Podcasts about simple sabotage field manual

In this episode, I'm joined by Rebecca Hinds — organizational behavior expert and founder of the Work AI Institute at Glean — for a practical conversation about why meetings deteriorate over time and how to redesign them. Rebecca argues that bad meetings aren't a people problem — they're a systems problem. Without intentional design, meetings default to ego, status signaling, conflict avoidance, and performative participation. Over time, low-value meetings become normalized instead of fixed. Drawing on her research at Stanford University and her leadership of the Work Innovation Lab at Asana, she shares frameworks from her new book, Your Best Meeting Ever, including: The four legitimate purposes of a meeting: decide, discuss, debate, or develop The CEO test for when synchronous time is truly required How to codify shared meeting standards Why leaders must explicitly give permission to leave low-value meetings We also explore leadership, motivation, and the myth that kindness and high standards are opposites. Rebecca explains why effective leaders diagnose what drives each individual — encouragement for some, direct challenge for others — and design environments that support both performance and belonging. Finally, we talk about AI and the future of work. Tools amplify existing culture: strong systems improve, broken systems break faster. Organizations that redesign how work happens — not just what tools they use — will have the advantage. If you want to run better meetings, lead with more clarity, and rethink how collaboration actually happens, this episode is for you. You can find Your Best Meeting Ever at major bookstores and learn more at rebeccahinds.com.  00:00 Start 00:27 Why Meetings Get Worse Over Time Robin references Good Omens and the character Crowley, who designs the M25 freeway to intentionally create frustration and misery. They use this metaphor to illustrate how systems can be designed in ways that amplify dysfunction, whether intentionally or accidentally. The idea is that once dysfunctional systems become normalized, people stop questioning them. They also discuss Cory Doctorow's concept of enshittification, where platforms and systems gradually decline as organizational priorities override user experience. Rebecca connects this pattern directly to meetings, arguing that without intentional design, meetings default to chaos and energy drain. Over time, poorly designed meetings become accepted as inevitable rather than treated as solvable design problems. Rebecca references the Simple Sabotage Field Manual created by the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. The manual advised citizens in occupied territories on how to subtly undermine organizations from within. Many of the suggested tactics involved meetings, including encouraging long speeches, focusing on irrelevant details, and sending decisions to unnecessary committees. The irony is that these sabotage techniques closely resemble common behaviors in modern corporate meetings. Rebecca argues that if meetings were designed from scratch today, without legacy habits and inherited norms, they would likely look radically different. She explains that meetings persist in their dysfunctional form because they amplify deeply human tendencies like ego, status signaling, and conflict avoidance. Rebecca traces her interest in teamwork back to her experience as a competitive swimmer in Toronto. Although swimming appears to be an individual sport, she explains that success is heavily dependent on team structure and shared preparation. Being recruited to swim at Stanford exposed her to an elite, team-first environment that reshaped how she thought about performance. She became fascinated by how a group can become greater than the sum of its parts when the right cultural conditions are present. This experience sparked her long-term curiosity about why organizations struggle to replicate the kind of cohesion often seen in sports. At Stanford, Coach Lee Mauer emphasized that emotional wellbeing and performance were deeply connected. The team included world record holders and Olympians, and the performance standards were extremely high. Despite the intensity, the culture prioritized connection and belonging. Rituals like informal story time around the hot tub helped teammates build relationships beyond performance metrics. Rebecca internalized the lesson that elite performance and strong culture are not opposing forces. She saw firsthand that intensity and warmth can coexist, and that psychological safety can actually reinforce high standards rather than weaken them. Later in her career at Asana, Rebecca encountered the company value of rejecting false trade-offs. This reinforced a lesson she had first learned in swimming, which is that many perceived either-or tensions are not actually unavoidable. She argues that organizations often assume they must choose between performance and happiness, or between kindness and accountability. In her experience, these are false binaries that can be resolved through better design and clearer expectations. She emphasizes that motivated and engaged employees tend to produce higher quality work, making culture a strategic advantage rather than a distraction. Kindness versus ruthlessness in leadership Robin raises the contrast between harsh, fear-based leadership styles and more relational, positive leadership approaches. Both styles have produced winning teams, which raises the question of whether success comes because of the leadership style or despite it. Rebecca argues that resilience and accountability are essential, regardless of tone. She stresses that kindness alone is not sufficient for high performance, but neither is harshness inherently superior. Effective leadership requires understanding what motivates each individual, since some people thrive on encouragement while others crave direct challenge. Rebecca personally identifies with wanting to be pushed and appreciates clarity when her work falls short of expectations. She concludes that the most effective leaders diagnose motivation carefully and design environments that maximize both growth and performance. 08:51 Building the Book-Launch Team: Mentors, Agents, and Choosing the Right Publisher Robin asks Rebecca about the size and structure of the team she assembled to execute the launch successfully. He is especially curious about what the team actually looked like in practice and how coordinated the effort needed to be. He also asks about the meeting cadence and work cadence required to bring a book launch to life at that level. The framing highlights that writing the book is only one phase, while launching it is an entirely different operational challenge. Rebecca explains that the process felt much more organic than it might appear from the outside. She admits that at the beginning, she underestimated the full scope of what a book launch entails. Her original motivation was simple: she believed she had a valuable perspective, wanted to help people, and loved writing. As she progressed deeper into the publishing process, she realized that writing the manuscript was only one piece of a much larger system. The operational and promotional dimensions gradually revealed themselves as a second job layered on top of authorship. Robin emphasizes that writing a book and publishing a book are fundamentally different jobs. Rebecca agrees and acknowledges that the publishing side requires a completely different skill set and infrastructure. The conversation underscores that authorship is creative work, while publishing and launching require strategy, coordination, and business acumen. Rebecca credits her Stanford mentor, Bob Sutton, as a life changing influence throughout the process. He guided her step by step, including decisions around selecting a publisher and choosing an agent. She initially did not plan to work with an agent, but through guidance and reflection, she shifted her perspective. His mentorship helped her ask better questions and approach the process more strategically rather than reactively. Rebecca reflects on an important mindset shift in her career. Earlier in life, she was comfortable being the big fish in a small pond. Over time, she came to believe that she performs better when surrounded by people who are smarter and more experienced than she is. She describes her superpower as working extremely hard and having confidence in that effort. Because of that, she prefers environments where others elevate her thinking and push her further. This philosophy became central to how she built her book launch team. As Rebecca learned more about the moving pieces required for a successful campaign, she became more intentional about who she wanted involved. She sought the best not in terms of prestige alone, but in terms of belief and commitment. She wanted people who would go to bat for her and advocate for the book with genuine enthusiasm. She noticed that some organizations that looked impressive on paper were not necessarily the right fit for her specific campaign. This led her to have extensive conversations with potential editors and publicists before making decisions. Rebecca developed a personal benchmark for evaluating partners. She paid attention to whether they were willing to apply the book's ideas within their own organizations. For her, that signaled authentic belief rather than surface level marketing support. When Simon and Schuster demonstrated early interest in implementing the book's learnings internally, it stood out as meaningful alignment. That commitment suggested they cared about the substance of the work, not just the promotional campaign. As the process unfolded, Rebecca realized that part of her job was learning what questions to ask. Each conversation with potential partners refined her understanding of what she needed. She became more