TRADE SECRETS REVEALED
#147: HOW TO THROW A CURVEBALL
Its real-world effect and symbolism are both lauded and feared on baseball diamonds across this great nation. Yet over time, the curveball has found its rightful place in the modern business world, where bosses, clients and competitors must often be kept off balance - swinging without making contact - so that you, the practitioner, can move your strategic plans forward with ease. Is the curveball something you can introduce into your own corporate skill set? Are we at Great Jones willing and able to pull back the veil that separates you from special and invaluable knowledge? Oh yes. Yet curveball beginners must adhere to a regimen of close study and practice, or risk being branded “amateurs,” “wild cards” and “loose cannons.” Take what is revealed here and adapt it to your needs and prevailing conditions in presentations, team meetings and clutch one-on-ones. The low down: prepare to release what seems to be a straight-forward pitch, activating thumb and middle finger. Keep your grip hidden. After wind-up, snap the release, applying a twist at the last moment which will cause a diagonal or side to side spin. Spin direction is everything. That spin will cause a high pressure zone on top and low pressure air flow below, effecting a sudden veer downward, just before hitting target. Rotate forward on your pivot foot, plant and maintain control.
#812: WHAT REALLY IS AN “ATOMIC KNEE DROP”And CAN I HARNESS ITS POWER IN AN OFFICE ENVIRONMENT?
Shrouded in mystery since ancient times, the origins of the Atomic Knee Drop have now come glaringly to light and are being shared with you, the select few, thanks to painstaking investigation from our crack team in R&D. The maneuver known as the “knee drop” within the world of scientific wrestling is both formidable and versatile - a signature “closing move” for hall-of-fame grapplers who thirst for victory and long-term growth. The “Atomic” Knee Drop, however, appears to have achieved the visionary pairing of the knee drop with the awesome atom-splitting power of nuclear physics - devised in 1947 during a lover’s spat between Los Alamos scientist Jordy Swickle and his pro-wrestling paramour, Hawaiian-great Lei Lolani Kai. Translated from the squared circle of wrestling to today’s office environment, however, the Atomic Knee Drop becomes a whole new beast that must be understood and respected. In lesser hands, the Atomic Knee Drop has been misapplied in conference rooms to gain concensus from loose-cannon colleagues and clients that just won’t listen. Yes, the Atomic Knee Drop is a show-stopper, the quickest way to Yes in most negotiations. Yet the real question is not “can I harness its power” but “should I?” No trust can be engendered, no spirit of collaboration fostered when the threat of this chaotic force lurks in cubicles and team-building retreats. The wise will seek success-strategy tools elsewhere in Trade Secrets #238 and #1145.
#82: OPERATING THE GREAT JONES DECODER RING
You’ve received the Great Jones Decoder Ring in your mailbox under the stipulated alias. You’ve taken the “Sacred Oath of Secrecy” administered weekly on our loading dock. Now you’re ready to unlock impregnable codes that reveal timely, all-enlightening messages dispatched directly from the executive bunker here at headquarters. With quick work of the fingertips, you’re now privy to the “how to” of “what’s what” in this complex world. No ordinary set of cipher wheels, the Decoder Ring operates on two Swiss-engineered concentric circles, featuring each and every last one of the 26 letters in our glorious alphabet. Simply rotate the outer circle, substituting the letters of the message we’ve relayed with the corresponding letters on the inner circle, using the dynamic numerical character offset we’ve specified. Realize that every message you decode is red hot and actionable - once internalized, we recommend that you lay low in a dark room for at least 5-10 minutes before springing into action. Stand by for further instructions.