Just like a spreadsheet, backstabbing is a versatile and useful office tool. It’s easy to master, helps to promote your image and you can fine-tune it to your needs. It has survived the information age intact and is self-propagating (back-to-back stabbing we call it at the office). For the poor devils at the receiving end (the backstabbed), it sucks - but so what!
There are clients and clients. I was working at the office of one client, doing audit work on their books when one of the directors came in and stood staring at me for a while. Then he said something that stopped me half way through a bank reconciliation.
“You’re not very good at your work, are you?” he said bluntly, “At least that’s what your audit manager told us!”
I was going to say that a bad manager always blames his subordinates. Instead I opted for a somewhat milder reply.
“Maybe, but you’re stuck with me for now,” I said, trying to sound as deadpan as I could while putting on a forced grin.
All through that day, that terse comment disturbed me no end and I found it hard to sleep that night. How could my manager – a former school buddy – say something like that behind my back; what else had he said about me and how many other clients had he said it to? Or was the client who called me incompetent just trying to put a rift between me and my manager.
It all became quite clear a couple of weeks later when, after a serious argument with one of the audit partners, my audit manager resigned. He took with him a number of clients, including the one who had disparaged me, and set up a practice of his own. Not very ethical, but that’s how many small audit firms start off.
As for me, that’s one backstabber taken care of. Next …..!!
POST A COMMENTCK(04/27/2008)
It sounds like your (now former) manager had this all set up to leave with a few clients in tow. You manager most likely said that about everyone else as well. I'd bet that this manager explained to the clients that the whole company was incompetent and that is why he was leaving to start his own.
I live with back-stabbers at work. These are professional back-stabbers! If they don't like you for some reason, you're a possible threat, etc. then they stab-a-way (psycho music playing in the background)!
Read my blog (Predatory Management) and you'll see what I am up against!
thelma(04/28/2008)
Yeah, what CK said.
It sounds like the audit manager was greasing the wheels for an exit and badmouthed everybody to lure clients away.
Some people are really good at making other people perceive something that's neutral or even positive as negative.
So the manager probably described something you did to the client in a negative way ("see how he erases pencil with a pencil eraser and pen with a pen eraser?") and twisted it to sound bad. Then the client comes over and watches you and decides you're incompetent.
Been there; done that.
BonusOnus(04/30/2008)
I got a few I work with as well. One Indian coworker (L) is really bad. He makes up shit. He will say "Joe Smith said this" when Joe Smith never said this.
The good thing is that people are catching on and distancing themselves from him. And he doesn't think it has anything to do with himself.
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