deliberate about building the right bench of people around her. The team was not assembled all at once, but rather shaped through iterative learning and discernment. The launch ultimately reflected both her evolving standards and her commitment to surrounding herself with people who elevated the work. 12:12 Asking Better Questions & Going Asynchronous Robin highlights the tension between the voice of the book and the posture of a first time author entering a major publishing house. He notes that Best Meeting Ever encourages people to assert authority in meetings by asking about agendas, ownership, and structure. At the same time, Rebecca was entering conversations with an established publisher as a new author seeking partnership. The question becomes how to balance clarity and conviction with humility and openness. Robin frames it as showing up with operational authority while still saying you publish books and I want to work with you. Rebecca calls the question insightful and explains that tactically she relied heavily on asking questions. She describes herself as intentionally curious and even nosy because she did not yet know what she did not know. Rather than pretending to have answers, she used inquiry as a way to build authority through understanding. She asked questions asynchronously almost daily, emailing her agent and editor with anything that came to mind. This allowed her to learn the system while also signaling engagement and seriousness. Rebecca explains that most of the heavy lifting happened outside of meetings. By asking questions over email, she clarified information before stepping into synchronous time. Meetings were then reserved for ambiguity, decision making, and issues that required real time collaboration. As a result, the campaign involved very few meetings overall. She had a biweekly meeting with her core team and roughly monthly conversations with her editor. The rest of the coordination happened asynchronously, which aligned with her philosophy about effective meeting design. Rebecca jokes that one hidden benefit of writing a book on meetings is that everyone shows up more prepared and on time. She also felt internal pressure to model the behaviors she was advocating. The campaign therefore became a real world test of her ideas. She emphasizes that she is glad the launch was not meeting heavy and that it reflected the principles in the book. Robin shares a story about their initial connection through David Shackleford. During a short introductory call, he casually offered to spend time discussing book marketing strategies. Rebecca followed up, scheduled time, and took extensive notes during their conversation. After thanking him, she did not continue unnecessary follow up or prolonged discussion. Instead, she quietly implemented many of the practical strategies discussed. Robin later observed bulk sales, bundled speaking engagements, and structured purchase incentives that reflected disciplined execution. Robin emphasizes that generating ideas is relatively easy compared to implementing them. He connects this to Seth Godin's praise that the book is for people willing to do the work. The real difficulty lies not in brainstorming strategies but in consistently executing them. He describes watching Rebecca implement the plan as evidence that she practices what she preaches. Her hard work and disciplined follow through reinforced his confidence in the book before even reading it. Rebecca responds with gratitude and acknowledges that she took his advice seriously. She affirms that several actions she implemented were directly inspired by their conversation. At the same time, the tone remains grounded and collaborative rather than performative. The exchange illustrates her pattern of seeking input, synthesizing it, and then executing independently. Robin transitions toward the theme of self knowledge and its role in leadership and meetings. He connects Rebecca's disciplined execution to her awareness of her own strengths. The earlier theme resurfaces that she sees hard work and follow through as her superpower. The implication is that effective meetings and effective leadership both begin with understanding how you operate best. 17:48 Self-Knowledge at Work Robin shares that he knows he is motivated by carrots rather than sticks. He explains that praise energizes him and improves his performance more than criticism ever could. As a performer and athlete, he appreciates detailed notes and feedback, but encouragement is what unlocks his best work. He contrasts that with experiences like old school ballet training, where harsh discipline did not bring out his strengths. His point is that understanding how you are wired takes experience and reflection. Rebecca agrees that self knowledge is essential and ties it directly to motivation. She argues that the better you understand yourself, the more clearly you can articulate what drives you. Many people, especially early in their careers, do not pause to examine what truly motivates them. She notes that motivation is often intangible and not primarily monetary. For some people it is praise, for others criticism, learning, mastery, collaboration, or autonomy. She also emphasizes that motivation changes over time and shifts depending on organizational context. One of Rebecca's biggest lessons as a manager and contributor is the importance of codifying self knowledge. Writing down what motivates you and how you work best makes it easier to communicate those needs to others. She believes this explicitness is especially critical during times of change. When work is evolving quickly, assumptions about motivation can lead to disengagement. Making preferences visible reduces friction and prevents misalignment. Rebecca references a recent presentation she gave on the dangers of automating the soul of work. She and her mentor Bob Sutton have discussed how organizations risk stripping meaning from roles if they automate without discernment. She points to research showing that many AI startups are automating tasks people would prefer to keep human. The warning is that just because something can be automated does not mean it should be. Without understanding what makes work meaningful for employees, leaders can unintentionally remove the very elements that motivate people. Rebecca believes managers should create explicit user manuals for their team members. These documents outline how individuals prefer to communicate, what motivates them, and what their career aspirations are. She sees this as a practical leadership tool rather than a symbolic exercise. Referring back to these documents helps leaders guide their teams through uncertainty and change. When asked directly, she confirms that she has implemented this practice in previous roles and intends to do so again. When asked about the future of AI, Rebecca avoids making long term predictions. She observes that the most confident forecasters are often those with something to sell. Her shorter term view is that AI amplifies whatever already exists inside an organization. Strong workflows and cultures may improve, while broken systems may become more efficiently broken. She sees organizations over investing in technology while under investing in people and change management. As a result, productivity gains are appearing at the individual level but not consistently at the team or organizational level. Rebecca acknowledges that there is a possible future where AI creates abundance and healthier work life balance. However, she does not believe current evidence strongly supports that outcome in the near term. She does see promising examples of organizations using AI to amplify collaboration and cross functional work. These examples remain rare but signal that a more human centered future is possible. She is cautiously hopeful but not convinced that the most optimistic scenario will unfold automatically. Robin notes that time horizons for prediction have shortened dramatically. Rebecca agrees and says that six months feels like a reasonable forecasting window in the current environment. She observes that the best leaders are setting thresholds for experimentation and failure. Pilots and proofs of concept should fail at a meaningful rate if organizations are truly exploring. Shorter feedback loops allow organizations to learn quickly rather than over commit to fragile long term assumptions. Robin shares a formative story from growing up in his father's small engineering firm, where he was exposed early to office systems and processes. Later, studying in a Quaker community in Costa Rica, he experienced full consensus decision making. He recalls sitting through extended debates, including one about single versus double ply toilet paper. As a fourteen year old who would rather have been climbing trees in the rainforest, the meeting felt painfully misaligned with his energy. That experience contributed to his lifelong desire to make work and collaboration feel less draining and more intentional. The story reinforces the broader theme that poorly designed meetings can disconnect people from purpose and engagement. 