Richard Saunders wrote of a teleconference he participated in at the start of the year, his first since being made a member of the grandly named “Corporate Standards Selection Committee.” During the conference he noticed that:
Most members of the committee were silent and I could hear typing in the background which seemed to indicate that most folks weren’t really listening.
I once worked for a large company where typing during teleconferences was normal, since each participant was also engaged in simultaneous IM side-conversations with other participants. Much scheming, gossip and complaining went on in the background, while everyone politely pretended it wasn’t happening.
At that company, IM revolutionised teleconferencing: the teleconference become the formal arena for powerplays orchestrated through shadowy IM interactions. The real decision makers were probably the ones that didn’t actually say anything because they were too busy manipulating others into talking for them.
My advice to Richard is to be paranoid. Find out if his committee plays these teleconferencing IM games, and, if they do, join one of the IM circles and make friends quickly and quietly.