To protect yourself against a Machiavellian peer, you can use many of the defenses I've suggested for use against a contriving subordinate or boss. Maintaining a good network of friendly observers is essential, for instance. So is good job performance. Documenting your activities can be helpful in some situations. Increasing your contact with your mentor is useful in almost any perilous situation.
But there are also some lines of defense that are of particular value against peers who compete unfairly:
POLITICAL EXPRESSION: Bear in mind that somebody who wants to hurt you can find ways to do it even though your job performance is excellent. This means you must exercise care in areas of your life that seem to have little to do with your job. As long as this rival of yours is out there cooking up ways to defeat you, you will have to give up some of the freedom of speech and action that you once took for granted.
It's sad, but it's the way the world works. When you become a rival's target, you become less free than the Constitution.
You give up the freedom voluntarily. That is, you do if you want to keep your job.
One thing you give up is freedom of association. A schemer will look for vulnerable places in your personal life if he or she cannot find any in your work. You must lean over backward to avoid any act--even the appearance of an act--of which people in the company may disapprove.
For example, perhaps you have strong feelings about nuclear energy: you don't want to see it used to generate electric power, and you think the U.S. should dismantle all its nuclear weapons. If this is your view, this nation guarantees you the right to speak out on it and act upon it. You can join nuclear protest movements, you can march in parades, and you can write letters to the editor of your favorite newspaper.
But if you've got a schemer after you at the office, you should be very, very careful.
At some companies, such a political view would have little or no effect on your job. But suppose there is something you don't know: your company has an important customer that derives income in some way from the nuclear field. Then what happens? It won't take your rival long to start the news making the rounds among executives: "So-and-so was in that big protest marches last weekend. You're now in a dangerous spot. Any company with a substantial stake in nuclear energy will tend to look askance at a nuclear protester.
You may argue that you were only protesting against nuclear weapons, or that you actually favor nuclear generating plants in the long run but don't consider the technology safe enough yet. No matter. You can argue until you are blue in the face; it isn't likely to help you. People tend not to listen to fine points in arguments about emotion-charged issues. All that needs to happen is that your schemer learns about you walking in one small peace march with one small placard, and you've suddenly put yourself in an unfavorable light.
Assess the company and its top management, as far as you know them. If you have certain views about abortion, or about the political situation in Ireland, or about anything that tends to get people excited, be circumspect. Avoid public expression of your views unless you are perfectly sure you won't be walking into a trap. Strong views can be held privately and can be discussed in private among family members and friends not connected with your job. Be satisfied with that much for the time being. Save the public proclamations for a time when you have a more secure hold on your job.
IN-COMPANY GROUPS: Similarly, be very careful about becoming associated with any group of employees whom some in the company may consider radical, militant, too fond of complaining, or simply too noisy. A schemer can use any such association to hurt you.
You must use your judgment about this. Again, it depends on the nature of the company and the views and feelings of the top executives. In some companies, for example, membership in or sympathy for a union is no mark against you. In others, it's the kiss of death.
As a general rule (there are exceptions, of course), association with a union won't hurt you in a company where the union has been long established and comfortably settled, and where union-management relations are cordial and cooperative, marked by a mutual regard for each other's problems. But you can get badly hurt if you get caught in a situation where a newly arrived union or its recruiters are in a tooth-and-claw fight with management and where the mere mention of unions makes the board chairman turn purple with rage.
In a situation like that, stay clear of the fight. You may be considered a part of management and therefore not eligible to join the union, but you can get unofficially wedded to it in other ways--much more firmly wedded than is good for your career. You might talk a little too sympathetically to some union people, for instance. You might have a drink with them so you can listen to their problems. You might agree to sound out somebody on some particular union concern. Don't--not unless you have a top executive with you all the way. For you can be sure your schemer is going to use this for all it's worth: "So-and-so is a union spy... doesn't really understand the management point of view.
Similarly, stay away from any other group that may be an annoyance to management. Don't go to that meeting of the people who want free bus service to the company parking lot. Don't sign that petition about day care. Don't wear that lapel button grumbling about the company's investments in South Africa. Don't even accept the button from the person who wants to give it to you. Stay away.
People who try to draw you into association with such groups will assure you there is nothing to worry about. "How can you get in any trouble campaigning for gay rights?" they will ask. "It's a free country, isn't it?" Sure it is. But remember that you have given up some of your freedom because there is a schemer lurking in the shadows, waiting for you to make a usable mistake. Give that schemer nothing to work with. Contrary to what various kinds of activists will tell you, there is plenty to worry about; namely your job and career.