28:31 Leadership vs. Tribal Instincts Rebecca explains that much of dysfunctional meeting behavior is rooted in tribal human instincts. People feel loyalty to the group and show up to meetings simply to signal belonging, even when the meeting is not meaningful. This instinct to attend regardless of value reinforces bloated calendars and performative participation. She argues that effective meeting design must actively counteract these deeply human tendencies. Without intentional structure, meetings default to social signaling rather than productive collaboration. Rebecca emphasizes that leadership plays a critical role in changing meeting culture Leaders must explicitly give employees permission to leave meetings when they are not contributing. They must also normalize asynchronous work as a legitimate and often superior alternative. Without that top down permission, employees will continue attending out of fear or habit. Meeting reform requires visible endorsement from those with authority. Power dynamics and pushing back without positional authority Robin reflects on the power of writing a book on meetings while still operating within a hierarchy. He asks how individuals without formal authority can challenge broken systems. Rebecca responds that there is no universal solution because outcomes depend heavily on psychological safety. In organizations with high trust, there is often broad recognition that meetings are ineffective and a desire to fix them. In lower trust environments, change must be approached more strategically and indirectly. Rebecca advises employees to lead with curiosity rather than confrontation. Instead of calling out a bad meeting, one might ask whether their presence is truly necessary. Framing the question around contribution rather than judgment reduces defensiveness. This approach lowers the emotional temperature and keeps the conversation constructive. Curiosity shifts the tone from personal critique to shared problem solving. In psychologically unsafe environments, Rebecca suggests shifting enforcement to systems rather than individuals. Automated rules such as canceling meetings without agendas or without sufficient confirmations can reduce personal friction. When technology enforces standards, it feels less like a personal attack. Codified rules provide employees with shared language and objective criteria. This reduces the perception that opting out is a rejection of the person rather than a rejection of the structure. Rebecca argues that every organization should have a clear and shared definition of what deserves to be a meeting. If five employees are asked what qualifies as a meeting, they should give the same answer. Without explicit criteria, decisions default to habit and hierarchy. Clear rules give employees confidence to push back constructively. Shared standards transform meeting participation from a personal negotiation into a procedural one. Rebecca outlines a two part test to determine whether a meeting should exist. First, the meeting must serve one of four purposes which are to decide, discuss, debate, or develop people. If it does not satisfy one of those four categories, it likely should not be a meeting. Even if it passes that test, it must also satisfy one of the CEO criteria. C refers to complexity and whether the issue contains enough ambiguity to require synchronous dialogue. E refers to emotional intensity and whether reading emotions or managing reactions is important. O refers to one way door decisions, meaning choices that are difficult or costly to reverse. Many organizational decisions are reversible and therefore do not justify synchronous time. Robin asks how small teams without advanced tech stacks can automate meeting discipline. Rebecca explains that many safeguards can be implemented with existing tools such as Google Calendar or simple scripts. Basic rules like requiring an agenda or minimum confirmations can be enforced through standard workflows. Not all solutions require advanced AI tools. The key is introducing friction intentionally to prevent low value meetings from forming. Rebecca notes that more advanced AI tools can measure engagement, multitasking, or participation. Some platforms now provide indicators of attention or involvement during meetings. While these tools are promising, they are not required to implement foundational meeting discipline. She cautions against over investing in shiny tools without first clarifying principles. Metrics are useful when they reinforce intentional design rather than replace it. Rebecca highlights a subtle risk of automation, particularly in scheduling. Tools can be optimized for the sender while increasing friction for recipients. Leaders should consider the system level impact rather than only individual efficiency. Productivity gains at the individual level can create hidden coordination costs for the team. Meeting automation should be evaluated through a collective lens. Rebecca distinguishes between intrusive AI bots that join meetings and simple transcription tools. She is cautious about bots that visibly attend meetings and distract participants. However, she supports consensual transcription when it enhances asynchronous follow up. Effective transcription can reduce cognitive load and free participants to engage more deeply. Used thoughtfully, these tools can strengthen collaboration rather than dilute it. 41:35 Maker vs. Manager: Balancing a Day Job with a Book Launch Robin shares an example from a webinar where attendees were asked for feedback via a short Bitly link before the session closed. He contrasts this with the ineffectiveness of "smiley face/frowny face" buttons in hotel bathrooms—easy to ignore and lacking context. The key is embedding feedback into the process in a way that's natural, timely, and comfortable for participants. Feedback mechanisms should be integrated, low-friction, and provide enough context for meaningful responses. Rebecca recommends a method inspired by Elise Keith called Roti—rating meetings on a zero-to-five scale based on whether they were worth attendees' time. She suggests asking this for roughly 10% of meetings to gather actionable insight. Follow-up question: "What could the organizer do to increase the rating by one point?" This approach removes bias, focuses on attendee experience, and identifies meetings that need restructuring. Splits in ratings reveal misaligned agendas or attendee lists and guide optimization. Robin imagines automating feedback requests via email or tools like Superhuman for convenience. Rebecca agrees and adds that simple forms (Google Forms, paper, or other methods) are effective, especially when anonymous. The goal is simplicity and consistency—given how costly meetings are, there's no excuse to skip feedback. Robin references Paul Graham's essay on maker vs. manager schedules and asks about Rebecca's approach to balancing writing, team coordination, and book marketing. Rebecca shares that 95% of her effort on the book launch was "making"—writing and outreach—thanks to a strong team handling management. She devoted time to writing, scrappy outreach, and building relationships, emphasizing giving without expecting reciprocation. The main coordination challenge was balancing her book work with her full-time job at Asana, requiring careful prioritization. Rebecca created a strict writing schedule inspired by her swimming discipline: early mornings, evenings, and weekends dedicated to writing. She prioritized her book and full-time work while maintaining family commitments. Discipline and clear prioritization were essential to manage competing but synergistic priorities. Robin asks about written vs. spoken communication, referencing Amazon's six-page memos and Zandr Media's phone-friendly quick syncs. Rebecca emphasizes that the answer depends on context but a strong written communication culture is essential in all organizations. Written communication supports clarity, asynchronous work, and complements verbal communication. It's especially important for distributed teams or virtual work. With AI, clear documentation allows better insights, reduces unnecessary content generation, and reinforces disciplined communication. 48:29 AI and the Craft of Writing Rebecca highlights that employees have varying learning preferences—introverted vs. extroverted, verbal vs. written. Effective communication systems should support both verbal and written channels to accommodate these differences. Rebecca's philosophy: writing is a deeply human craft. AI was not used for drafting or creative writing. AI supported research, coordination, tracking trends, and other auxiliary tasks—areas where efficiency is key. Human-led drafting, revising, and word choice remained central to the book. Robin praises Rebecca's use of language, noting it feels human and vivid—something AI cannot replicate in nuance or delight. Rebecca emphasizes that crafting every word, experimenting with phrasing, and tinkering with language is uniquely human. This joy and precision in writing is not replicable by AI and is part of what makes written communication stand out. Rebecca hopes human creativity in writing and oral communication remains valued despite AI advances. Strong written communication is increasingly differentiating for executive communicators and storytellers in organizations. AI can polish or mass-produce text, but human insight, nuance, and storytelling remain essential and career-relevant. Robin emphasizes the importance of reading, writing, and physical activities (like swimming) to reclaim attention from screens. These practices support deep human thinking and creativity, which are harder to replace with AI. Rebecca uses standard tools strategically: email (chunked and batched), Google Docs, Asana, Doodle, and Zoom. Writing is enhanced by switching platforms, fonts, colors, and physical locations—stimulating creativity and perspective. Physical context (plane, café, city) is strongly linked to breakthroughs and memory during writing. Emphasis is on how tools are enacted rather than which tools are used—behavior and discipline matter more than tech. Rebecca primarily recommends business books with personal relevance: Adam Grant's Give and Take – for relational insights beyond work. Bob Sutton's books – for broader lessons on organizational and personal effectiveness. Robert Cialdini's Influence – for understanding human behavior in both professional and personal contexts. Her selections highlight that business literature often offers universal lessons applicable beyond work. 59:48 Where to Find Rebecca The book is available at all major bookstores. Website: rebeccahinds.com LinkedIn: Rebecca Hinds  

