How to One-Up Your Colleagues: The Canterbury Block
I recently came across a series of books by the British humorist Stephen Potter. Each of them, written in the 1940s and ‘50s, is dedicated to the craft of one-upmanship–i.e., putting yourself in the superior position over others in order to win in life.
Just yesterday, in a text thread with two friends, I made an excellent argument about why the NBA’s new in-season compared unfavorably to European football cups. One friend’s response: “Don’t think this is your best take.”
That’s classic one-upmanship—undercutting someone’s argument in a vague way while (a) implying superior knowledge that gives you the right to critique and (b) avoiding any statements that could be easily refuted. Top tier gambit. He won the exchange.
(When visiting this same friend’s house two weeks ago, I presented him with a copy of Potter’s One-Upmanship, stating in front of his wife that it would help him be one-up in the marriage. This might have been payback for that.)
As I transition from the series on Strategic Leadership, I thought I’d share some informative lessons on being one-up for the corporate climber. They were developed in the cauldrons of the lawn tennis club, the social circuit, and the debate society, but they’re every bit as relevant to our professional pursuits.
There is no finer spectacle than the sight of a good Lifeman, so ignorant that he can scarcely spell the simplest word, making an expert look like a fool in his own subject, or at any rate interrupting him in that stupefying flow, breaking the deadly one upness of the man who, say, has really been to Russia, has genuinely taken a course in psychiatry, has actually read history at Oxford, or has written a book on something.
A few simple rules, then, for a start.
The Canterbury Block. We always encourage youngsters to practise as they learn. Why not an easy exercise to warm up? The expert on international relations is talking. He is in full spate. How can he be jolted? (R. Bennett's variant).
EXPERT: There can be no relationship based on a mutual dependency of neutral markets. Otto Hüsch would not have allowed that. He was in Vienna at the time….
LIFEMAN (As if explaining to the rest of the audience): It was Hüsch who prevented the Archbishop from taking office in Sofia.
A suggestion only. But no matter how wild Lifeman’s quiet insertion may be, it is enough to create a pause, even a tiny sensation.
Nor is the typical Block necessarily complex. The beauty of the best Canterbury is its deadly simplicity, in the hands of an expert. Six words will suffice.
EXPERT (Who has just come back from a fortnight in Florence): And I was glad to see with my own eyes that this Left-wing Catholicism is definitely on the increase in Tuscany.
THE CANTERBURY: Yes, but not in the South.
“Yes, but not in the South,” with slight adjustments, will do for any argument about any place, if not about any person. It is an impossible comment to answer.
Thanks for reading!
Charles
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