the OSS' simple sabotage manual
Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2010 6:29 pm
http://www.codeproject.com/Lounge.aspx? ... x3491158xx
so much has now become so clear...In 1944 the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) published the "SIMPLE SABOTAGE FIELD MANUAL" for use by field operatives. The section on "General Interference with Organisations and Production" (starting on page 28 [32 in PDF numbering]) is hilarious in a very Dilbert sort of way.
http://svn.cacert.org/CAcert/CAcert_Inc ... Manual.pdf[^]
(a) Organizations and Conferences
(1) Insist on doing everything through "channels." Never permit short-cuts to be taken in order to expedite decisions.
(2) Make "speeches." Talk as frequently as possible and at great length. Illustrate your "points" by long anecdotes and accounts of personal experiences. Never hesitate to make a few appropriate "patriotic" comments.
(3) When possible, refer all matters to committees, for "further study and consideration."
Attempt to make the committees as large as possible — never less than five.
(4) Bring up irrelevant issues as frequently as possible.
(5) Haggle over precise wordings of communications, minutes, resolutions.
(6) Refer back to matters decided upon at the last meeting and attempt to re-open the question of the advisability of that decision.
(7) Advocate "caution." Be "reasonable" and urge your fellow-conferees to be "reasonable" and avoid haste which might result in embarrassments or difficulties later on.
Later:
(d)(8) If possible, join or help organize a group for presenting employee problems to the management. See that the procedures adopted are as inconvenient as possible for the management, involving the presence of a large number of employees at each presentation, entailing more than one meeting for each grievance, bringing up problems which are largely imaginary, and so on.