Ideally, proving your value to your boss will always yield great rewards, but there are some bosses who are just plain difficult to deal with. Nothing pleases them and the very idea of giving you something that you want somehow goes against the very fiber of their beings - They are known as "Street Fighters".
The street fighter is someone who can win only if the other person loses. This kind of person is not interested in win/win negotiating and even if the street fighter gets most of the concessions, he doesn't feel like a winner until the other person has lost.
I once worked for a street fighter. Boy, getting anything from this guy was brutal - even if what I wanted would be good for him. I would go in and try to explain how whatever I wanted would benefit him, and he would always veto it even if he agreed that it would benefit him. I never did figure out how to deal with him, but I learned an important lesson: Never assume you know what the other person wants. In this case, he wanted to win. Pure and simple. Nothing else mattered. For him. My getting what I wanted would have meant him losing face.
How do you handle a street fighter? The only way is to show them they've won by proving how much you'll lose. You complain how much the proposed agreement will hurt you. You accept whatever you get grudgingly. You look sad. You essentially prove to them that you're laying on the ground, bleeding and he can claim victory.
Just by positioning yourself as the loser, he then automatically becomes the winner, which is all he wants anyways...So don't be afraid to fight a street fighter - just make sure he thinks you've lost...
The Author has been writing articles for years. Not only does he specialize in Credit and Debt and Weight Loss, you can also check out his latest website on
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