Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant™ (TOT): How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job

Chapter 16. Irrational Fears

About Irrational Fears

It began with a simple, but unusual, request. Your TOT insisted on having several layers of staff present at the January vendor meeting. He said he wanted everyone present to witness what ideas were being put forth to the vendors as a "precaution."

Then, right before the February vendor meeting, it escalated. Your boss asked you unexpectedly if "we've made sure we have a 'documenter' before we start today's vendor meeting, you know, as a defensive measure?" You scrambled to round up an extra staffer to take notes, but everything worked out.

However, today, the paranoia seems to be getting worse and this time, the irrational requests are centered on the meeting with the company's biggest supplier. Although you've already lined up his "documenter" and even have a paralegal on call, he now has asked you to invite all 12 staff members to today's meeting. "We need lots of witnesses to make sure they don't steal our secrets and give them to our competitor next week."

In this age of lawsuit mania and intellectual property theft, it's natural to be a little on edge about potential litigation. But this scaredy-cat boss has taken it to new unimagined levels. He lives in constant fear of getting ripped off and double-crossed.

But Why?

Everyone has fears of some kind. But TOTs can take these self-manufactured, illogical anxieties and virtually will ...