How to finesse your boss for a $100k raise

Summary

In this video, the speaker shares their personal journey of navigating corporate dynamics through strategic work tactics. They explain how using a ‘bursty working strategy’—focusing intensely on one high-impact project each month—helped them appear highly productive while minimizing effort. The speaker also discusses how they leveraged their manager's lack of technical expertise to influence perceptions and climb the corporate ladder. By carefully managing their work visibility, they secured a promotion, a significant raise, and a higher position, demonstrating how understanding office politics can be key to career advancement.

Takeaways

• 😀 Shift gears in your work to balance productivity and avoid burnout, using a 'bursty' work strategy for maximum output in short bursts.
• 😀 Work on high-visibility projects that demonstrate your value and impress management, while keeping other tasks low-key to reduce scrutiny.
• 😀 Non-technical managers can be unaware of the complexities of your work, which allows you to manage perceptions of productivity by controlling the narrative.
• 😀 Utilize bursts of intense productivity, completing significant tasks quickly, to establish credibility while managing less visible work in between.
• 😀 Most corporate managers make assumptions about your work based on surface-level output, which can be exploited to your advantage.
• 😀 Work smart, not just hard: strategically focus on high-impact projects and limit your time spent on less visible, day-to-day tasks.
• 😀 Understanding corporate politics and the psychology behind promotions and raises is essential to climbing the corporate ladder effectively.
• 😀 Create an image of being a high performer by completing major projects swiftly, even if you're working less on other tasks.
• 😀 Be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of your superiors, as they may not fully understand the intricacies of your technical work.
• 😀 Regularly reflect on the gaps in management's knowledge and use them to position yourself for higher roles and salary increases.
• 😀 Use your network and influence within the company to gain insights into potential changes, and be prepared to step into higher roles when the opportunity arises.

Q & A

What is the main concept discussed in the video script?

The main concept discussed in the script is the 'bursty working strategy,' where the speaker explains how to manipulate perceptions of productivity in the workplace by alternating between intense bursts of work and periods of minimal output.

How does the speaker define productivity in a corporate setting?

The speaker defines productivity in a corporate setting as being based on the assumption that employees are either working at maximum capacity ('fifth gear') or are underperforming ('first gear'). The speaker argues that most people don't shift gears often and are judged based on these assumptions.

How does the speaker use their 'bursty working strategy' to their advantage?

The speaker uses the 'bursty working strategy' by working intensely on one high-visibility project per month, completing it quickly, and then coasting through the rest of the month. This creates the illusion of being consistently productive, even though only one project per month is being worked on intensely.

Why does the speaker refer to technical jargon when speaking with their manager?

The speaker uses technical jargon to make tasks sound more complex and time-consuming than they actually are. This allows the speaker to deliver results quickly while making the manager believe that the tasks require more time and expertise than they really do.

What role does the speaker's manager play in their strategy?

The speaker's manager is not highly technical, which allows the speaker to exploit the manager's lack of understanding. By using the 'bursty working strategy,' the speaker can control the narrative of their productivity, making the manager believe they are always working hard, even when they aren't.

How does the speaker's strategy impact their manager's perception of their work?

The speaker's strategy leads the manager to believe that they are always busy and productive, as the manager only observes the completed high-profile projects. This allows the speaker to avoid scrutiny for periods of low output, as their intense bursts of work set a high bar for perceived productivity.

What happens after the speaker's director is reviewed in the 360 review?

After the 360 review, the speaker's director is pushed out of the company and fired. The speaker had anticipated this outcome, as they had already gained a trusted position within the company and was able to take on more responsibility after the director's departure.

How does the speaker's promotion and raise come about?

After the director is fired, the speaker is promoted into a new role that fills in some of the gaps left by the director's departure. The speaker also receives a $100,000 raise as part of the promotion, securing a higher title and more responsibilities.

What broader lessons does the speaker suggest about navigating corporate politics?

The speaker suggests that understanding how managers perceive productivity and using strategic bursts of work can help manipulate those perceptions in your favor. Additionally, leveraging technical jargon and managing how much your manager understands about your work can also influence decisions about promotions and raises.

What does the speaker mean by 'downsampling' their work?

The speaker uses the term 'downsampling' to refer to the process of presenting only high-water mark projects (the most visible and impactful ones) to their manager, filtering out any smaller or less important tasks. This allows the manager to focus only on the highlights, creating the illusion of continuous high-level productivity.