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Butter them up?

Similar forms of subtle flattery could also help employees move up the corporate ladder, he said. The more effective forms of buttering up bosses and influential peers were disguised, and thus less likely to be seen as scheming or manipulative, according to the study.

Some of his recommendations for effective buttering up of bosses and influential peers:

- Do not express admiration directly. One manager interviewed in the study suggested couching a compliment in a question by asking, “How were you able to pull off that strategy so successfully?”

- Another strategy is to preface flattery by emphasizing your target’s modesty. Some examples from the study: “You’re going to hate me for saying this, but...” or “I don’t want to embarrass you, but...”

- Spreading compliments about the person you wish to influence to others in his or her network, with the hope that word gets back to your contact.

- Telling your manager if you share similar values or belong to similar groups, such as a religious organization or political party.

- How to butter up bosses, AP, August 24, 2010.

3. FOR decades Republicans and Democrats alike have bemoaned “frontloading”: the unseemly scramble among states to move their presidential primaries or caucuses earlier and earlier in election year, in the hope of exerting greater influence over the national result. As states such as Iowa and New Hampshire, which jealously guard the prerogative of going first, respond in kind, the point at which the nomination tends to be decided has retreated from June to March. For a time it looked as if the 2008 primary season might actually slide backwards into 2007, steeping even the Christmas holidays in election mania. In the end, Iowa went first on January 3rd. But that may have marked frontloading’s high tide. Although a few states are still trying to jump in early this time round, a concerted effort by the national leadership of both the Republicans and Democrats, and a desperate squeeze on state budgets, may actually succeed in delaying the primary schedule for once.