Lapham's Rules of Influence: A Carrerist's Guide to Success, Status, and Self-Congratulation - Rilegato

Lapham, Lewis H.

Rilegato

ISBN 10: 0679426051 ISBN 13: 9780679426059

Casa editrice: Random House Inc, 1999

Riassunto

In a hilarious, politically incorrect self-help guide, the editor of Harper's offers advice to aspiring careerists on how to seek out the acquaintance of people richer and more important than oneself, how to use flattery effectively, and more. 35,000 first printing. Tour.

Su questo libro

L'autore

Lewis Lapham was born in 1935 in San Francisco and educated at the Hotchkiss School, Yale University, and Cambridge University. He is the author of several books of essays, including The Wish for Kings, Money and Class in America, Fortune's Child, Imperial Masquerade, Hotel America, and Waiting for the Barbarians. He has been a reporter for the San Francisco Examiner and for the New York Herald Tribune, a syndicated newspaper columnist, and, since 1983, editor of Harper's Magazine, where his monthly essays won a 1995 National Magazine Award for their "exhilarating point of view in an age of conformity." Between 1989 and 1991, he was the host and executive editor of Bookmark, a weekly national public-television series. He was also the host and author of a

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MORNING

Appearances

Their rule is sovereign, and you quarrel with them at your peril. Seeing is believing, and you are the sum of what you seem.
In Philadelphia in 1743 the immortal Benjamin Franklin, still a young printer but wise beyond his years, took the trouble to be seen on Market Street every day at noon, pushing a wheelbarrow stacked with reams of blank paper--not because the paper needed to go anywhere, but because Franklin was
promoting his reputation for diligence, industry, and thrift.
The times have changed but not the principle, which is why you always rent the Ferrari when visiting Los Angeles or run up a $500 phone bill when staying for three days in a New York hotel--to promote the impression that you are very busy, never out of touch with Rupert Murdoch or Michael Eisner.
Some of the country's conservative churches and liberal universities make invidious comparisons between appearances and what they call reality. The distinction is malicious and false, a cruel punishment visited upon thirteen generations of otherwise happy Americans by Puritan clergymen who objected to the display of gold lace.

First Impressions

The first impression is also the last impression, which is why it is important to always
wear clean shoes. You don't wish to be
remembered as the stain on the rug.

Choosing Companions

Seek out the acquaintance of people richer and more important than yourself and never take an interest in people who cannot do you any favors.
This rule admits of no exceptions. When Henry Kissinger was secretary of state, he put it plainly
to a woman seated next to him at a Washington
dinner party. "A great nation," he said, "is like an ambitious hostess. It cannot afford to invite unsuccessful people to its parties."
In the event that you become either rich
or famous you may collect friends in the way that Nike acquires prize athletes or Philip II of Spain collected dwarfs.

Optimism

Your fellow countrymen like upbeat, happy people, and if you come up against bad news--
a missing child, the loss of your right hand, your name left off the guest list for Barbra Streisand's birthday party--imitate the television anchorpersons, who manage to smile brightly when reading the reports of floods in Ohio or massacre in Rwanda.
Never forget that you are always having fun. The attitude is especially important when being
arraigned on charges of sodomy or tax evasion.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Random House Inc
• Data di pubblicazione: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0679426051
• ISBN 13: 9780679426059
• Rilegatura: Copertina rigida
• Numero edizione: 1
• Numero di pagine: 131