Forces at Work - Part V

In prior articles we outlined several typical scenarios at work that can be explained by looking at hidden forces (social dynamics). They are best described by common games we all know: Blocks, Chess and Monopoly. The typical players with blocks are teams of engineers, working together to build something new. They want to be left alone to build the biggest tower they can imagine. Chess players are middle management, fighting over a common set of resources, trying to outsmart each other. Monopoly is played by executives and senior management. They don’t like rules, they just want to win. And they do that by any means available. In this article we will examine how Monopoly at work is played.

Monopoly

Monopoly is the ultimate game of power. Here you find the winner takes it all, leaving many losers behind. Monopoly can be a vicious game. It is a place where logic and reason do not count for much. Just because someone has a good reason for buying a hotel doesn’t mean that other players will like it. If one player’s desire conflicts with another’s, the one with the strongest position wins. Our primeval part of the brain is what drives this game. 

I liken Monopoly players to the many rulers found in medieval Europe. Depending upon their location, their titles could be prince, baroness, viceroy, grand duke, earl, lord, or something else to set them apart from the commoners. A big-enough title indicated if they ruled their own countries or parts of them. Castles with tall stone walls were built to protect them and their big titles. The ideal castle was built atop a hill, surrounded by a village with an outer wall. This two-layer defense made it possible for rulers and their entourages to remain relatively comfortable inside their castles even during a siege. A castle told everyone who was the ultimate decision-maker in that region. 

One privilege that came with a major title in medieval Europe was the ability to change your mind at any time, even to the point of acting irrationally. No one could do much about it. Just read a few stories about medieval kings and queens to get an idea of the many intrigues and battles that were rooted in selfish desires. That was then, but we are now in a modern world with modern rules—or are we? 

Joining the game of Monopoly is not for everyone. It requires years of preparation. You don’t get to be senior vice president of a large company simply because you want to. That only happens if your mom or dad runs the business. That aside, playing Monopoly requires a title—a big one. Not everyone has a desire to play this game or the experience and patience to reach this level. But those who do reach it are skilled and motivated. 

The key difference among Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, and today’s Monopoly players is a thin veneer of politeness. Back in the days of Khan and Alexander, a frontal attack was a short way to expand your empire and collect riches. Today, breaking the law to get your way can be punishable by imprisonment. Being a bully and violate office rules can be costly. Therefore, most players have adapted to avoid confrontation with today’s many regulatory requirements and laws. There is no point in winning the game only to go straight to prison, lose your job, or be stripped of your winnings. But sadly, there are those who break the rules. Sometimes they get away with it, sometimes not. In some cases, it can be a small thing such as parking in the company handicap parking space or a bigger thing such as defrauding the company. 

But make no mistake: Monopoly players are smart, motivated, and can be ruthless. They often see themselves as saviors of the group or company. This gives them the ultimate platform for action. They have a reason for winning they are simply the best. You may be asking yourself, is this really so? Is executive leadership really Henry the VIII reincarnated? And if so, how would you know? Most of the time you don’t. Monopoly is a game played behind the inner castle walls. It is not a spectator sport. The way the game is played is just too crude to be exposed. Once in a while, the village will see the smiling ruler and his entourage waving from the castle walls. Perhaps the ruler even pays for a big celebration for everyone with lots of food and entertainment. This is often to secure further support from the village. A successful Monopoly player is very good at public relations. But players are driven by the same desires as kings in medieval Europe—fame and riches. 

But is every player really in it for themselves? The answer is yes. However, that neither means that they will not share their winnings, nor does it mean they will hunt you down if you cross their path. I have meet players who are indeed honest and caring and are looking out for the well-being of the company in addition to themselves. But they are in the minority. Personally, those are the traits I seek in my manager before taking on a new role. But regardless of their level of altruism, they still have to play by the rules of the game and therefore can be seen as ruthless in certain situations. Say a company has to downsize, someone has to make those decisions. Once you enter the world of Monopoly, you must play the game or leave it. There is no way to sit on the sidelines and become successful. Running a large group forces you to face challenges and opportunities. The amount of decisions and actions needed to be made in larger groups can quickly overwhelm anybody. I have seen a few leaders try to sit in the bleachers and fail shortly thereafter. You are either in the game or you are not. In the game you have to play by the established rules. 

Rules 

What are the rules of Monopoly a work? The first one is that you have to abide by every legal, ethical, and company rule—in public. The smartest players will also follow these rules in private. They know that if they are skilled, they can win regardless of restrictions placed upon them. Following all the rules makes sense, for it reduces risk. If you don’t break any rules, there are no penalties. In addition, you can use that to your advantage to portray yourself as an honest, law-abiding leader and be seen as a role model. But then again, you are a role model who is playing Monopoly. 

