The Brosseau Syndrome

The Brosseau Syndrome is very interesting to study on a strategic level. What is the Brosseau Syndrome? I'm sure you've encountered it at least once in your life.

Have you ever met someone that seams to do nothing, does minimal efforts what so ever and they just happen to have what ever they want from life and/or from people? That's the Brosseau Syndrome. And I am not talking here about the people that works hard for several years in shadows, accumulating failure over failure and then succeeding. For those people we only see their success and people says "oh my god they're so lucky!" but they don' know how many work and sacrifice they have put in their endeavor. No, no. I'm truely talking about the people that genuinely does nothing or not much, and they end up with everything.

They're the ones who applies for a dream job and just happen to have it on the first or second interview. They're the ones who get the dream house by the river because they just happen to pass by while the house holder was planting the "for sale" pole. They're the ones that gets the corner offices jobs doing minimal jobs...

There is something to be studied there. There is two things that I see up front. First they are good at timing. Second their mind works with what I call the "magic thinking".

Timing: I guess this is something that can be learned. You need to be aware and become ultra sensitive of your environment. The slight change in opinion, people, thoughts, balance of power, etc... can be an opportunity. A thin opening in the door which is all you need to gently put your foot in the door and make your way.

Magic thinking: Speaking of "putting your foot in the door", the Broseau Syndrome people are very good at that. They are like Nike, they "Just Do it!" For us mortals, we keep a polite distance. We don't want to disturb or anoy. So we don't ask, we don't do, we don't demand, we don't tell. The Broseau Syndrome people, just get in with a light head and genuinely aim for what ever they want. And perhaps its a reason why they get it.

I remember once I was in a restaurant with a female collegue that had the "Magic thought" hability. When the waitress came to take our order my female collegue, with a big smile, asked "I wonder if there is any specials for birthdays? It's my birthday today". And the waitress answered: "why of course! It is 50% off for your birthday". See! Me, on my birthday I wouldn't have dared to ask such a question. But my collegue did. And she got her way.

Why do I call it the Broseau Syndrome? I named it after Ruth Ellen Brosseau a freshly elected deputy for the NPD party at the Canadian national government.

Miss Brosseau applied to be elected in a region that she had never visited. A mostly french speaking region, miss Brosseau speaks very few french. She is a young single mother living in her father's house. In a country where it is the general belief that, to be in politics one must have experience and a Resume as long as the left arm. She's a student or was a student not long ago. She never ever campaigned in the region she applied to be elected and a few weeks before the elections, she took a vacation to Las Vegas. And guess what? She got elected! Thank you very much people of the new circonscription, you just landed her a job for the next four years at over $100 000 per year salary.

Now I have just one thing to say to miss Brosseau: Congratulation!

As I said in the beginning of this post, there is people who has it. The Life seams to take a pleasure to please them. And I am sure that there is a behavior patern there that can be scrutinized and replicated.