Promotion To Boss Pillows

'You'll find there's no middle ground with Kirk Knoland.'

"You've got your corner office, so what more do you want?"

'I hope you're not threatened by powerful women, because you're fired.'

'I'll be late for dinner, dear. I'm up to my neck in paperwork.'

'Let's not go by the book.'

'You could be a constant inspiration for us to come up with a plan to get a leg up on our competition...you're hired!'

'Finally! A meeting with one of the bigwigs.'

I hope a starting salary of 80 and a severance of 12 is acceptable....

"I was just going to say, 'Well, I don't make the rules.' But, of course, I do make the rules."

In basket-case.

Others will fight for you

"It's clear to me that you want to go far with this company."

'I'll make my final decision on that promotion of yours, after this game.'

Businessman on stilts: 'I had to step over a lot of people to get where I am today.'

"Why can't the rest of you be more like Rollins, here? He does his homework!"

Business books - Who's Who & Who's Downsized sections.

"So, tell me a little bit more about this house training you mention on your CV."

Things-to-do-today: Daily workboxes piled up on desk.

'Don't think of it as being a yes man, think of it as being an employed man.'

'Well, now that I know he's the owner's son, yes, he's the best damned wine steward I've ever seen.'

"Shall we start with an icebreaker?"

"I don't care if you are the Immediate Gratification Generation. Get out of my chair and back to the mailroom."

The MBA Draft

'AT&T? I'm letting you go. I'm down-sizing too!'

'I like the way you handle responsibility, McWit, so I'm going to blame some stuff on you.'

'Take a few days off. Suck some necks ...'

Areas of the Body Where Stress Can Manifest

"Hey, you stick your neck out on a regular basis, it's gonna happen. The important thing is to just get up and keep moving forward."

"We're a very small international conglomerate."

"Well the good news is that after the reorganisation you'll be leading the team."

'Ah, Galagher, we made good use of your proposal.'

The trend toward less formal offices began to gain steam.

'You realize, we can't use the 'benign neglect' method for everything.'

'I clawed my way to the top and then I clawed my way back to the middle.'