What follows is a set of timeless principles. By following these rules, you can make decisions to secure your path forward. Break them, and you take your chances. Oppose them all at once, and your path to destruction will be short and swift. Becoming a winner requires keen awareness of what is happening during the game. Here are the ten rules for Monopoly at work. 

1. The person with the biggest title makes the final decisions. 
2. The leader of the flagship product gets first pick of resources. 
3. The best storyteller gets the most time to implement his or her promises. 
4. The one with the most success gets the first choice of new challenges or opportunities. 
5. The one best aligned with the CEO gets to be part of the inner circle on setting the direction of the company. 
6. The one who has the support of the most employees has a great advantage in being consulted before major decisions are made. 
7. If you fail to deliver, your days are numbered. 
8. If you cannot defend your position on something you are spearheading, you will never again be trusted or given an important area to manage. 
9. If you offend a player in front of other players, they will get back at you later. 
10. If you offend your manager, you will get kicked out of the game. 

Let’s examine each of these to gain a better understanding of how these rules play out at work. 

The Biggest Title 

As soon as humankind formed tribes to increase the chances of survival, leaders were appointed. And history is very clear on this: titles matter. It’s not so much what a person is called, but rather his or her relative ranking as compared with other titles. History is also clear that the biggest title wins the day. 

A person with the biggest title makes the final decisions. One path a leader can take is to make all decisions. That certainly will make that person feel powerful; however, the smarter approach is to delegate as many decisions as possible. That makes life easier for the person atop the pyramid and builds a strong support base with other leaders who are given the authority to make decisions. In any case, the person with the biggest title can always overrule any decision not to his or her liking. 

Staying on top is by no means certain. Therefore, it is critical to build a strong inner circle. The leaders in this circle need to be rewarded handsomely. They will not stick close to a big pile of riches if they are not allowed to touch it. 

One approach is that the person with the biggest title makes few decisions in public. Instead, the leader makes them in private and delegates implementation to others. The assumption made here is that the less the leader has to demonstrate his or her power, the more support and ability he or she has to move forward. Monopoly players do not like to be told how to play the game, and if the leader lets them play it the way they like, in return, they provide support. 

In the game of Monopoly, the person with the biggest title is the one with the most properties and money. They get to make decisions about buying and selling that other players are not able to do. They get to move around the board even if they have to pay taxes to another player. They can afford it. They can easily beat the other players who have less money and therefore fewer options. For the less fortunate players, they may be forced to sell or mortgage their properties verging on bankruptcy. 

The Flagship Product 

The manager of the group that makes the money also gets to spend the money. No CEO or board of directors is going to jeopardize the money stream. Everything else can be sacrificed before the flagship product suffers. 

This position gives the leader free rein to manage the group any way he or she wants. This can also make life difficult for other groups. If the budget is tight, they get less. If resources are scarce, they have to hand them over to the flagship group. In the game of Monopoly, this is equivalent to owning all the expensive properties with a full row of hotels: anyone landing on one of your spaces will have to pay dearly. If an opponent lands on your properties a few times, it will significantly reduce his or her money pile. It is a great position to be in for the hotel owner. As the landlord, you don’t have to do much. Just sit back and let other players do the work. 

The Storyteller 

We all like a good story. Before written language was invented, the stories of our forefathers were carried forth by word of mouth. Then came the written word that enabled details of our past to be shared much more widely across the population. Countless religions rely upon documenting their past in written form. Then came movies, followed by movies with sound. It made storytelling a big business. According to The Statistical Portal, the worldwide box-office revenue will grow from 38 billion US dollars in 2016 to more than 50 billion dollars in 2020. 

At work, someone who can tell a good story is always appreciated. If a company is stuck with a particular problem, anyone who tells a convincing story about how to solve it will be heard. Perhaps customers are very unhappy about the level of support they receive. Along comes someone with an approach to improving the quality of customer service. They have data and anecdotal proof that their solution will work. In the absence of competing ideas, they are given the go-ahead to implement their suggestion. As long as progress is made, their story is believed. However, after a while, what typically happens is that the story’s promise is not realized, because its premise was not built upon reality. 

My firsthand experience with storytellers is that they are supported for no longer than two years. Stories based upon fiction of the past do not change the future—actions do. Great leaders show; they do not tell. They paint a picture of the future. They show what is possible. They inspire. 

In contrast, a storyteller places himself or herself at the center of the story. Why? They want to win. They want to acquire a “Get of Out Jail Free” card or advance to Go and collect $200. They may not have a big title, but they hope that their story will result in an upgraded title before their tale runs out of steam. If not, they will quit the game and repeat the story at another company. A new story from the same player will not be tolerated in the same company. 

Successes 

We all love winners. There is nothing more appealing than someone who can fight injustice and adversity and come out shining. It is a great feeling to be part of an honest win. So, it is at work. A leader who has demonstrated that he or she can get things done will be the first in line for new opportunities. Why gamble on someone who has not shown success? 

