Management Mind Tricks, Vol. 2: The "Nut Up Over the Tiniest Thing" Strategy

I had a boss once that had a brilliant strategy for artificially building something up to a group. He would pick the smallest little thing that was wrong about it and just completely go nuts over this insignificant aspect. For example, if he were describing a development tool, he would rant for 5 minutes over how much he hated the editor fonts. The perception by the unaware group is "Wow, he's really going nuts over this tiny little thing -- his standards must be super high!". Of course, what he was doing was hiding the major things that were really messed up by focusing on a little imperfection. If this is done with conviction, you can convince people that their own experience is lying to them. "I must suck if I think this tool is no good, because Mr. High Standards really loves it!".

This technique can be applied to tools, methodologies, and even people. This is also a devastating marketing trick, especially if you are advocating something that isn't your own product.