Statements that can make one feel good, till you discover the alternative meaning they bear.

Given your potential, you could do much more: On the face of it, a generous acknowledgement of a person's innate ability to do more. Peel the layers of the onion and you see a darker side emerge. This is a great way of making people feel bad that they have somehow let down their bosses and organisation by not working as hard they could have; and then making superhuman efforts to live up to their expectations purely as a gesture of loyalty and commitment for the organisation's trust in one's abilities. The upside for the bosses: they get much more for little investment. In some ways, reminiscent of the donkey that chases the dangling carrot held in front of its face and runs faster and faster.

You will have our complete support for the new project: A frank admission of either the no-hope nature of the project or constraints in budgetary support. The idea is to key up a person to deliver great results by doing the work of multiple folks, while also assuring him that the organisational backing can be taken for granted. More often than not, this support is mostly by way of intent. Much like the way in which crowds in India egg on their leaders by shouting the equivalent of: “We are with you all the way.” It will be wise not to look back and check if they are all there while a person is slogging it out. They would all have melted away as soon as the project encounters turbulence like the early morning dew that disappears when the sun rises.

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