How to Deal with a Micromanaging Boss in the Most Effective Way

The take-way message from the movie War Games is that in some situations, "The only way to win is not to play the game." This conclusion applies to many activities in life. When a system is rigged against an individual, the only way to win is not to play the game. In the workplace, the system is rigged against employees. Management has nearly all the power. Other than legal action in countries where employee-friendly laws exist or collective bargaining with the help of a strong labor union, the only real power an employee has is his ability to quit his job. And, this does not give him much negotiating power when he can be easily replaced. Often, even when he can't be easily replaced, he still has little negotiating power.

I know I will get flack for stating bluntly that scenarios exist in which one should give up. Many people want to believe they always have options. Western reporters frequently interviewed citizens in the Soviet Union before its fall and asked whether they thought they were free. Unusually the answer was, "yes". People in cults stay because they don't want to believe they are in cults. Those who stay in bad marriages and bad jobs often do so for the same reason. Humans are masters at rationalizing away facts they don't want to believe. Some will fight to the death (sometimes literally) rather than accept that they are in no-win scenarios. In sundry situations, the only way to win is not to play the game.

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