| Everyone knows that a cigarette can be great | | | | thought I was terribly clever, managing to |
| social leveller. | | | | get on the same table with the directors that |
| | | | smoked and having a good laugh with them. |
| By that I mean that in a corporation, when | | | | |
| the smokers nip outside for a communal | | | | What's that? Smoking is the path to |
| cigarette, a Director can talk to a | | | | greatness? Gives you instant access to the |
| subordinate in a much more familiar way than | | | | Board of Directors and allows you to forge an |
| they would talk to each other in any other | | | | instant meteoric rise to the Board? |
| business situation. | | | | |
| | | | Not quite. I was of course completely fooling |
| I am guilty of deliberately doing this myself | | | | myself. Whilst I was convinced that I was |
| in order to get in with top management. I | | | | reeling in the attentions of the most |
| remember some time ago I was at my | | | | important people in the company, I should |
| consultancy company's big get-togethers. It | | | | have taken the time to study who was at the |
| was one of those two day events where we got | | | | other end of the long dining table and what |
| to drive aqua-buggies around a few fields, | | | | they were doing. |
| shoot bow and arrows around in a forest and | | | | |
| generally act like 6 years olds for a day. | | | | The guys I were smoking cigars with were the |
| All in the name of Leadership and Team | | | | 'old guard' of the company. All over 55 years |
| Building. You know the kind of thing. | | | | old, probably close to retirement, and |
| | | | enjoying giving this young buck (me) some old |
| The problem was, the Directors and Senior | | | | war stories about hostile takeover bids. |
| Management themselves didn't really get stuck | | | | |
| into the Outdoor Activities as much as every | | | | The real deal going down that night was on |
| else. I don't think it was because they | | | | the same table, but was at the opposite end |
| didn't see the point (we couldn't either and | | | | where the dynamic new Director was explaining |
| did it anyway). I think they didn't really | | | | his vision to his forward-thinking |
| want to let go and make fools of themselves | | | | colleagues. They were, I'm sure, very glad |
| in front of everyone else. I could also see | | | | that the old geezers were out of their way in |
| that many of my other colleagues were keen to | | | | their smoking circle, and not at their end to |
| get to know the Directors too, but couldn't | | | | pour any cold water over some of their bold |
| see a way into their inner circle. | | | | new proposals. |
| | | | |
| Where am I going with this? | | | | To cut a long story short, I believed that I |
| | | | could get associated quickly with people |
| Well, I took the quick route to establishing | | | | using smoking as a prop. I was right, you |
| rapport quickly by having a cigar with some | | | | can. The only problem is that the kind of |
| of the directors once the dinner as finished. | | | | people you'll get associated with are |
| As I took a massive breath of the cigar, I | | | | probably not the guys you need to associate |
| smiled genially to my new best friends, and | | | | with, as they'll probably be on their way |
| ignored the burning in my mouth and | | | | down, or on their way out. |
| protestations deep down in my lungs. I | | | | |