Page 305 - Deception at work all chapters EBook

358 An HR Guide to Workplace Fraud and Criminal Behaviour

Decide on the venue
The location

If you are in a position to decide on the venue, so much the better and again think carefully.
If you want to impress outsiders, consider holding the meeting in the Presidential Suite of the
Ritz. If you want to deflate someone who believes he is the most important person in the world,
choose the scruffiest room you can find. In dealing with all forms of deception, small points
matter, and your objective may be, in the nicest way possible, to marginalize your opponents
and make them slightly anxious.

If you have to hold the meeting in your own office, make sure it gives the impression you
want it to give. For meetings with third parties (as well as many internal meetings) the big
question is whether you go to their premises or they come to yours. The protocol14 appears to
be that the senior participant, or the most important party, is saved the trouble of having to
travel. But you should think about this.

The timing
If the opposing power player is an owl, fix the meeting for as early in the morning as possible
and in a location where he has to get up early to travel but with no justification for staying
overnight. Do the opposite if he is a lark. If you know he is a heavy drinker, fix the meeting in
the early morning in a posh hotel that stocks every brand imaginable of his favourite drink.
Make sure that one of your supporters, who is not critical to the meeting, takes him for dinner
the night before and gives him a heavy alcoholic marinating. Remember, everything is fair in
love, war, in business meetings and, of course, GOLF.

There is no such thing as a free lunch

Summarize the history

Make sure you know the facts which are to be discussed in the meeting inside out, backwards
and forwards. Most participants don’t prepare sufficiently and the rule is ‘Who knows, wins’.
In complex cases, consider preparing schedules of events, correspondence and detailed chro-
nologies. Think about summarizing key facts15 in a Microsoft PowerPoint® presentation or
fancy handout, but make sure that everything you say is accurate.

The person with the better detail is in command

Pay particular attention to mistakes, errors or omissions previously made by your oppo-
nents and make sure you have them summarized on single sheets of paper or in a PowerPoint
presentation that you can thrust under their noses at the appropriate time.

Having to admit to a mistake may destroy a person’s credibility
Being shown to have lied is fatal

Watch for dirty tricks

You should remain on the lookout for dirty tricks played by the opposition, including:

14 Inherited through evolution
15 Especially those in your favour