Act Like a Porcupine

Published: Apr 9, 2004

Application

In the schoolyard or in the alley, hit as hard as you can in the first foray in order to gain some immunity in the future. There's a good chance the bully was going to hurt you anyway. If you hit the bully a real stinger there's a better chance the bully will only give you a token beating. If your stinger is a good one and the bully beats you harder because of it, the chances are very good the bully will think twice before attacking you the next time.

In the corporate world, or any other world for that matter, you can't hit physically without being charged with something or other. The physical is replaced with words and counteractions.

Sample words:

"Now I see how you've earned such a bad reputation."
"Who are you so afraid of?"
"Why are you picking on me?"
"Don't pick on me – I'm a member of UncleMaxSays.com"

Sample counteractions:

Uttering the nasty words in front of others at a gathering where the bully is obviously trying to make a good impression.
Ask if this is the way the [name of bureaucracy] treats everybody when reporting incidents to the bully's superiors.
Recite your case with the preface, "Well, your honor, it happened this way..."
Try to get one bully to fight with another bully.

Courage is being scared to death – and saddling up anyway. – John Wayne

Stories

Lenders of last resort

Have you noticed how some lenders are grabbing market share because they market themselves as lenders requiring less paperwork on the part of the borrower. When these lenders have contracts written in plain English they really clean up.

Traditional lenders (including any bureaucrat granting a privilege) like to impress their superiors or pad their own files for protection by asking for "tons" of paperwork. It seems to be some sort of test to see if you will spend the hours of preparation.

Since, I've stopped refusing to play the paperwork game I've been amazed at how many times the lender backs off.

Submitted by: NephewGerry

Outcomes

Be able to walk the talk.
Avoid being afraid of your own shadow.
Win more battles with a win-win conclusion.