After having worked in the 'real world' for the past couple of months (back in school to finish up my degree now), I can only agree that this is the unfortunate reality of the world. However, I wish that Greene didn't choose such a left-hand path interpretation of influence.
A word and concept, that only showed up once in the entire article, empathy, seems to be a much more reasonable way to deal with the social politics that we all face.
"I make the point that you are not going to get far unless you are the kind of person that knows how to think inside the other person's mind."
The difference between that and empathy, the difference between the left-hand and right-hand path to power and influence, seems to be how genuine the intent is. Thinking inside the other person's mind is one thing, but putting yourself in their shoes, understanding and validating their feelings has a completely different intention. One is to manipulate, the other, to understand.
A word and concept, that only showed up once in the entire article, empathy, seems to be a much more reasonable way to deal with the social politics that we all face.
"I make the point that you are not going to get far unless you are the kind of person that knows how to think inside the other person's mind."
The difference between that and empathy, the difference between the left-hand and right-hand path to power and influence, seems to be how genuine the intent is. Thinking inside the other person's mind is one thing, but putting yourself in their shoes, understanding and validating their feelings has a completely different intention. One is to manipulate, the other, to understand.