Eye Opener lessons for Corporate World:

The biggest lesson?

These people at the top, they are there for a reason. The path you’re walking on now, they’ve walked the same in the same shoes, sipping in the same heat to only get more spacious, calmer and knowledgeable with time, persistence and hardwork.

They’ve worked hard to reach there. Boss just doesn’t sit and rot the chair. His/her head is in a constant merry-go-round finding the solutions and taking decisions. Respect them!

Make a genuine effort to help others who need some help from you specific to your knowledge or skill. The cycle of Karma will enable you to get the same help when you need the same.

Never use capital case or offensive words in any written communication that can be used as an evidence of your unprofessional behavior and be used against you.

A simple list

1. DTA: Don’t Trust Anyone, especially Management and HR.
2. Shit travels up. If I complain to my boss, then he’ll complain to his, and so on. Never complain about your superiors to peers or staff.
3. Nobody works for free. If you’re doing work, get paid for it.
4. Stay out of the huddle. Every office has a group of people who congregate at the water cooler, break room, or cafeteria. The sole purpose of these groups is to commiserate and brew negativity.
5. Your manager is not your friend.
6. HR is there solely to protect the management and the company. Woe unto you if you think that they give one shit about you.
7. HR is generally useless and underperforms. Do not expect their support.
8. If you work in IT, then you need an exit strategy. Your goal should be to reach the management level as soon as possible. There is no upward potential in being an individual contributor; the pace of change is vicious and unrelenting, and it is inevitable that you will simply be unable to keep up. Do you see a lot of senior IT talent in their 50’s and 60’s? Nope.
9. If you want to make real money, then you need to be managing people.
10. Everything is about sales. If you are not directly tied to generating income, then you’re seen as an expense or cost center. That’s bad for business — and bad for your career. Income generators keep their jobs. Expenses get reorganized or cut.
11. Interview carefully. The person directly managing you will make or break your career with the company.
12. Work less, not more. You are paid based upon a 40-hour workweek — not a 50-hour or a 60-hour one. It is your boss’s problem to figure out how to staff and manage resources effectively.
13. Avoid personal debt like the plague. Debt makes you a slave to your income, which in turn makes you a slave to your employer. Your goal should be to be able to walk away from any job, at any time, for any reason.
14. Network. I cannot stress this enough. No one gets jobs by applying to company websites, because HR and Recruiting are broken. Your best opportunities will come from people you know.
15. Maintain your integrity. Always do what you say you will do. Never over-promise and under-deliver.
16. Create compelling, concise content that is uniquely your own and that is recognized as such.
17. Don’t become complacent. Everyone is replaceable and will eventually be replaced.
18. Never share with colleagues any information that can be used against you. They will do so, eventually. Try to recall the Miranda warnings on TV: Anything you say can and will be used against you…
19. Your boss knows less about how to be a manager than what is required. Managers are professional politicians.
20. Your current company doesn’t give a fuck about you. Companies act in their own self-interest.
21. You should be advancing in role, title and pay level every 2–3 years as a junior to mid-level employee, every 3–4 years as a mid-level to senior employee, and every 4–5 years as an executive. If you are not, then find a new job.
22. If your company doesn’t pay bonuses or cost-of-living adjustments, then leave. No one can afford failure to keep pace with inflation, and high performance should always be rewarded.
23. Pay attention to your employee benefits, particularly if you have a family. Companies have gotten stingy, and you can end up paying huge sums for deductibles and for out-of-pocket and uncovered expenses.
24. Remote work (telecommuting) may be convenient, but it limits your potential growth. No one ever scored a big promotion from being in a remote-only role. In-person office relationships are critical.
25. Age discrimination is real. Your chances of finding work after 50 diminish every year. The exceptions are management positions at the director and management level, for which an older age is expected.

Always remember your goodness will pay you back one day!

Just Hold Your Vision & Trust the PROCESS :)