Most of us have had the unfortunate experience of getting crushed in a corporate meeting room. Swatted like a gnat, brushed aside, and put in our place. It's a humbling, but critical, rite of passage.
Navigating corporate power is like riding a bike - you have to fall a few times before you get the hang of it.
My first awful lesson came in the early '90s when I was a rising communications executive at a big auto company. We ...