What could you do to frustrate or delay the jackbooted thugs in your community if you lived under an authoritarian regime? Where can you find more practical methods of sabotage? What's the hair and salt for? Listen to find out!This Wrench in My Gears, episode 145 of This Gun in My Hand, was maliciously wrecked by Rob Northrup. This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, archives, and to buy my books, such as Sisyphus, Eat Your Heart Out, available in paperback and ebook from Amazon. What do I use on slot machines to avoid developing a gambling problem? This Gun in My Hand!Show Notes:1. This episode was inspired by Mother Bone's posts about the Simple Sabotage Field Manual, released internally in 1944 by the OSS (predecessor of the CIA) and declassified in 2018. The concepts could be used today by anyone resisting an occupying force or authoritarian regime. Direct quotes from the manual appear throughout this episode.https://archive.org/details/simplesabotagefi26184gut/page/n5/mode/2up2. I have pocket knives with pictures of Tarzan and Lash LaRue on the handles. Here's a picture of a colorful Hopalong Cassidy pocket knife:https://www.etsy.com/listing/1068482143/vintage-hopalong-cassidy-pocket-knife?dd_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F3. I thought I was being ridiculous imagining slot machines branded with 1930s comic strip characters, but apparently there was really a Blondie machine at some point, and just last year they released a video slot machine featuring The Phantom.https://www.aristocratgaming.com/us/slots/games/the-phantom4. Anachronism! Lash LaRue's first film appearance was in 1944, and he only began to star in Westerns around 1947.4. Anachronism! The comic strip Sad Sack was first published in Yank, The Army Weekly in June 1942. The generic expression “sad sack” may not have been common until after the comic strip became popular.Credits:Music in this episode came from three public domain films:The Sun Sets at Dawn (1950), The Scar (aka Hollow Triumph, 1948), and Killer Bait (1949). Most of the music and sound effects used in the episode are modified or incomplete versions of the originals.Sound Effect Title: Heels on Pavement.wavLicense: Public Domainhttps://freesound.org/people/B.Harkins/sounds/683658/Sound Effect Title: School door with metal latch inside.aif by timonunderwater License: Public Domainhttps://freesound.org/s/532788/Fair use brief audio clip of William Shatner taken from outtake of a recording session for the 1993 PC Game Star Trek: Judgment Rites.The image accompanying this episode is a modified detail of a photograph by Horst Grund from 1943 titled “Sizilien, Reifenpanne mit VW-Kübelwagen.” Italy, Sicily, 1943. A flat tire on a VW-Kübelwagen, soldier with jack going to replace the tire. By Bundesarchiv, Creative Commons License Attribution-ShareAlike Germany 3.0. (Note that the CC Attribution-Share Alike license applies only to this image, not to the text or audio from this episode.)Image Alt text: Color photo of a soldier in short sleeves and khaki shorts cranking a jack along the driver's side of a VW Kubelwagen with a flat tire. The hood over the engine compartment in the rear of the car is open. The car is beige, dirty and worn. The background appears to be a large body of water or sea with hills or mountains rising over it. The photo was taken in Sicily, Italy, in 1943. I'm not familiar enough with military uniforms to tell if this is a German or Italian soldier.

