Methinks excellence shall inevitably be punished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How very disheartening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In mid-1660\u2019s France, there lived two very vain men \u2026 Nicolas Fouquet, and King Louis XIV. Both loved money, and ostentation, and spectacle, but only one could punish the other for his preference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bit of a backstory: someone high up in the king\u2019s cabinet died, and Mr. Fouquet wanted to demonstrate his loyalty and fealty to Louis XIV \u2013 and secure the recently-vacated position \u2013 by throwing a bomb-@ss party, each stage of the celebration more lavish that the last, and all the invitees claimed it was the best and most glamorous affair ever … so very fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reportedly, Moli\u00e9re wrote and performed a play specifically for the event. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The next day, Louis XIV ordered Mr. Fouquet arrested for embezzlement and spent the last years of his life locked in solitary confinement at France\u2019s most remote prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rather than establish his loyalty and love for the king, Mr. Fouquet committed the unforgivable act of triggering the king\u2019s insecurity \u2013 \u201cThey liked his party better than mine<\/em>!\u201d \u2013 and thus Darling Nicky had to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lesson?\u00a0 Those with\/in power are ever fearful of losing it … never \u201cunbalance the master\u2019s sense of self\u201d \u2026 do not \u201cpoke holes in his vanity\u201d \u2026 or ever \u201cmake him doubt his preeminence.\u201d\u00a0 Which explains a lot of workplace sabotage and intellectual theft.\u00a0 Bob Morton broke the #1 Rule of Power, and in front of the Ol\u2019 Man, too. Sheesh. Funny tho\u2019? Less than 40 years later, ED-209 is our reality. Robotdogs are armed in China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anyhoo, Galileo (b.1564 \u2013 d.1642) was possessed of an \u2026 \u201castronomical\u201d (hee-yuk<\/em>) brilliance in so many more ways than just those for which he is applauded.\u00a0 Considered the progenitor of the scientific method, Galileo was begging for patronage scraps during his early scientific exploits \/ as was common during his era … the really, really smart had to rely on the beneficent whims of the really, really rich, and were oftentimes paid in gifts rather than money.\u00a0 Galileo found his solution in vanity.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Medicis had selected planet Jupiter as the symbol for the family dynasty.\u00a0 Galileo discovered the four moons of the gas giant, and commissioned an emblem with Jupiter sitting atop a cloud encircled by the four moons, representing the four Medici brothers, thus appealing to the lofty conceit and essential narcissism of a debased familial cabal.\u00a0 And getting paid in the process by securing an appointment and a permanent paycheck as the official mathematician for Cosimo II, the head of the family.\u00a0 Delightful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDo not outshine the master; rather, make the master outshine all others,\u201d \u2026 and \u201cdiscreet flattery\u201d is more effective than overt obsequiousness \u2026 sucking up has its limits. To achieve power, and limit its negative effect against you, enable the master to shine more brilliantly in the face of others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Dim your light, and allow the master\u2019s to shine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Blecch. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Methinks excellence shall inevitably be punished. How very disheartening. In mid-1660\u2019s France, there lived two very vain men \u2026 Nicolas Fouquet, and King Louis XIV. Both loved money, and ostentation, and spectacle, but only one could punish the other for his preference. Bit of a backstory: someone high up in the king\u2019s cabinet died, and … <\/p>\n
Despite the fact that they may suck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That supervisor who claimed your idea as their own?\u00a0 Yeah, that.
Landed the biggest account but get reassigned to other clients?\u00a0 Yeah, that.
Constantly praised on work product yet consistently denied promotion?\u00a0 Yeah, that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dick Jones was a bit extreme but, nonetheless, served as a perfect example. \u201cB!tches leave.\u201d Indeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n