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Comment by wolco | Hacker News Reader

Happened to me. What I did was go into the office and constantly talk to the vp's and ceo. Not about anything important really boring weather/how are you doing? The more removed the person from my department the more I would go out of my way to talk to them. Start asking difficult questions at the all staff forums. Always threw in doubts in meetings with non-tech people.

I asked for a special chair for my back. Started challenging our processes.

Funny thing happened. People started to see me as an important person.. an expert. I started to work from home again slowly.. then never came back. A year later others were encouraged to wfh because of office space concerns.

Get in there and make sure they regret pulling you back. Show your face everywhere. Make your voice heard. Take on all issues and then drop them.

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This is straight out of the CIA Simple Sabotage Field Manual, see Section 4.11 General Interference with Organizations and Production.

https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/...

Re: a special chair for your back... "Order high-quality materials which are hard to get. If you don't get them argue about it. Warn that inferior materials will mean inferior work."

> "Order high-quality materials which are hard to get. If you don't get them argue about it. Warn that inferior materials will mean inferior work."

Memories work in funny ways. The first thing that jumped to my mind was the Asterix book where the Romans capture the druid (Getafix, in the English versions) and want him to make the magic potion. He insists that he must have fresh strawberries to make it, which are out of season. He doesn't really need them, it turns out, but it delays the whole project as the Romans dispatch someone to points far to the south to try and fetch some and bring them back while they're still fresh.

Off-topic, but, it's very interesting how they translate the Asterix and Obelix character names across languages.

In Spanish the druid is called Panoramix for whatever reason :)

For those who are non native English speakers: Getafix can be read as Get A Fix, meaning getting drugs that you need if you’re addicted to something. Getafix deals in potions. Always thought that was amusing (coincidence or not).

Almost all the names are plays on words that relate to the character, like 'Geriatrix', the village elder. I posted a list of the names on wikipedia elsewhere

It's also Panoramix in the original French, isn't it?

Yes:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Asterix_characters#Get...

I remember this! It is quite hilarious.

I find it fascinating that the word «quisling» was already in use, coined after the Norwegian traitor from WW2.

Im looking forward to your new book, Machiavelli.

Well played!

In the TV show "What we do in the shadows" this is called an energy vampire. (you suck out other energy) Also a great show.

Wow I only knew about the movie. Now I have a new TV show I have to watch.

The TV show is pretty recent. Which reminds me I need to catch up on it (only watched the pilot when it aired).

> Take on all issues and then drop them.

Seems like a quick route to the unemployment line...no thanks!

Yeah, sometimes.

Waste their time... quite diabolical. ((tips hat))

This sort of sabotage wouldn't get past the management where I work. They'd see right through it and fire me.

But maybe that same competence would prevent them from making self-sabotaging decisions like cancelling a long-standing WFH policy.

That's precisely what the did though. The new VP is a frightening mix of extreme competence and pointy haired boss.

Do you need that kind of sabotage, then?

They must be either good, or you need to run away, fast.

Sounds like you could try one of my favorite strategies from the same source:

'When possible, refer all matters to committees, for "further study and consideration." Attempt to make the committees as large as possible - never less than five'

Ah, the noble psychopath way.

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