In 1944, the Office of Strategic Services, a precursor to the modern CIA, published a booklet called “Simple Sabotage Field Manual.” The booklet was designed to be passed out covertly to ordinary citizens in occupied territory during World War II, empowering everyday people to fight against fascism in all its forms. For some reason, this booklet is going a little bit viral lately, and given how much we love historical documents, we couldn't resist a tiny foray into nonfiction.Transcript ⁠here⁠.This episode was recorded by Hannah Wright, with dialogue editing by Stephen Indrisano and sound design by Tal Minear. A Bloody FM Production.This episode is for educational purposes and historical interest. Bloody FM and their affiliate companies do not endorse breaking the law.  This text does not represent our opinions nor that of Bloody FM. We urge you to be safe and well, and to always do the right thing. Find us online:Patreon: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/redracula⁠Merch: ⁠https://store.dftba.com/collections/re-dracula⁠Website: ⁠www.ReDracula.live⁠Tumblr: ⁠https://www.tumblr.com/re-dracula⁠Bloody Disgusting Website: ⁠www.Bloody-Disgusting.com

Imagine waking up in a city under enemy occupation during World War II and discovering a way to quietly resist. In this episode of the Karma Stories Podcast, we delve into the fascinating Simple Sabotage Field Manual, compiled by the OSS, a predecessor to the CIA. Learn how ordinary people were guided to subtly disrupt the enemy's war machine using everyday actions without drawing suspicion. Discover the psychology and tactics that turned mundane tasks into powerful tools of resistance, empowering ordinary citizens to fight back in extraordinary circumstances.Submit your own stories to KarmaStoriesPod@gmail.com.Karma Stories is available on all major Podcasting Platforms and on YouTube under the @KarmaStoriesPodcast handle. We cover stories from popular Reddit Subreddits like Entitled Parents, Tales From Tech Support, Pro Revenge and Malicious Compliance. You can find new uploads here every single day of the week!Rob's 3D Printing Site: https://Dangly3D.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/karma-stories--5098578/support.

Simple Sabotage Field Manual: Dissecting Destructive Behaviors In Life & Business. For this book review episode, we delve into the intriguing world of clandestine tactics by reviewing the "Simple Sabotage Field Manual," originally published by the OSS. This manual caught my attention after episode 390 of the Jocko podcast, and we're gonna explore how the subversive strategies detailed within it parallel modern life and business practices. Join me as we unpack the art of identifying and weeding out vulnerabilities, all while questioning redundant systems and inefficiencies that might be remnants of a bygone era. We'll tackle the delicate balance of embracing technology and shedding unnecessary procedures to boost productivity and streamline our work environments. This episode is about avoiding the pitfalls that can lead to unintentional self-sabotage, from cognitive overload to ensuring strong maintenance of personal and industrial equipment. We'll touch on potential employee behaviors that could undermine success and the pressing need for rigorous standard operating procedures to ward off accidents and the specter of sabotage. But it's not just about thwarting external threats; we'll question our own psychological biases, the strength of our beliefs, and the traps of groupthink that could lead us down the path of destructive actions, even when convinced of a greater cause. Strap in as we dissect these wartime techniques, consider their relevance to our current society and provide actionable insights on building an antifragile life and business. It's time to strengthen your defenses, inside and out, on this episode of the Social Chameleon Show. Enjoy the episode! YouTube: https://youtu.be/TXyFxW2xIsQ Podcast Apps: https://found.ee/SCS Show Notes: https://www.thesocialchameleon.show/Simple-Sabotage-Field-Manual

In 1944, the precursor to the CIA published the ‘Simple Sabotage Field Manual’. Now declassified, sections of this document are sometimes spread online framed as a guide to disrupting left-wing movements. In...

