better business blog

Tips and stories to add value to you and your organisation

Petard Hoisting

31 May 2015

When you’re grinding away at a siege and need to blow a hole in the castle wall you need a petard. This is a cone shaped device full of gunpowder. To hoist means to blow up, so to be hoist with your own petard means to be blown up by your own bomb.

Of course for most of us not still in the fourteenth century our siege days are over and petard hoisting is used when we trip over our own comments. 

When coaching recently I invited a client to rethink a nervous no and say yes to a new opportunity and he reflected and took it. We then chatted and I was offered the opportunity to play my bass guitar with a live drummer (instead of a drum machine). Tricky one that as being worried I’d show myself up I wanted to say no. However, having just extolled the virtues of saying yes it felt that I had to go with the flow. Hoist with my own petard!

I said yes and booked a date for a jam.

And, well the thing is it was fun. My drummer friend was impressed and I found that I was a much better bass player than I realised.

Sometimes being hoist with our own petard can lead to fun and a healthy chunk of rock n roll. Not arf pop pickers!

Next week: Serious Ukelele