Lessons from the corporate world

1. Don’t challenge your superior or your immediate boss publicly. Avoid arguments with your immediate boss, and give them room to look like they’ve won the arguments.
2. Always keep time, and mostly, report to work earlier than everybody else, and leave later than everybody else.
3. Always be friendly with your fellow staff, big or small, and be in good terms with your immediate boss and other senior staff.
4. Honesty is the key in the corporate world. In the corporate world, they regard honesty more than education or technical skills.
5. Demonstrate leadership qualities by showing that you can accept responsibilities, lead by example, and mostly, work with minimal or no supervision.
6. Acquire cutting-edge skills, specifically for the job you do, but mostly, understand the business like the back of your hand. This will make you indispensable.
7. Work smart, and always finish your assignments earlier. If you find yourself with no work to do, promptly ask your immediate boss what you can do, or at least report to your boss about what you’re working on.
8. Even if you have a point to make, don’t make your immediate boss lose face in front of other staff. Discuss any ingenious ideas with your boss so that the ideas appear to come from your boss—not you.
9. The corporate world is like the military. Obeying orders without asking too many questions attracts higher respect than being smart.
10. Even if you come up with ingenious ideas, stage it such that the credit goes to your immediate boss—not you.
11. Avoid asking for a salary raise. Let the initiative come from your boss.
12. Play teamwork, and even if you conceive a creative idea, always give credit to the team.
13. Always ask smart questions, which will not entangle your boss. Offer tangible solutions instead of criticism.
14. Don’t be rude to your work colleagues, and especially to your immediate boss.
15. Corporate meetings are just an excuse to break from the routine, and escape the work stress or discuss crises. Don’t criticize them or avoid them. Instead, just go along with them, and try to be as creative as possible. Always weigh your points before you say anything.
16. Be smart. Don’t be overly ambitious, but maintain a low profile. Don’t brag or be a loudmouth, especially when you’ve won a corporate battle of sorts.
17. Commit to lifelong understanding of the business, and especially the customers. Increase your knowledge by listening to the external world and reading books.
18. Aim more, for a salary raise than for a promotion, for a promotion without a salary raise is meaningless—unless you want to change jobs. When you do it, make sure you have something to show to your boss, like how you’ve been able to bring in more value by your initiatives, for example.
19. Life is very unpredictable in the corporate world. Always live in the corporate world as though you’ll lose your job the next day. Live on the edge, but don’t discuss it with your friends or colleagues.