Boardroom King Pillows

'The only exercise I believe in is the exercise of power.'

"I'm going to bombard you with graphs until you agree with me."

"I'm razzled, but not dazzled."

"Thank you for that summation of the charts."

'Great news this quarter! Losses are up in smoke, profits are high, and we're seeing lots of green!'

"My report to the board was perfect. They did not understand a word of it and now think I'm smarter than them."

'The good news is, we did as well as expected last quarter. The bad news is, we didn't expect to do too well.'

"I see we're going up against the Big Guys."

"Oh dear...I don't think negotiations are going too well..."

"Listen to everybody's opinions? Please, we're not that desperate."

'To close the deal, I had to make some minor concessions.'

"Before I read the financial report I have to ask... do any of you have a weapon?"

The Importance of Planning Thoroughly in Advance

'Congratulations Smith, you got that promotion. Commiserations Reid, you got that demotion.'

'It's my company, I'll decide whether I want to go to the partner's meeting or not.'

'As I see it, our choices are 'no' and 'hell no'.'

'Well, I'm not very satisfied with our customers, either.'

'By the time I climbed up to this job, I was too tired to do it.'

They loved the presentation on competing in the marketplace.

'You can't put him out to pasture - he owns the pasture!'

"He's not sleeping. He always dims his display while downloading data."

'Maybe you should reconsider those place cards, Ms Harris?' (Negotiation talks/Good Guys/Bad Guys)

'This merger will cut jobs 40%, reduce salaries 30% and increase the work hours 25%. Your job is to make this look like the best thing that ever happened to our employees.'

'Thank you, Leo. Nothing like a roar to get us going in the morning.'

'You're closer to the Big Guy than anyone. Will you help us kill him?'

'Who wants the talking stick?'

'You myst blow at least a 2.3 on the 'drunk with power' breathalizer before they'll promote you to upper management.'

Presentation Skills: 1. Be Prepared.

"I'm tired of being used as a scapegoat."

"When everyone's an 800 pound gorilla, nobody's an 800 pound gorilla.".

'Chin up, Simpson, it's for the good of the firm.'

'Almost finished.'

Phil, I'm just too depleted to function. I need to take the afternoon off and recharge my batteries.

'At that point the meeting became chaotic, as everyone's medication seemed to wear off at the same time.'

'First, I want to apologize for calling this meeting on such short notice.'