En 1944, con la segunda guerra muy avanzada, era evidente que el final esta próximo. Pero toda guerra tiene un coste inmenso y el cansancio de las naciones inmersas después de años flaquea. Es por ello que toda medida encaminada a reducir la duración es más que bienvenida.En este lejano 1944 en Washington decidieron apostar por una estrategia tan sorprendente como prometedora para acelerar ese final. ¿Por qué no boicotear desde dentro la productividad de los países enemigos u ocupados? Y no de una forma desorganizada, dejándolo a la iniciativa e improvisación de los simpatizantes de los Aliados. No. ¿Por qué no hacerlo de una forma calculada, organizada, planificada por expertos?Partiendo de esa premisa a principios de año la Oficina de Servicios Estratégicos de EEUU —la OSS, precursora de lo que sería la CIA— publicó un pequeño librillo, de una treintena de páginas, que tituló ‘Simple Sabotage Field Manual' (maniaul) . Eso es: un manual de campo para un “sabotaje sencillo”.De esas páginas podemos extraer muchas lecciones interesantes no solo para boicotear la productividad, sino, para en sentido contrario, incrementarla. De eso hablamos

Have you ever thought about how government espionage is not all that different than corporate sabotage? We have! (Consider tactics along the lines of "let blades go dull so people can't sharpen their saws"...) In this week's episode, Madi and Natan reflect on how the CIA espionage manual relates to the ways in which many big corporations create a bad work environment, discuss Natan's "obsession" with "The Fractal Company," and break down how to build a corporate structure that encourages innovation. LINK DUMP: -Dive into the CIA's "Simple Sabotage Field Manual (https://www.hsdl.org/c/abstract/?docid=750070)" booklet for insights into the ways in which agents instructed civilians to inflict sabotage through ordinary means -Check out "The Fractal Company: A Revolution in Corporate Culture (https://www.amazon.com/Fractal-Company-Revolution-Corporate-Culture/dp/3642781268)" to learn about how to develop an organization that utilizes its strengths and remains competitive -Read "The Organization of the Future Is Fractal (https://www.bcg.com/publications/2022/fractal-companies-are-the-organizations-of-the-future)" for a break down of fractal design principles -Follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/behind-the-ops/) to join the conversation and find out when we post new episodes

Simple Sabotage Field Manual

Safety Wars Live March 10, 2023 Welcome to Season 3 of Safety Wars. Thanks for all the support. Jim covered the Simple Sabotage Field Manual (1944) issued by the Office of Strategic Services (CIA). Is American business being sabotaged by these things? Are we self-sabotaging with this stuff? Elon Musk tweeted on this. Jim discusses a 911 call he made today. If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide please seek help. For all of your consulting and training needs give us a call at 845-269-5772 or drop us an email at Jim@safetywars.com. WE NOW HAVE A LIVE SHOW EVERY Weekday AT 8 TO 9 PM EST ON SAFETYFM.COM WE ARE AVAILABLE ON YOUR FAVORITE PODCAST PLATFORM AS SAFETY WARS. #Jimpoesl #safetywars #safetyfm #jayallen #HOP #Humanandorganizationalperformanc #safety #osha #safetywarslive #jcptechnicalservices #safetytraining #mediabias #happyholidays #suicide #coldstress #smartgoals #disasterprep #forklifts #energypolicy #2023 #HappyNewYear #REspirators #supervisortraining #Firstaidcpraed #suddencardiacarrest #bills #bengals #sexualharrassment #scaffolding #scaffoldingcollapse #workplacedeath #constructionsafety #nuclearwar #nuclear #radiological #disasterresponseworker #poweroutage #earthquakes #Fire #war #nuclear #bullying #politicalassasination #OSS #CIA #SimpleSabotage #911calls #sabotage.

Concerns about precise wording. Insisting on doing everything through proper “channels.” Referring to matters decided upon at the last meeting during a new meeting. Huge committees. These are probably familiar issues to modern public sector managers, but these problems were identified by the CIA's precursor, the Office of Strategic Services, in its Simple Sabotage Field Manual, published in 1944. In a new report titled “Mission Not Meetings: How government leaders could avoid self-sabotage,” McKinsey experts examine the management problems that can undermine the efficacy of government managers and hamstring mission delivery.  J.R. Maxwell is a McKinsey partner and a leader in the firm's practices focused on the public, social, and healthcare sectors. And Sarah Kleinman is a Partner in McKinsey's Public Sector practice, where she manages large-scale, end-to-end organizational transformations. They joined the podcast to talk about the report and how organizations can overcome these issues.  *** Follow GovExec on Twitter! https://twitter.com/govexec

You say you always wanted to be an international spy? Well, back during WWII you could have been one without any prior training or connection to the military. In this episode we discuss the existence of the Simple Sabotage Field Manual created for people looking to help their country win the war with the weirdest possible saboteur skills you could imagine. We take this idea and turn it into an all-around disastrous 90's Office comedy directed by...who else? Mike Judge. Article in discussion

In 1944 Wild Bill Donovan of the US Office of Strategic Service produced a Simple Sabotage Field Manual for citizen saboteurs fighting against Axis powers. It's a short, punchy 78-year old perfectly worded 'how to'. Some of it might even sound familiar.

