In 1944, the CIA published a guide called the Simple Sabotage Field Manual. It was a blueprint for everyday citizens in occupied territories during World War II to quietly disrupt enemy operations. The manual is fascinating. It doesn’t talk about blowing up bridges or cutting communication lines. Instead, it focuses on something far simpler: slowing down the machine from the inside.

When I first read the manual, I laughed. Then I paused. Then I started connecting dots. Some of the strategies in that manual were eerily familiar. Not because I had seen them in a historical documentary, but because I had seen them—daily—in modern organizations. It hit me: companies today often sabotage themselves in ways straight out of this old wartime playbook.

Read the manual here.

Sabotage Strategy #1: Make Meetings Your Battlefield

The manual suggests prolonging discussions unnecessarily and advocating for lengthy speeches during meetings. The goal is to stall decision-making and confuse participants. Sounds absurd, right? But think about it: how many times have you sat in a meeting where people debated minutiae for hours while the big decisions were sidelined?

One company I worked with had weekly strategy meetings that spanned three hours. These weren’t brainstorming sessions; they were exercises in endurance. Managers took turns pontificating on their pet projects while others politely nodded. By the end, no real decisions were made, but everyone left with an inbox full of follow-up emails—just to keep the illusion of progress alive. Meetings like this are sabotage, plain and simple. They’re a productivity sinkhole masquerading as collaboration.