It is the same with Monopoly. If you have shown you can play well, others will be wary of you and will not try to get in your way for fear of retribution. Less successful players may avoid buying a street that a more successful player is eyeing. 

Alignment 

Being in the center of the inner circle opens doors everywhere in the company. Regardless of his or her official title, this is a position that is noticed. If the CEO and that player seem to act as one, that is a sign of being in the center. At that point, others will pay attention. They may not like it, but they will have to respect it. They will provide support and resources if asked. 

In Monopoly, this is like getting support from the player with the most money. Maybe they go easy on you because you are friends or have a connection that other players do not. That is indeed what aligns one to the center of the inner circle. 

Support 

The difference between support and alignment is that non-players provide support. They watch the game from afar, but they have the ability to influence it. If a player has great popularity and support, that can be very valuable. If that player is asked to leave the company or take on another role, the group could rise in protest or undermine the new leader. Therefore, it is important for leaders to be aware of the level of support someone has before suggesting changes. Monopoly also works this way. Players can gain support from non-players, and that backing can impact gameplay. 

Failure 

If you fail to demonstrate success—or worse, get pegged with a few big losses—you are in trouble. The tolerance for failure in senior leadership at large companies is small. If you lose big and often, your time will come. It may not be immediate, but you may experience your desk being slowly moved down from the top floor to the basement, and then you’re only a small click of the light switch away from complete darkness, like the scene in the 1999 movie Office Space. 

There are exceptions to this rule. In some companies, a close-knit leadership team can weather failure. This can happen when there is an unsaid understanding of “I fail—you cover me. You fail—I cover you.” This can lead to terrible behavior and have a huge effect on a company. On the flip side, it can work great when leaders learn from their mistakes and make the company a better place to be. 

In Monopoly, the loss of money and property is a sure road to bankruptcy. Your only chance then is teaming up with someone more powerful. 

Defense 

Never try to talk knowledgeably about something you do not understand. If there is a problem with a product you manage and someone asks about it, you need to either be on top of it or quickly bring in someone else to handle the inquiry. The last thing you should do is open your mouth and start talking. That is a prime opportunity for other players to expose your incompetence. Remember, they are smart and shrewd. They know what questions to ask to trip you up, which can be as simple as, “What happened?” If you don’t know, but others do, you will look foolish. You are the group’s leader, not an expert on a particular area. The people who do the day-to-day work will always know more than you about the specifics. 

I have seen how the fear of not knowing something resulted in large overhead in status reporting because of the effort to assure others that the company’s leaders actually know everything. I have also seen leaders calling meetings in a panic to dive into the details of a problem and try to solve it. They fear being seen as someone who tolerates failure. This, of course, can make the situation even worse. The leader is now attempting to troubleshoot a problem about which he or she knows nothing. 

You have to learn to play defense and only talk about what you know. Never admit what you don’t know. Instead, state that you will find out and take action to do so. I have seen large groups destroyed simply because the leader said it is not reasonable to expect him to know what his organization was working on. Is it? Yes, it is. Someone is always responsible for everything that occurs in an organization, and that someone is its leader. He may not have all that data with him at any time, but he should be able to quickly find it. Admitting that he does not know at the present time is the same as saying that he did not know in the past, nor does he have the ability to find out in the future. Playing defense means taking responsibility. Talk about what you know, not what you don’t. 

The same goes for Monopoly. When you start losing, start focusing on what you can do instead of what you cannot. Do not assume you need to have something that you don’t have in order to win. You can only move from the position of where you are, not from where you want to be. 

Offend 

Make someone look stupid in public and you have laid a land mine that will one day explode. Offend your boss and your days are numbered. There is no reward big enough to warrant this approach. Yes, you can prove that you are right, that you are a better player, but are you willing to lose the whole game? There are always other paths you can take. 

Do not let your primeval brain control your need to show off or respond negatively in a heated argument. Once something is said, it is forever. Remember, this is Monopoly at work. It is not your family that will understand and accept you at all costs. They may accept you, but they don’t have to play Monopoly with you. At work, offending another Monopoly player is indeed a risky move. It could cost you your job. 

A Winning Strategy 

In short, the rules of Monopoly center on winning, losing, relationships, and knowledge. They are not about effort, feelings, or problems. You either win or lose. You either have support or not. You provide information, have information, or are seeking information. Therefore, a winning strategy means to be in the know, build relationships, and create success. Nothing else matters in Monopoly, either at work or in the board game. 