Nadia Sels (1981) is professor klassieke mythologie aan de Universiteit Gent en onderzoeker aan de UHasselt en PXL MAD School of Arts in Hasselt. Ze bestudeert Latijnse en Griekse literatuur, cultuurgeschiedenis én heeft een bijzondere interesse in mythologie en psychoanalyse. We hebben gepraat in de koffiekamer van de voormalige vakgroep Latijn en Grieks in de Blandijn in Gent, met uitzicht op de Boekentoren. Het gesprek gaat over mythes en sprookjes en over het fenomeen van de trickster. Één van haar boeken is een handleiding om sabotage-acties te doen. En je hoort waarom Nadia Sels deze aflevering absoluut wil beginnen met een gedicht van Paul Van Ostayen. Laatste zin: "Ik wil bloot zijn en beginnen." Alle boeken en auteurs in deze podcast vind je hier. De drie boeken van Nadia Sels zijn: 1. David Garnett: Lady Into Fox 2. Lewis Hyde: Trickster Makes This World 3. Simple Sabotage Field Manual

In this episode of Elixir Mix the panel interviews Mariano Guerra. Mariano wrote some wonderful tutorial blogs outlining how to use Riak Core in Elixir. He begins the episode by sharing a little about himself and his work. Mariano then defines Riak Core and tells the story of where it came from. He explains what he loves about Riak Core and dubs himself the unofficial cheerleader of Riak Core.   Mariano tells the panel about his blog articles and what listeners will find in them. He explains to the panel what inspired him to write them. Mariano then gives the panel examples of the problems solved by Riak Core and the best use cases for it. Partisan is the next subject the panel asks Mariano about. Mariano shares the story of where Partisan came from and explains when you want to use it.    Finally, Mariano tells the panel about his work for the Erlang Ecosystem Foundation. Right now he is working hard to unify the documentation for all the Beam languages. He shares his admiration for the Elixir documentation and explains that Erlang documentation needs a lot of work. The panel discusses how unifying the Beam will help the community and make their lives easier.  Panelists Mark Ericksen Josh Adams Sophie DeBenedetto Guest Mariano Guerra Sponsors Sentry– use the code “devchat” for two months free on Sentry’s small plan CacheFly ____________________________________________________________ "The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today! ____________________________________________________________   Links TLA+  Riak Products  Dynamo: Amazon’s Highly Available Key-value Store   https://github.com/basho/riak_core  Riak Core on Partisan on Elixir Tutorial: Introduction  http://partisan.cloud/  https://blog.erlang.org/OTP-22-Highlights/  Riak Core on Partisan on Elixir Tutorial: Setup  Riak Core on Partisan on Elixir Tutorial: Getting Started    Riak Core on Partisan on Elixir Tutorial: We can make a Key Value Store out of that  Riak Core on Partisan on Elixir Tutorial: Migrating Data with Handoff  Riak Core on Partisan on Elixir Tutorial: Resources  https://gitlab.com/marianoguerra/civiledb/  https://github.com/clojerl/clojerl  https://twitter.com/warianoguerra https://www.facebook.com/Elixir-Mix  https://twitter.com/elixir_mix Picks Mark Ericksen: Immutability - Computerphile  Simple Sabotage Field Manual  Mariano Guerra: Property-Based Testing with PropEr, Erlang, and Elixir Practical TLA+: Planning Driven Development Josh Adams: Rewriting GitHub Pages with Riak Core, Riak KV, and Webmachine: Jesse Newland  Sophie DeBenedetto: How to Compose Queries in Ecto  Basque Burnt Cheesecake 

In this episode of Elixir Mix the panel interviews Mariano Guerra. Mariano wrote some wonderful tutorial blogs outlining how to use Riak Core in Elixir. He begins the episode by sharing a little about himself and his work. Mariano then defines Riak Core and tells the story of where it came from. He explains what he loves about Riak Core and dubs himself the unofficial cheerleader of Riak Core.   Mariano tells the panel about his blog articles and what listeners will find in them. He explains to the panel what inspired him to write them. Mariano then gives the panel examples of the problems solved by Riak Core and the best use cases for it. Partisan is the next subject the panel asks Mariano about. Mariano shares the story of where Partisan came from and explains when you want to use it.    Finally, Mariano tells the panel about his work for the Erlang Ecosystem Foundation. Right now he is working hard to unify the documentation for all the Beam languages. He shares his admiration for the Elixir documentation and explains that Erlang documentation needs a lot of work. The panel discusses how unifying the Beam will help the community and make their lives easier.  Panelists Mark Ericksen Josh Adams Sophie DeBenedetto Guest Mariano Guerra Sponsors Sentry– use the code “devchat” for two months free on Sentry’s small plan CacheFly ____________________________________________________________ "The MaxCoders Guide to Finding Your Dream Developer Job" by Charles Max Wood is now available on Amazon. Get Your Copy Today! ____________________________________________________________   Links TLA+  Riak Products  Dynamo: Amazon’s Highly Available Key-value Store   https://github.com/basho/riak_core  Riak Core on Partisan on Elixir Tutorial: Introduction  http://partisan.cloud/  https://blog.erlang.org/OTP-22-Highlights/  Riak Core on Partisan on Elixir Tutorial: Setup  Riak Core on Partisan on Elixir Tutorial: Getting Started    Riak Core on Partisan on Elixir Tutorial: We can make a Key Value Store out of that  Riak Core on Partisan on Elixir Tutorial: Migrating Data with Handoff  Riak Core on Partisan on Elixir Tutorial: Resources  https://gitlab.com/marianoguerra/civiledb/  https://github.com/clojerl/clojerl  https://twitter.com/warianoguerra https://www.facebook.com/Elixir-Mix  https://twitter.com/elixir_mix Picks Mark Ericksen: Immutability - Computerphile  Simple Sabotage Field Manual  Mariano Guerra: Property-Based Testing with PropEr, Erlang, and Elixir Practical TLA+: Planning Driven Development Josh Adams: Rewriting GitHub Pages with Riak Core, Riak KV, and Webmachine: Jesse Newland  Sophie DeBenedetto: How to Compose Queries in Ecto  Basque Burnt Cheesecake 

Hvad har det moderne arbejdsliv til fælles med statsgodkendt sabotage? Kan det, du udsætter dig selv og dine kollegaer for, bringe regimer til fald? Og hvad har en classified CIA-rapport med denne podcast at gøre? Vi har fået fingrene i "The Simple Sabotage Field Manual" fra 1944 og taler om, hvordan det, som Amerikas skarpeste hjerner for 80 år siden anså for sabotage, i dag er helt almindelig hverdag. Og så laver vi vores egen sabotage manual!

