Patrick Forsyth - BSS : Coping and succeeding in the workplace jungle

Copyright 2011 Patrick Forsyth

Cover design: Jim Banting

Published in 2011 by Marshall Cavendish Business

An imprint of Marshall Cavendish International

PO Box 65829, London EC1P 1NY, United Kingdom

and

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The right of Patrick Forsyth to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Requests for permission should be addressed to the publisher. The author and publisher have used their best efforts in preparing this book and disclaim liability arising directly and indirectly from the use and application of this book. All reasonable efforts have been made to obtain necessary copyright permissions. Any omissions or errors are unintentional and will, if brought to the attention of the publisher, be corrected in future printings.

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library

eISBN 978-981-4346-94-8

Printed in Singapore by Fabulous Printers Pte Ltd

Winning isnt everythingits the only thing.

Vince Lombardi

If you want to help improve the efficiency or profitability of the organisation in which you work, learn about the latest management technique, or improve a basic skilllike making a presentation or thinking laterallythen this book is not going to help you one tiny bit. If, on the other hand, you want to excel, progress or even just survive in the jungle of the modern office, then this is very much the book for you. Get a copy quickly, before any of your colleagues do so, or they will very quickly cease to be colleagues and become rivals adversaries evenif they are not such already.

This book can make the difference between success and failure, between top management and office junior, between a life of jet-setting and excitement and total boredom in a job where the most challenging task is polishing the transparencies in window envelopes, for instance.

So buy it now. Doing so may be the first act by the new YOU. The YOU who is not going to be put upon any more, who is going to be a force to be reckoned with, who is going to play a key role and have everyone appreciate it. Of course, you may be a survivor already; or even be on top of it all nowMegalomania Inc. personified. If you are, you will not need persuading to buy this book. You will realise all too well that this state of affairs does not just happen; it is not a matter of chance. You will have been working at it, and know that if this book gives you even a smidgen more ammunition that might be just what is needed to keep you safely ahead of the game in the future, it will be worth every cent.

Whichever category you are in, buying this book could be the best investment that you would ever make during your career. It is, in all conscience, a modest enough investment considering what is at stake. So buy it for goodness sake, you are never going to have time to take it all in just browsing in the shop before a member of staff comes round and throws you out for loitering. Besides, lengthy browsing will make people think it is salacious, which it is not (if you want one of those books, they are the ones that are cellophane wrappedto keep the dirt in), and you may ruin the authors fragile literary reputation.

Once you have it, read it and then, go straight back to the office. Next time someone suggests you are all burnt out, instead of confessing that you never really caught fire, you will be able to show him or her that assuming you have had a charisma by-pass operation is a bigno, hugemistake.

In my company we are so confused, we are stabbing each other in the chest.

(Overheard in conversation amongst delegates at a management course)

Now there is a good heading to get in early on in the piece. Why? Well, writing this book was proceeded by considerable research. All the best books are preceded by considerable research, in this case not least amongst those with whom I liaise at the publishers. These include the Editor, the Assistant Editor, the publishing assistant, several secretaries, the receptionist and the person who delivers the tea (thank youmilk, no sugar for me). They are all, to my certain knowledge, women. This, together with other observations over the years, confirms that there are, in fact, many women working in all sorts of capacities in organisations of every type. And most of them are very capable too.

The English language, however, has yet to come up with a single word that means he or she, and while some terminologiessuch as chairpersonhave come into common usage, other phrases, however innocently intended, can appear inappropriately sexist. I would like to make it clear at this stage, prompted only by about six editorial staff with total power over my royalties, that there is no intention hereafter to imply anything other than that women are equal partners with men in the workplace.

Women may be in the minority amongst those who work in offices but often, they are amongst the most professionaland well aware of both of these facts.

Men play the game; women know the score.

Roger Woddis

Women would rather be right than reasonable.

Ogden Nash

Always remember:

Getting to the top is like trying to climb a pyramid, there is more room for people at the slopes than at the top. Remember too that the upper slopes can hold comparatively fewer people; the minions on the lower slopes, at least, have numbers on their side some people must surely succeed.

Position without power is very common. In other words, even amongst the people near the top, there are many who are going no further and whose positions are more precarious than they may appear at first sight. You may find the thought of being near the top, but toothless, less than appealing.