This is going to seem like the most counterintuitive activity you could ever dream of doing, but it has worked several times in my life when I have landed in a forest full of land mines: kiss some butt. Yes, compliment the boss who tears you apart. Tell her that her platform shoes are so stylish, that you love the shade of her sweater… because it makes the beautiful color of her eyes pop, and that she sure does know how to manage a sales team — that you are impressed. I agree that it’s not good to lie.

But if a few white lies make your life more tolerable and allow you to make a living without losing your sanity, I think that the heavenly creator would grant you a dispensation on the whole honesty thing. It’s just amazing how one compliment can change the relationship dynamics. The manager who might be threatened by you and, in her race to the corner office, feels the need to cut you in half, now sees you as a colleague, a co-worker who is a partner on the job, not an enemy or menace to her success. Try it. You’ll see.