Corporate Confidential

Corporoate Confidential

🚀 The Book in 3 Sentences

Its a book from the HR perspective about corporate, and is meant to clarify what working in large companies mean. It is a warning to the naive and the outspoken, and should be read by those who have not worked for a long time.

🎨 Impressions

The NUMBER 1 priority is not falling out of favor with your boss or stakeholder. That is all.

✍️ My Top Quotes

• Many employees mistakenly believe the law will provide them with protection from retaliatory or unfounded job loss. In many of today’s workplaces, this is nothing but a false sense of security.

• *Here are just a few signs that you might be in the process of being managed out:

  •  DANGER SIGN 1: You’re feeling grossly ignored, overworked, underpaid, or set up to be unsuccessful.
  • DANGER SIGN 2: Your boss doesn’t seem to like you or pay attention to you the way he does to others.
  • DANGER SIGN 3: Your office is moved to an undesirable location or you are regularly given the assignments no one else wants.
  • DANGER SIGN 4: You’re being given impossible tasks with unrealistic deadlines.
  • DANGER SIGN 5: Your boss surprises you with a scathing performance review.
  • DANGER SIGN 6: The company brings in someone to “help” you with your work and you find yourself training her in the nuances of your position and tasks.
  • DANGER SIGN 7: Your company moves you from department to department so you never have a chance to complete anything.*

• The cold truth is, many companies would rather incur bad feelings than be faced with the possibility of a lawsuit, a messy firing, or keeping an employee they believe could become a liability.

• Performance-improvement programs are too often nothing but a smoke screen, a protective mechanism. This type of action is much more about an employee’s behavior than “work performance” or “expectations.” Standard work performance issues usually only require a casual discussion with your boss, not meetings with HR and paperwork for you to sign.

• So, if you are in one of these programs you can safely assume that you’ve done something wrong they can’t, and won’t, openly talk to you about. They are not looking to help you “improve,” they are moving you out. In many cases these programs are nothing more than an excuse to gather documentation so the company can legally fire you while providing the appearance that they’ve “made an effort” to help you improve

• If your boss has put you in one of these programs and is documenting weekly meetings, hanging over your shoulder, and constantly on the phone with HR, it’s over. You have lost the support of your company and it’s not coming back. Neither is your job. Very rarely do employees survive this particular gauntlet, and in my personal opinion, you shouldn’t bother trying.

• The human-resources department at your company is not what you’ve been told. Whatever they are calling themselves these days—human resources, personnel, partner resources, employee assistance, the employee concierge—they are not there to help the employees.

• HR’s primary function is not to help employees, it is to protect the company from its employees.

• Only go to HR after you’ve tried and documented several attempts to speak with your boss about a serious issue. Serious means a situation that, if not resolved, will cause you to end your employment with the company.

• The trick to counteracting age discrimination is to manage the negative perceptions at the heart of employment age discrimination, and emphasize the most desirable traits associated with your age group. The truth is, age doesn’t have to impact your career unless you do something to reinforce the fears your company associates with it.

• Avoid the appearance of youth and immaturity.

• You are there for the sole purpose of making your boss successful. It doesn’t matter that you don’t like her, didn’t pick her as your boss, or don’t agree with anything she does. If she doesn’t feel you’re providing the support she desires, she can and will retaliate. She has full authority to do whatever she needs to achieve the high-performance team she desires.

• All managers are in a precarious position, squeezed from both sides and operating in a glass house. They will react very strongly to someone they think might be trying to throw stones. They will retaliate, and the company will back them.

• If you feel that everything your boss does is horrible—fabulous! You now have a perfect example of how not to do things when you become a boss. Write them down. Remember them. Knowing what you will never do when you become the boss can be extremely helpful when you move into that position. But have some compassion for the horrible bosses. They

• If you feel that everything your boss does is horrible—fabulous! You now have a perfect example of how not to do things when you become a boss. Write them down. Remember them. Knowing what you will never do when you become the boss can be extremely helpful when you move into that position. But

• Don’t ever put anything negative or complaining in an e-mail—your public voice, remember? This is where most employees lose their footing. They believe e-mail is private, so they can let down their guard and say what they really think.

• What no company will tell you is, burdening your employer with your family life because it’s more convenient for you is dangerous. Companies hire you, not your children and personal life, and it will scare them if you allow the two to blend together too much in the workplace.

• Do you ever wonder if companies discriminate against parents in the hiring process? Sometimes, in some companies, they do. Single parents and those with families are often secretly passed over for those with similar skills sans family life. Why? Because companies know those employees can work late, can be counted on to go to Albuquerque at the last minute, and will be concentrating on raising profits rather than raising kids. I know this is deeply offensive to most people—and that’s exactly why companies don’t talk about it.

• If your children, no matter how adorable, misbehave while they are around people you work with, your image will suffer. Even if it’s those tricky “bring your child to work days” or the company picnic, you may not want to risk it unless you can ensure that your children will be perfect angels that day—all day.