Don't fret over this abandonment of freedom. It is only temporary. And the cost seems small when you consider what it buys: job security and career hopes for the future.
LOOSE TALK: You must also be careful about what you say to people in casual conversation--even to people you consider friends. A friend today may not be a friend tomorrow. This is a sad statement to have to make, but it is a plain, factual statement of the way the world works. If there is someone out to get you, that person could well work on your friends and perhaps turn one or more against you. Or a friend can turn against you simply by becoming a career rival.
People in the business world often are bewildered and stunned when a friend betrays a trust or takes an unfair and selfish advantage. A friend's knife in the back hurts more than any other attack, partly because it is so unexpected. But the element of surprise need not leave you completely defenseless--not if you learn to expect the unexpected.
Always remember that human relationships are highly unstable, volatile, and subject to constant change. Today the people in your office seem to be settled into a solid, dependable network of relationships. You can sort them all out neatly: these three are friends, those three are friendly but not close, that one is maneuvering for advantage, and so on. That's how it looks today. But if you expect it to be that way forever, you could be making a mistake of career-killing proportions. The relationships are bound to change over time. Two people who hate the sight of each other today could become best friends tomorrow. Somebody you like and trust today could one day turn into an enemy.
So watch what you say to everybody. Don't make negative comments: "This company stinks …. George isn't smart enough to handle that job. Just between you and me, I think Marcia will lie to you anytime she thinks it's to her advantage, particularly when you know or suspect there is a schemer around, avoid the kind of talk that can be twisted, exaggerated, or used against you. Naturally, we all get unhappy from time to time. Though people are always urging us to "have a nice day," there are days when it is impossible. Things irritate and anger us. When things aren't going well, there is a natural urge to complain to anybody who will lend a sympathetic ear. Don't give in to this urge--at least not around the office.
Do your complaining among family members or friends unconnected with your work. At the office, keep your own counsel.
CLIQUES: Also avoid being drawn into cliques or gripe groups. When you are dissatisfied about something, it is a great temptation to join a group of like-minded people who listen sympathetically to each other's gripes. Such a clique may consist of two people or half a dozen. Though a clique has no official standing in the company organization, it may have a good deal of unofficial, coercive power. A schemer can use that kind of power to advantage--or, conversely, can twist your clique membership into a weapon against you: "So-and-so is always hanging around with that group of chronic complainers.
It is a bad idea to bury yourself so deeply in your work that you become isolated. Having a large number of positive, friendly contacts is not only good strategy but also makes life on the job more pleasant. However, be sure the emphasis is on those two characteristics: positive and friendly. As far as you can avoid it, don't let your name get associated with the kind of clique that exists solely for scheming or tactical purposes or that is held together by the members' shared dislike of somebody or dissatisfaction with something.
Cliques try to increase their size and power, just as all other human organizations do. Thus, it is a common experience in any office to be approached as a possible new recruit. Somebody sits down for coffee with you in an out-of-the-way comer of the company cafeteria, or suggests lunch in a cozy little French restaurant, or walks to the bus stop with you after work. The question comes casually: "What do you think of Marcia?" It may be as bland as that, or it may have a stronger negative tone: "That was a pretty dumb move George made this morning, didn't you think?" You are being sounded out. Beware.
There are only two smart responses to such a feeler. One is to say something positive: "Marcia? Oh, I like her. Has a good head on her shoulders, from what I've seen." The other is to reply without actually replying: "Well, I don't really know Marcia She's always pleasant to me when we meet, but we aren't in contact all that much."
These replies may annoy your questioner, who was hoping, of course, to hear something else. But don't worry: you have not made an enemy. Enemies are made by unkind words and deeds. The worst that can happen now is that the questioner will stop making opportunities to lunch or walk with you.
In return, you have gained peace of mind. You have made yourself a difficult target for a schemer. You are elusive; there is nothing to aim at.
This kind of constant wariness and elusiveness requires a good deal of self-discipline. There are some who come into the business world believing such self-discipline is too much to ask, and they give in to the temptation to air their opinions and complaints. I can't argue; it is, indeed, satisfying to speak out on what's troubling us. But the fact is, if you value your job, you must learn to sit on these natural urges--particularly when you become someone's target. As J. Paul Getty used to put it: "We do business quietly. If you want to shout and stamp, go to a football game."
