bythemethod.com blog

I don’t like writing about this topic because it’s about something that is wrong. I even feel a little nervous mentioning it because I don’t think it can be justified that this situation exists. However it does exist and one of the things about being successful is learning to accept and work within the limitations that the world imposes.

The subject now is about the game that is played in every office and every workplace.

The truth is that everywhere you go there is an established game that determines how successful you can be within that situation.

Now just for the record I believe that people should get on because of their merits and talents not because they know how to work a system. Yet systems exist and if we ignore them it will impact our chances of success.

If you watch the programme the Apprentice in the UK (I believe the USA has similar – don’t know about other countries) you will discover that there is a game. One element of the game for Sir Alan Sugar is that it all comes down to results. If you are the one who is responsible for bad results you have better find a good explanation otherwise … “you’re fired”. It doesn’t matter that someone else is more odious than you or that you have better qualifications the biggest factor is results. It seems that most of the candidates don’t get this.

So if you want to get on in your office you need to learn the rules of the game.

In any game there are usually various players and here are just a few:

The King: This is the person who will be responsible for your success or not. This is not always the big boss but sometimes it is. This person may be your own boss or it might be the boss in another department. Whoever it is this is person you need to impress the most.

The Gatekeeper: This is the person (or persons) who can open the gate so you can get access to The King. This might be the PA or it might be a friend of The King who works in the office. This person has the ear of The King. Keep your ears open though because sometimes these people are not who you might think they are and anything you say gets back to The King.

The Joker: This is a person who will trick you into thinking they are the gatekeeper when they are not. Be wary of this person because time spent trying to impress them might well be time wasted. You can recognise these because they will often be telling you how they can help you succeed. Be wary though because just occassionaly a Gatekeeper tells you this kind of stuff.

The Black Knight: This is the person (or persons) who oppose your success. They might be in competition with you or they might just like being nasty. Listen carefully to what they say and how they act. Sometimes they will be a friend to you so they can stab you in the back (watch the Apprentice if you doubt this). However, like in any good story they might just help you to succeed in the end (it’s a funny old world).

The Wise Man/Woman: These are people who understand the game and how it’s played. You can learn a lot from them. Be careful what advice you follow because sometimes they hate the game so much that they fight against it. You need to be wise yourself.

There are many other players in the game and you can probably work it all out for yourself. Learning to play the game (especially if it is coupled with a desire to work hard and succeed) will help you enormously.

I personally hate the game but sometimes even what you hate has to be played.