• How do you ask for a promotion? The truth is, you don’t. Unlike raises, promotions are offered, not solicited.

• The truth is, internal promotions are usually locked up, decided long before they’re offered publicly to the employees.

• Understand that in performance reviews, it doesn’t matter how you think you’re doing, what matters is how your boss thinks you’re doing.

• Regular meetings Set up regular meetings with your boss to find out what’s most important to her, and how she likes things done. It doesn’t matter if you do your work perfectly by your standards; to get a good review score your work has to be done to your boss’s standards and preferences.

• Don’t talk about your review Instead, focus on expectations, priorities, and your boss’s preferences. Discussing priorities helps ensure that you’re focusing on the things that are most important to your boss while providing a forum for educating her on your workload and responsibilities.

• Most employees believe a rumormonger can’t hurt them if the allegations are false, but that’s actually not the case. When it comes to backstabbers and underminers, it doesn’t matter if their allegations are true or false. What matters is whether your company believes them.

• Many employees believe the higher you go in an organization, the more protected you are, but the opposite is actually true. The higher you go, the more exposed, and the juicier a target, you become.

• Most employees don’t realize their reputation is something that needs to be carefully managed. Most treat it as something that happens along the way, and may or may not be accurately reflective of their true values. A reputation is not only something you should be actively crafting, it is your insurance policy for your career.

• Most employees do not take the time to learn their rights, and even fewer understand what needs to be done to truly protect themselves. The first thing you need to realize is that you could have accidentally done something that made your company react in self-defense against you.

• NEW BOSS ALERT 1: Be willing to bend. Employees always want a new boss to fit into their way of doing things. It won’t happen. Instead, know that you have to adapt, change, and fit in to your new boss’s ideas of how things should be done.

• NEW BOSS ALERT 2: Take responsibility for establishing rapport. Watch the tendency to carry over any dynamics of the previous relationship. If your old boss liked you and you’d developed a good rapport, the tendency is to assume the new one will feel the same.

• NEW BOSS ALERT 3: Put out the welcome mat. This type of transition is never easy, it’s natural to feel resentful having to make so many changes on another’s whim.

• NEW BOSS ALERT 4. Withhold well-intended advice. As you begin to offer support and information, there’s a dangerous tendency to offer advice—about how things are done, what the politics are, gossip, etc. Don’t do it. Give no advice, no opinions, only support. Why? Because you don’t want to tip your hand in the wrong direction and blow it.

• At some point in your career you’re bound to have a confrontation of some sort or another. Whether it concerns something said in a meeting, a private discussion with a boss, or an argument over who ate whose lunch, it’s important to remember that when dealing with confrontations no one in your company (your boss) cares who’s right or who’s wrong.

• The truth is, companies don’t care if you make mistakes or have an occasional failure. Everyone makes mistakes, from your boss all the way up to the CEO. Mistakes are actually a good sign. It shows that you’re learning, trying new things, and actively pushing the envelope. What they do care about is that you deal with any mistakes responsibly, take ownership, show that you’ve learned from it and won’t do it again. Creating a facade of perfection while laying land mines for those who follow is not how you build trust.

• The truth is, the people who are there every day are the ones who keep their positions open and remain critical to the success of the company. So the rule is, only one week at a time (preferably six months apart) and never more than two weeks at a time.

• Because companies look at how you dress as an indication of what kind of thinker you are. They can’t help it, it’s human nature. Your company sees a sloppy dresser and assumes he or she is a sloppy thinker. When they see someone who is put together well and takes pride in their appearance it is assumed that he or she is a solid thinker. It is also shows he or she cares about the company’s image and is poised to be a quality representative.

• At work, your dress should always be conservative. If you can, it should match as closely as possible the style of those at the top.

• Raise awareness. To get more money you must prove you are worth more, not that you need or deserve more. Collect your documentation, do your research, and present your case—and only once a year.

• Promote yourself. Promotions are offered, not asked for. If you have to ask for it, you’ve already lost it. Position yourself for the next promotion before one comes up, not after.

• Perfect performance reviews. These are managed not earned. It doesn’t matter how well you think you’re doing. All that matters is what your boss thinks. Reviews are completely subjective, so actively manage your boss’s perceptions of your efforts and steer the process toward a top score for yourself every time.

• Backstabbers and rumormongers. The best defense is a solid reputation. Your reputation is something you must actively manage. It’s your best protection in the workplace. The only way to avoid damage is to make sure no one will believe the rumor.

• Conflict. When faced with a conflict, resist the temptation to defend yourself. De-escalate the situation by staying calm, focused, and making sure you understand the real issue. They don’t need resolution on the spot, they only need to know they’ve been heard. Go back to them with a well-crafted solution later.

• Protecting your company’s image. Companies work diligently on the image they present to the marketplace, and their employees can either help them maintain that carefully crafted image or erode it.

• A supportive and enthusiastic cheerleader for the company will gain attention faster and more effectively than any other method.

