Standing up to a superior is like walking through a minefield, but you can do it without declaring war. Here are four scenarios to defend yourself without losing your grip or your professionalism:

1. In your performance review, your boss rates your handling of new responsibilities a four out of a possible five. Insulted that your efforts are not appreciated, you question the score. "Four is the highest I give. Nobody gets a five," he says.

   Solution to show that you want to stay and advance in your company:

   Ask him to add a note on the bottom of the form indicating that four is the best score given, five serving only as a motivator.

2. Your best idea has been approved but then is assigned to a coworker.

   Best save: Talk directly to your boss and ask why he delegated responsibility for the project to someone other than you. Stress that you are willing to improve or change any of your behavior to boost your performance so that you can regain control of your project and then make sure you live up to your word.

3. Your colleague has been badmouthing you to important clients. After you ignored this for awhile and counted on people considering the source, you now hear that some are taking his charges seriously. You are losing out.

   Best save: Go directly to that source. Tell your colleague that you are upset by his actions and ask him to stop slandering you. Take notes of his answers to show you're serious. If he doesn't apologize and change his act then you have to go to his boss with documents.

4. Your client hasn't paid her bills despite promises.

   Solution: Call your client and propose a biweekly payment plan. Don't be angry. She might not have the money to pay and feels bad. Make small talk but persist in enforcing some payment. If that doesn't work, consider settling for a smaller but full payment. Small claims court is the next-to-last resort. Going to a lawyer is Consolation: bad debts are deductible.