How to Sabotage a Meeting

A Simple Sabotage Field Manual — produced in 1944 by the U.S. Office of Strategic Services, the predecessor to the CIA — was recently featured on the popular blogspot Boing Boing.

Among the tactics recommended to saboteurs in the WWII-era manual are techniques for “general interference with organizations and conferences.” Sadly, many are standard operating procedure in some New York City PR and IR firms … though, happily, not at Makovsky + Company!

1. Insist on doing everything through “channels.” Never permit short-cuts to be taken in order to expedite decisions.
2. Make “speeches.” Talk as frequently as possible and at great length. Illustrate your “points” by long anecdotes and accounts of personal experiences. Never hesitate to make a few appropriate “patriotic” comments.
3. 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.
4. Bring up irrelevant issues as frequently as possible.
5. Haggle over precise wordings of communications, minutes, resolutions.
6. Refer back to matters decided upon at the last meeting and attempt to re-open the question of the advisability of that decision.
7. Advocate “caution.” Be “reasonable” and urge your fellow-conferees to be “reasonable” and avoid haste which might result in embarrassments or difficulties later on.
8. Be worried about the propriety of any decision — raise the question of whether such action as is contemplated lies within the jurisdiction of the group or whether it might conflict with the policy of some higher echelon.

It’s a cautionary tale for PR, IR, branding, financial communications and B2B marketing communications firms — and, indeed, for all consultants in the professional services space!