• Companies really do listen to, and care about, the issues of some employees more than others. If you are an avid supporter of the company, and your boss, and have earned their trust, you have then earned the right to ask for things. And get them.

• Have you noticed that many high-level employees have sales in their backgrounds? They either have had sales training or are natural salespeople. Some of the most valued, sought-after, and rewarded skills in the workplace just happen to be many of the same things salespeople are taught.

• Sales-trained employees tend to be better at effective communication, persuasion, negotiation, public speaking, networking, and presenting ideas. They are better able to connect with people, inspire confidence, and exude charisma.

• There are countless sales-training seminars out there. Take one. Don’t worry about the “what” (the particular thing they may be teaching you how to sell), just concentrate on the “how.” Learn the basic techniques of salesmanship and persuasive representation.

• The world of achievement has always belonged to the optimist. The short route to sabotaging any innovation is to listen to a new idea and say: ‘it will never work.’ If history teaches us anything it is that the dreamers, the visionaries, the optimists are the ones who got things done. Whether it was building the pyramids, sailing into uncharted seas, overthrowing monarchies, or inventing a microchip, idealists and enthusiasts got the job done.

• Companies love consistency. It is, coincidentally, also the one thing that is needed to make all these secrets work for you. Your actions and words must be consistent with each other or you will create an air of distrust. Some of these steps will give you immediate results; others will not come until the company is sure you are sincere.

• There’s a dirty secret about promotions no one talks about: many internal promotions fail within the first year and are either fired or demoted!

• The truth is, it’s easier to move up in a company than to move back down.

• Stop “proving” and start providing. What are you providing? Service. Coming in with a service mind-set will grease the wheels for all you wish to accomplish. It will provide you with the most important priorities for you and your team to focus on for maximum success. It will keep others from competing with you or working against you. It will create a loyal team.

• Most new managers ignore the other teams and departments they have to work with until they need something. This is a good way to become an obstacle instead of creating supportive partnerships. Other departments and managers will be naturally distrustful of the new guy coming in. Some may even work against you if they become fearful.

• The best way to defuse this tendency is to go to them first, offering yourself and your team in service to them.

• New managers tend to hold on too tight, thinking they are expected to know how to do everything. They don’t use their resources effectively or take the time to develop their team. They end up doing all the work as their team members are left on the outside. What happens to these managers? They get overwhelmed, burned out, and produce at lower levels than expected. They eventually get so far behind they never catch up.

• There is usually a productivity buffer zone for a team after a new promotion where the company does not expect the highest level of production possible.

• The trap of doing it yourself, or thinking that you just don’t have enough time to train others to do it, is that you will never have a functional team and will always be overworked and overstressed. You will feel a lack of support that will frazzle you to the end.

• You will make your employees loyal for life if you stand up for them. Always. Especially in front of others—even if you think, or know, they’ve done something wrong. Assume that if they made a mistake, you have not trained them well enough. Either way it’s an issue to be dealt with in private between you and the employees—no one else. Admitting that one of your employees may have a problem or issue tells people you don’t know how to manage. And not sticking up for your people erodes their confidence in you.

• Any boss can spout advice and bark orders. Taking the time to honor and develop your employees is the mark of a leader. When team members feel honored and empowered, they produce for themselves instead of carrying out directives. They work from inspiration and excitement with personal ownership instead of on autopilot carrying out orders that seem meaningless.

• If you’re using the performance-evaluation form as a tool for team development and feedback you will lose your team. Managers tend to think feedback and development of their employees has to be a big, serious, formal event. This causes them to avoid it, allowing problems and failed expectations to fester—until, of course, it comes time for the yearly performance reviews. At this point even the most evasive manager suddenly feels the need to address all the issues that have been bothering him, providing feedback so the employee can improve.

• Every time you surprise your employees, you breed distrust

• A formal review should always be a nonevent

• Small steps build high performance, not big ones.

• Always focus on the situation, not the employee.

• Your employees don’t work for you, you work for them. You are not in power, you are in service. You are now responsible for these people, for their success, for the productivity and value of the department, and to some degree to the success of the company as a whole. Never allow yourself to think of your position as one of power or you will have lost the game.

• LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP. Don’t assume a promotion would be better simply because it’s higher. Examine carefully, do your research, know what you’re in for, and don’t be afraid to pass it up if it’s not right for you or your goals.

• Don’t just go to work every day hoping for the best; put all the tools at your disposal to work for you. You deserve the highest recognition for your efforts, not the brick wall of hidden agendas that stops us in our tracks. Too many people allow the system to dictate their career path, but the truth is, you are the one with all the power. You have the power to make choices that will open doors for you or close them. You have the power to make your company feel comfortable with you as a high level leader, or feel threatened enough to force you out. Companies aren’t the mysterious entities they seem, they are responding to you and your actions.

• Compensation surveys and information on competitive salary information. My favorites are www.salary.com, www.careerjournal.com, and www.salaryexpert.com.