It is a funny paradox that arrogance and insecurity go hand in hand and are inseparable. Confidence is the key to success, but arrogance is the gateway to failure. Arrogant people reek of anxiety and cowardliness, which can be contagious. Don’t let them suck you down into their pool of fear. Cocky people are really wussies! Truly confident people aren’t scared to tackle tough tasks and make hard decisions. They are courageous when called upon and when they see the need to be. Arrogant people are in a constant state of fear so they are always rattling their sabers trying to intimidate others from ever truly challenging them because they are continually worried about rising to any challenge or opposition. Sun Tzu wrote about the tactic in his book the Art of War which roughly translates to, “When weak appear strong.” Arrogant people are in this state constantly. We learned this concept on the playground in kindergarten. They are called bullies. Bullies are really just weaklings with a lot of bark, but no real bite. In business these people often succeed unfortunately because they also usually have a very fine tuned capacity for duplicity and can manage upwards very well. They are two faced with their bosses like an Eddie Haskel is with Beaver’s parents. To put it more crudely, they are great butt kissers! They are adept at hiding the way they treat subordinates in private and adapt at concealing intentions with those lateral to them. If this doesn’t make sense to you, then you are probably a bullyJ. How do the rest of us win? Bullies usually have a low work ethic choosing to intimidate and manipulate others to doing their work rather than actually picking up a shovel themselves. You win by out working them, making sure the credit for your work is fairly known in a statement of fact fashion without boasting and then having the courage to call the bully out in a professional manner anytime they try to pull their shenanigans. Sun Tzu also said, “When strong appear weak.” I’m not saying to actually appear weak, but don’t feel you need to rattle your saber constantly in return with these cowards. You just need to step up when it really counts. Theodore Roosevelt said it best when he declared, “Speak softly, and carry a big stick.” Work hard at making that stick as big as possible and then only use it when you have to. Happy Hunting!!!
ROBERT BOUDWIN 