Success Behaviors 

How do you implement a winning Monopoly strategy? The first thing is to never get lost in the weeds. Someone has to stay at the bridge and steer the ship. I have seen way too many leaders follow the path of fixing what they think are critical problems themselves and forgetting everything else. This always ends in disaster. Being in the know about one subject is not sufficient. As a leader, it is critical to decide what information is important to have when managing a group, so create a system where information flows easily to and from you. Build an information network with people who can help if additional support is needed. You cannot win if every disaster or problem requires a data-hunting expedition before any action can be taken. Therefore, being in the know is about building a system that can quickly provide the information you need. 

The second thing to do is build a relationship with your manager, your peers, and your group. This takes time, and it requires constant attention. However, you cannot expect them to help you in a crisis or with a new opportunity if you do not have their support. Getting it is hard work. Ignoring it is failure. Asking for it only during a crisis is not a winning approach. 

Lastly, show success widely and often. The more success you have now, the more you will have in the future. There is simply nothing better for success than success. 

These approaches work well if you combine them with positioning yourself at the right place in the company. You cannot play Monopoly from a distance. You need a seat at the table. You get that by being in one or more of these places as listed below. 

• Managing a large group. 
• Owning a specific technology that is important for the company. 
• Owning a flagship product.
• Owning a critical function, such as annual planning or budget reviews. 
• Owning the budget, especially if other groups depend upon you. 

Playing to Win 

What does it mean to win at Monopoly? In the end, we can’t all end up as the CEO. But we can keep playing, make a positive impact, get rewarded, and make the company more successful. However, all that is not enough for someone who is driven by gaining a title, and that will push them to play the game with only one purpose: win all the money and bankrupt every other player. But don’t let that be you. Instead, look at playing Monopoly as a way of being the best you can be. As long as you can play, contribute, learn, grow, and be rewarded along the way, what more is needed? A title alone is never a measure of success. 

Monopoly Forces at Work 

Let’s again return to the forces at work situations I described in the very first article in this series. These are the ones that occur as a direct result of Monopoly players’ actions. 

The annual reorganization: Your group has finally figured out how to get things done in an efficient manner. Then, all of a sudden, there is a reorganization. All the groups around you change names, and different leaders are appointed. Now you have to spend the next three months rebuilding your network and deciphering the best ways of getting things accomplished. Why? 

For some reason, this is the most common way leaders think a problem or system can be fixed: by reorganizing who reports to whom. In the process, they often forget or ignore that most people work across organizations and with people they know. Regardless, a reorganization happens when failure is felt at the senior leadership level or someone there achieves great success. Either way, the response is that something must be reorganized to address the problem or the new challenge. A reorganization is about failure (lack of control) or success (more control). 

The new company-wide initiative: Executives brought in a consulting company to fix the slow-moving development process, and your project has been selected as the first one to be scrutinized—or, should I say, to benefit from these new ideas. You now have to spend the next three months hoping to survive the scrutiny. What is the best strategy, join or avoid? 

This is the storyteller at work. He or she was able to convince someone that his or her story is a great one. It came with a bold promise of a wonderful future with many riches. People with no or little understanding of a company’s day-to-day workings descend upon it to make an impact by decree. It doesn’t matter if it solves something or not. All that matters are that this initiative is implemented to ensure a successful ending to the story. Your opinion does not matter. Through time, many of these initiatives tend to fade out. And when they do, the storyteller fades as well, either by being given a different role or leaving the company. 

The lack of executive support: Nothing seems to get done. It is impossible to stay focused on anything long enough to prove that it will work or not. As a result, your team is seeking a sponsor high up in the organization to help them remove roadblocks. They are looking for executive support making decisions in their favor or to have their back. But despite high hopes, nothing changes. In fact, the hope that the sponsor would make your life easier is shattered. What is wrong with your executives? 

When block or chess players approach the game of Monopoly, they do so as a guest. They are asking for help with their own games. And more often than not, they get support from the Monopoly player. It is easy to pledge aid: it costs nothing, and the executive hopes nothing will be required beyond that. Unless this request for support is going to help with their Monopoly performance, they will not take action. Their goals are driven by their own management layer, and as such will always take precedence. Therefore, you likely will not get much actionable support unless you bring with you a new opportunity for the Monopoly players. Hence, lead with an opportunity, follow with an ask. 

Next Steps 

At work you either play with blocks, chess or Monopoly. Which game do you play? Block players are the designers and builders of products and services. They are driven by innovation and the desire to be recognized as creators who solve customer problems. They work in teams to deliver value to customers. They are bound by rules that are driven by Dolphins, Aristotle, the Joker or Captain Nemo, each with its own pros and cons. Chess players are middle managers who try to outsmart one another to gain advantages for their team or themselves. They are navigating complicated social situations crowded by coworkers who have skills similar to that of the chess pieces themselves. Monopoly, the game of power is what drives the company leadership. Here you will find the most ruthless of players, and the riches of King Solomon. My next and last article in this series will be a summary of all games. Stay tuned!