Sunday, April 29, 2007

The Survivors

In large organizations, it is not unusual to find individuals who have perfected the art of survival.


Re-organizations and purges come and go and they remain. Their levels of responsibility and intellgence may vary, but they have post-graduate degrees in hanging on.


Some of their strategies include:


- Low profile. This is the classic approach. Don't take the top job. Burrow into the second or third tier and actively avoid publicity.


- Just enough credit. This one is trickier. If you are regarded as thoroughly inept, you risk termination. If you gain a reputation as an achiever, you risk enemies. The secret is to give credit to others while keeping just enough to make you a viable contributor.


- Exile. Out of sight, out of mind is not always bad. Why have an office in the headquarters where some troublesome executive might spot you in the elevator and wonder why they keep you around? Head for the hills. A job that permits you to bungee jump into the power center when necessary is ideal. You're there, then you're not.


- Rumored specialty. I've known people who have dined out for years on rumors of an arcane achievement. They have cultivated the view that they - and only they - have the knowledge to save the careers of upper management if some unlikely crisis occurs. The remote fear that one day they might be desperately needed keeps them on the payroll.


- Not worth the candle. Some types, due to reptilian personalities or friends in high places, are perceived as potentially messy terminations. Management would dearly love to fire them but the executives and managers don't want the hassle of a lawsuit.


- Community ties. Having significant allies in the community has saved - and justified the jobs of - many an otherwise marginal performer.


- Being humorless. Witty remarks have a habit of being repeated and one carelessly dropped line about a powerful person (or that person's spouse, pets, or friends) can finish a career. Survivors know the value of a straight face and bland humor.


- Weasel words. Survivors have the capacity to speak or write at length without saying anything definitive. One test: Ask yourself just what is the person's declared position on any controversial issue. You'll find that a case can be made for either side.


- Great radar. Survivors almost instinctively know who's up, who's down, and which meetings to avoid. I've attended meetings where a chill goes around the room once it is learned that a "survival savvy" person won't be attending.


Most of us don't want to wholeheartedly adopt the strategies of survivors and yet a dab of their discretion is probably healthy. Knowing their rules also helps us to identify just when we have left firm ground and are nearing thin ice.

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