10 Tips to Boost Your Career
June 19, 2009
These are his father’s top 10 tips:
1. Love Mondays. You may not know what your passion is now, but if you care about your work, you may gain passion for it.
2. Sweat the small stuff. You may not be able to control the economy, a lawsuit or losing a major account. But you can control how many paper clips you order if you care about that.
3. Tell the truth. There are no white lies, only white liars. The check is never in the mail. The late piece is never at the polisher. An employee never has a "stomach virus" - you just need a day. Honesty is the ultimate independence.
4. Be willing to do anything. There is no task beneath you, and on an interview profess that. It will mean more than any line item on your resume.
5. Be loyal. Loyalty is a prized commodity. Let your boss know at every opportunity that you have his/her back.
6. Embrace mistakes. Accepting blame allows you to learn to do things differently, and gives you the opportunity to grow. Employers hate every minute someone spends explaining how someone else screwed up.
7. Take risks. Every success you attain can be associated with a frightening risk. We need to take calculated risks, and never believe the only way to do things is the way we've been doing them forever.
8. Respect others. No one has more value because they have more wealth, or is above or below you because of cultural differences. Treat everyone the same until they give you reason not to. Getting along with others is important both for company harmony and increasing the performance of those around you.
9. Give back. It's not all about you. If you don't have money, you can give time, and if you have money, give both.
10. Stand up for your beliefs. Don't wait for a popular consensus that you can agree with or tell an interviewer what you think they want to hear. Let them know at the end of the day you're still a team player, willing to get behind the group decision.