You can find Aaron Dignan on Twitter as @aarondignan  and at The Ready. You can find notes and links from his excellent book on the Brave New Work website. Aaron also wrote a Medium post explaining The OS Canvas and you‘ll find plenty of other writing from The Ready folks there. For those of you interested in the Simple Sabotage Field Manual from the Office of Strategic Services (precursor to the CIA) that we mention at the beginning of the interview, page 28, _General Interference with Organizations and Production_, is the page to flip to before facepalming at the state of organisations today. Our links Follow This is HCD us on Twitter Follow This is HCD on Instagram Sign up for our newsletter Join the This is HCD Slack Channel Follow us on Medium Podcasts on the This is HCD Network Power of Ten with Andy Polaine EthnoPod with Dr John Curran Bringing Design Closer with Gerry Scullion ProdPod with Adrienne Tan This is HCD is brought to you by Humana Design Support the show.

You can find Aaron Dignan on Twitter as @aarondignan  and at The Ready. You can find notes and links from his excellent book on the Brave New Work website. Aaron also wrote a Medium post explaining The OS Canvas and you‘ll find plenty of other writing from The Ready folks there. For those of you interested in the Simple Sabotage Field Manual from the Office of Strategic Services (precursor to the CIA) that we mention at the beginning of the interview, page 28, _General Interference with Organizations and Production_, is the page to flip to before facepalming at the state of organisations today. Our links Follow This is HCD us on Twitter Follow This is HCD on Instagram Sign up for our newsletter Join the This is HCD Slack Channel Follow us on Medium Podcasts on the This is HCD Network Power of Ten with Andy Polaine EthnoPod with Dr John Curran Bringing Design Closer with Gerry Scullion ProdPod with Adrienne Tan This is HCD is brought to you by Humana Design Support the show.

On 17 January 1944, the Office of the Strategic Services of the CIA issued the Simple Sabotage Field Manual. The manual remained classified for decades, becoming declassified in 2008. The purpose of the manual was to present suggestions for inciting and executing sabotage. The manual is full of 1940s references such as ‘axis nationals’, the latter no doubt falling victim to many of the manual’s methods. The manual breaks methods down into a number of categories such as Buildings, Manufacturing and Organisations. For example, on Buildings it states: whenever possible, arrange to have a fire start after you have gone away").  What’s striking about this section of the manual is its section on Interference with Organisations. Their suggested methods sound a lot of the dated management practices that plague large organisations today. In this episode of Fast Fix Friday I’m going to read out 5 ways you might be sabotaging your organisation. --- Join the conversation on Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/futuresquared/ where you can discuss episodes, request guests, propose questions for forthcoming guests and access exclusive content and special offers! 14 Ways You're Sabotaging Your Organisation: https://www.collectivecampus.com.au/blog/14-ways-youre-sabotaging-your-organisation  Listen on iTunes @ goo.gl/sMnEa0 Listen on Spotify @ spoti.fi/2G2QsxV Listen on Stitcher @ www.stitcher.com/podcast/future Listen on Google Play @ bit.ly/FSGoog ‍ If you've got any questions on this podcast feel free to send an email to steve@collectivecamp.us or tweet me on Twitter @steveglaveski or @future_squared Follow me on Instagram: @thesteveglaveski Like us? ‍ It'd make our day if you took 1 minute to show some love on iTunes, Stitcher or Soundcloud by subscribing, sharing and giving us a 5 star rating. ‍ To sign up to our mailing list head to www.futuresquared.xyz For more information on Collective Campus, our innovation hub, school and consultancy based in Australia and Singapore check out www.collectivecampus.io

Этот выпуск в YouTube: https://youtu.be/D_YwlmUp-GA) Дима и Вячеслав пытаются войти в состояние потока, но расходятся во мнении о том, что же это вообще такое, и могут ли другие люди не мешать этому состоянию. * Что такое “состояние потока”? Вячеслав отсылает нас к определению Михая Чиксентмихайи * Дима не согласен с тем, что другие люди могут не мешать состоянию потока * Книга Стивена Кови “Семь навыков высокоэффективных людей” * Состояние потока и командная работа * Walking meetings * Поток и многозадачность * Нужно ли ждать музу и поток перед началом работы? * Включение в поток: комфортные условия и отсутствие отвлекающих факторов * Димина методика сознательно введенного отвлекающего фактора * Вячеслав для отключения от внешнего мира нередко использует Noisli (https://www.noisli.com) – сервис, который помогает улучшить фокус и повысить продуктивность с помощью фоновых звуков * Секретный материал для следующего выпуска: Simple Sabotage Field Manual (https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2012-featured-story-archive/CleanedUOSSSimpleSabotage_sm.pdf) от ЦРУ

Simple Sabotage A Modern Field Manual for Detecting and Rooting Out Everyday Behaviors That Undermine Your Workplace by Robert M. Galford, Bob Frisch, Cary Greene Inspired by the Simple Sabotage Field Manual released by the Office of Strategic Services in 1944 to train European resistors, this is the essential handbook to help stamp out unintentional…