Secret Sessions

It’s all about what you know these days. The way things are done on the remote sites, procedures to install, technical terms to use, people to speak to and so on. It’s the main challenge in the information age. There is too much information to understand, assess and internalize. All too often it is the influx of so much data that the brain shuts down. So one goes about trying artificial means to keep up with the pace such as indulging in too much food, drink and movies. Or one resorts to escape, looking for all sorts of distraction and drink to chill out and give the mind a momentary relief.


Probably this rush for information is the main cause of stress in today’s age. Yes that is the main culprit, to keep watching CNN, MSNBC, Fox Televisions; to know about the political news, the stock market, and investor news so one is up to date in conversation with your office folks. Or likely to know where to put your money, in the right area and keep updated in recent trends or otherwise some important news (like Lehman Brothers closing) will suddenly leave you penniless. So the constant drive to be informed and be able to react accordingly to any new information.


Conversely, your office mates schedule ‘secret sessions’ which keep the majority of the department clueless on what is going on. It is a way to keep failures hidden or any insecurities or doubts away from the criticizing masses. Otherwise, the ultimate fate is being the butt of jokes by the local David Letterman or Conan O’ Brian or Jay Leno on your perceived shortcomings. Watching your failures dissected in television is the worst fate that can befall politicians today. So the ‘secret session’ continues under cover of expediency and efficiency but really knowledge is kept within the cabal.

Sometimes one does penetrate the secrecy and get to participate in the sessions. But it is guarded like being under probation while your bona fides are checked and your character examined. This is how office cliques and cabals begin, where corporate knowledge is kept hidden and not managed. So one tries to get his information fix from the mainstream press; watching television shows like CNN to keep him in the know. Oftentimes it is the cabal that loses touch, assured in their own inbred reasoning. So those not part of the inner clique gets stressed out , trying to learn more and out smart the cabal and out flank the ‘secret sessions.’