By the time that Hoover entered the field office’s conference room to meet with the agents, our hero ostentatiously cinched in his pants and joked that the department’s tough, new physical fitness policy was forcing him to get a new wardrobe! Hoover beamed and nodded encouragement. Mission accomplished.

When Benito Mussolini was dictator of Italy, he traveled about on inspection tours. The local officials often included a parade as part of the program so Il Duce could see how well the military was doing. Mussolini would stand on a balcony and sternly watch as impressive ranks of soldiers marched past. What he didn’t realize was that his associates, in an effort to keep their leader happy, transported the same crack unit around Italy for the parades. They compounded the deception by inviting Mussolini to cut ribbons for new facilities that were closed the following day. Behind the façade of strength, Mussolini’s Italy was a showcase for deception.

One of the most impressive examples of employee “escape and evade” tactics that I’ve ever encountered occurred in a small office. The employees could not stand the boss and yet they knew that his chances of being promoted within the organization were nil. Once again, the old creativity kicked in. The disgruntled team members prepared a resume for their manager and began secretly sending it off in response to want ads. One day, he received an invitation for a job interview. He was a little perplexed because he didn’t recall ever applying for a position, but it was flattering that they called him so he went to the interview.

I met the employees on the day they celebrated their boss’s new job.