And the reason you get there? is because you are able to not reveal anything to your underlings about how you're implementing the decisions of a what appears, from a distance, to be the actions of a crazy person. He's not crazy, of course, but he is full of a lot of self-regard.
There's a certain "type" of person who climbs these rungs. I've worked for a couple of Directors who are "reasonable", who understand when we tell them, "Can't be done with the staff, money, time you have." They are accomplished enough to understand why and believe us.
But they work for someone who won't listen. I used to not get it, until I sat in a room and watched it happen. Once just recently. There's a way these guys have of refusing to listen, of making it clear that you better answer them with what they want to hear, or else.
It's the board room equivalent of when a western male gets pissed off, leans his upper body forward, and threatens/intimidates with posture. I'm not a guy so can only describe what I see.
At any rate, what is fascinating to watch is the underling to the VP or CEO. Now that (usually) guy finds the situation unbearably humiliating. He's in a fucked place. He knows the team can't deliver, but he has to go ahead and pretend it is possible. The ones who keep climbing the ladder? They are the ones who become very good at the art of hiding their humiliation, hiding the fact that they disagree, and possibly even picking up from their boss how to intimidate to create a world around you in which no one dissents or, when they do, it's a charade otherwise known as "buy in". Any good corporate communications or conflict resolution class will, of course, explain to all their managers, from the lowest run of "team lead" to the highest Director, that conflict resolution is really about shaping the underling's worldview until they submit and stop complaining.
The people who do reach the top are invariably people who have a titanium constitution. They got there because, repeatedly, they said they would deliver something that, at one time,they knew couldn't be delivered. They learned that, in the chaos that is modern corporate strategy (*cough* *hack*) there will always be something that intervenes, that you can blame, for why something wasn't delivered. Or, you can deliver it, only half assed - and kick the blame down the road. It all can catch up with you, but if you are smart, you're already moving on down the road yourself.
At 01:18 PM 11/1/2012, Carrol Cox wrote:
>I suspect that even those (relatively few) who are in _actual_ managerial
>positions (i.e., near the top of the corporate structure) can be seriously
>considered part of the "ruling class." Very few assistants to the CFO would
>be able to get along even for a year were they to lose their position. Most
>"positions of power" in fact have only the assignment of enforcing what
>others have determine.
>
>Incidentally, for 200 years the vast majority of those who have been the
>cutting edge of mass movements or revolutions were those usually categorized
>as "aristocracy of labor." Politics, meaning the politics of mass movements,
>require free time. Only at late stages of such movements do the "less
>privileged" get incorporate into the struggle.
>
>Carrol
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org [mailto:lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org]
>On
> > Behalf Of Marv Gandall
> > Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2012 10:11 AM
> > To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
> > Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] Inequality: The silly tales economists like to
>tell
> >
> >
> > On 2012-11-01, at 10:25 AM, Wojtek S wrote:
> >
> > > All those who masterminded and executed most, if not all, crimes
> > > against humanity came from the educated professional class. Of
> > > course, not everyone was an architect, but many were willing
> > > cheerleaders and executioners, including intellectual giants like
> > > Heidegger (Hitler sympathizer) or Hayek (Pinochet sympathizer). Or
> > > promoters of psychopathic views like Nietsche or Ayn Rand. Not to
> > > mention the scores of jurnos, jurists, or teachers willingly spreading
> > > and executing racist, fascist and other genocidal ideas.
> > >
> > > So let us not forget this dark side of the intellectual class. These
> > > deeds loom much more ominous than the liberal attitudes that you tend
> > > to focus on. This is not meant to be anti-intellectual rant but a
> > > reminder that the educated class is not a bearer of mostly liberal and
> > > humanistic ideas. Give them a chance and they will be leading the
> > > masses to book burning, pogroms, and crimes against the humanity.
> >
> > Intellectuals have been in the forefront of both revolutionary and
>reactionary
> > movements throughout history. I don't think you can generalize about
>whether
> > they are predisposed to change or reaction one way or the other. They
>divide in
> > times of crisis. Which way most break depends on their particular
>historical
> > circumstances, including their own conditions and social status and the
>prevailing
> > relationship of forces. But the same is also true of workers and peasants.
>Alas, you
> > can always find many examples of those who have been eager participants or
> > cheerleaders for the executioners of their class brothers and sisters.
> >
> > In any case, higher education has become so ubiquitous today, that it is
> > misleading to describe most university and professional school graduates
>as
> > "intellectuals", nor do they occupy positions of power. But, as you
>indicated in
> > your previous post, at this stage we're just talking past each other.
> >
> > You and others, however, might still be interested in the wide range of
> > occupations open to postsecondary school graduates, and the rapidly
>growing
> > weight of this newest layer of the US working class. Just click on the
>links below.
> >
> > There were 44.5 million Americans employed in "management, professional
>and
> > related occupations" out of a total workforce of 125.2 million in 2011.
> >
> > Of these, 11.6 million were in "management occupations"
> > http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes110000.htm
> >
> > Another 5.6 million were in "business and financial operations"
> > http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes130000.htm
> >
> > The 27 million plus "professionals" were distributed as follows:
> >
> > Education, training, and library occupations: 8.3 workers.
> > http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes250000.htm
> >
> > Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations: 7.2 million.
> > http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes290000.htm
> >
> > Community and social service occupations 2.3 million.
> > http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes210000.htm
> >
> > Life, physical, and social science occupations 1.2 million.
> > Occupations included: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes190000.htm
> >
> > Computer and mathematical occupations: 3.4 million.
> > http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes150000.htm
> >
> > Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations 1.9 million.
> > http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes270000.htm
> >
> > Legal occupations 1.4
> > http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes230000.htm
> >
> > Architecture and engineering occupations. 2.6 million.
> > http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes170000.htm
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ___________________________________
> > http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
>
>___________________________________
>http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
-- http://cleandraws.com Wear Clean Draws ('coz there's 5 million ways to kill a CEO)