Charles Moyo on social/political antenna

Dear Gary,

I like your example of the ease with which one moves through a crowd with the help of an antenna. In your example the antenna is the seeing device. It makes it possible for one to see where they are going and what obstacles lay in their way. While the antenna is a good direction finding/maintaining device it does not necessarily guarantee smooth passage through a crowd in the example you gave. Yes it shows the direction but it does not show one how to get to the other side of the crowded room without bumping into other people.

When it comes to efficiency, I think the most efficient way of getting to the other side of a crowded room would be to have a situation where the people give way to you as you move across the room. This unfortunately only happens with people like Royalty and others of similar social standing. The Queen, for example, would be announced on arrival and everyone would immediately make room for her to get to her seat which is usually conspicuous enough for all in the room to see.

This basically means that all in the room know where across the room the Queen will sit and all those in her route of passage will obligingly make room for her to get to her seat. She can then chose to either get to her seat in the shortest time possible or to rather majestically stroll to her seat as she enjoys the attention and applause that usually accompanies royal strides.

Is there a way of mastering the political game to the extent that one can move across a crowded room with as much ease as Royalty would? That, to me, is where we would all like to be.

What would be the political equivalent of the announcement of the Queen's arrival?

Politics usually, if not always, seeks to make one's passage across the room difficult. What is it that one can do to turn the politics into obliging willingness to make way for one's passage across the room?