The game you once played on the school playground is now the game you
play daily in the corporate jungle.
Remember tetherball? There’s a tall metal pole planted firmly in the
ground with a long cord attached at the top. At the other end of the
cord the ball is tied. No matter how hard you hit the ball, which
direction it’s headed or how fast it’s going, the ball remains
attached to the pole. The same goes for your relationship with your
boss – and you can guess which one of you is the pole and which one
is the ball.
For as long as you’re in the game, you’re firmly attached to your
boss, to his history, reputation, politics, choices, and to some
extent his future. How closely you entwine yourself with your boss
will affect your reputation and will have a major influence on what
you can accomplish on the job and where your career goes.
There are five laws that you absolutely must follow if you have any
hope of creating, maintaining, and managing any
productive relationship with your boss:
