2 ms·
It seems like every business owner should be aware of this sort of thing... aware so that he or she can recognize and fire the employees who play these destruct
by lsc 16y ago
It seems like every business owner should be aware of this sort of thing... aware so that he or she can recognize and fire the employees who play these destructive games to get ahead.
As a business owner, though, I think the rules for playing power games are quite different; First, I care about how well the company does more than how "powerful" you think I am. I mean, if I don't let you finish what you are trying to say, why the hell am I still employing you?
besides, you know I can fire you. I have the metaphorical 'big stick' in the situation; there is no reason to lord my status over you.
- helmut_hed 16y agoThe guys who do the interrupting power dynamic thing don't do it to their bosses - only their subordinates and competitors. This, too, is part of the "skill set" they bring. The attitude of their manager is extremely important in this - some people actually admire the people doing the bullying and think it shows potential for advancement. I'm not sure why, but it explains a lot...
- lsc 16y agoright; my point was that if you have significant ownership, becoming a bully likely hurts you (because it hurts the company) more than it helps you (because who is going to promote you? you own the place.) My point is that the traditional rules for office politics are designed for an environment where the actual owners are absent, and what you have left are the middle managers arguing over control of other people's money. The equation works out quite a bit differently in a startup where the boss usually owns a pretty significant chunk of the company. It's the "at startups" bit of the title (which doesn't seem to be supported by the rest of the article) that I object to.