The following are my rules for surviving in business. (Note that I did not say “succeeding,” which is an entirely different matter.) These rules may work more broadly, but by “business” I mean primarily large business, which is a particular species of employment, to which I’ve been subjected for 27 of the last 33 years.I stole at least two of these from someplace long forgotten, and there isn’t much originality in the others either. This is certainly not a comprehensive list – just some things I’m fairly certain are true. I realize it’s kind of a pathetically short list after so many years in the workplace. Maybe you all have some suggestions for additions.
- If you wait to act until you are sure there is a problem, it is probably too late to do anything about it.
- High margin businesses are great, but they will hide a plethora of problems, give cover to a lot of specious expenses, and make mediocre managers look good.
- Most people’s biggest liability is their greatest strength taken too far.
- All things worth doing are not worth doing well. It’s better to act than to study. It is better to try five things quickly, even if it means making four mistakes, than to do one thing carefully. Three singles are better than one home run.
- Communication is everything. It is the mortar that holds the organization together.
- The hardest skill position to fill in any business is a good salesman.
- Enthusiasm is the most valuable quality to bring to the workplace.
- People work for many reasons. Money is only one of them, and it is rarely the number one reason.
- You manage things. You lead people.
- No one can do it alone. Success requires that everyone be a contributor. The most important thing you can do is hire the right people.
- Good ideas are a dime a dozen. Executing well is the key to success. (Inspiration without execution is hallucination.)
- Find something you do well, and then do more of it; e.g., if you are a good writer, find work where good writing is valued.
- It’s easier to apologize than to ask permission.
- Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, and then beat you with experience.
- Don't be irreplaceable - if you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted.
- In the history of the world, no one has ever washed a rental car.
- Never trust the bosses; this does not mean they are all evil – but that’s the way to bet.
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6 comments:
The last 4 are my favorite.
hey...did you forget something about maintaining a sense of humor?
And....never let 'em see ya sweat?
Glad you didn't say anything about taking wooden nickels. That always makes me out to be a rube.
If you take each statement, they refer to another level of collected wisdom.
For example, #1 refers to timing. The I Ching says that as site is of primary importance to a house, timing is in human interaction.
Or #2: beware of mistaking having been born on 3rd base for having hit a triple.
Or #3: gigantism is a dead end in evolution for most species.
Wait, I think your boss is calling you into his office...
"Never love a company it'll never love you back."
I've worked in small businesses most of my working life and these bromides are even more true there. Especially the one about not trusting the bosses. Every time you want to think of it as a business they want to convince you it's a family and vice versa. Funny how that always happens when you want to talk about money.
All things worth doing are not worth doing well. It’s better to act than to study. It is better to try five things quickly, even if it means making four mistakes, than to do one thing carefully. Three singles are better than one home run.
Although I run a mid-size business, this one is really the key. We've always promoted people who step up and take the inititive. Assuming that we didn't hire a fool, I'd rather the person do something than to sit and wait because of a fear of doing something wrong.
Good comments all. I wanted to expand a bit on the “don’t trust the bosses” dictum, as so much else flows from this. (As an aside – KG, I mean no offense to you as I know you are the big boss man at your place.)
Think of a pyramid with the lower 1/3, which is actually more than ½ the total mass, occupied by boss type #1: the clueless. These guys are basically benign, but since they don’t really have any idea what they are doing they are just as likely to hurt you as help you.
Just up from there in the next 1/3 are the self-centered. They are not evil but their motto is, “me first, and if you get hurt, those are just the breaks of the game.”
Finally, two groups are nestled in the top 1/3 of the pyramid and share that space equally. Therefore, you’re about equally likely to work for one as the other: benevolent, effective leaders, and clinical sociopaths.
In the final tally you need to avoid more than 50% of the management-types you encounter in life, and that is before you even consider the cost/benefit equation in which, in my experience, the amount of pain administered in a bad encounter will almost certainly be greater than the benefits bestowed in a good encounter.
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