Category: Corporate Games

Being Great At Your Job Won’t Save It

There’s a myth
in society
that doing a great job,
that caring,
that working really hard
for an employer
will give us
job security.

I don’t think
that myth EVER reflected reality
but it certainly
doesn’t reflect reality today.

As we discussed yesterday,
salespeople are losing their jobs
because they are landing huge deals,
because they are doing their jobs
TOO well.

Doing our jobs terribly
will likely result
in being let go also.

As would doing our jobs not stellar,
not terribly,
but just well enough.

There is NO job security.

We should assume
we’re daily workers.

Negotiate for the highest
base salary we can.
Use the benefits immediately.
Do the things we want to do
through the employer
as soon as possible.

Save, if we can,
for the jobless days ahead of us.
Invest in financial vehicles,
in our own side businesses,
in ourselves.

Have an identity outside of the job.

Put YOURSELF first,
far ahead of your employer.

We no longer have job security
through an employer.

But we CAN have life security.
Focus on achieving THAT goal.

The Dirt File

With all the firings and layoffs happening
in almost all industries,
it is time for another reminder
to keep a dirt file
on everyone in power
at the company you work for.

That means your manager,
your manager’s manager,
human resources,
executives,
others.

This dirt file contains
documentation,
especially on the dirty
or unethical things
these people in power do or say.

And they ALL do or say things
that could possibly get
their a$$es sued off
in court.

Take photos of messages.
Keep notes on phone calls,
writing down dates and times
and other details.

Anything that is semi-shady
or wrong
gets put in a database
your employer can’t access.

Because they WILL try
to wipe every device
they can
clean.
That is standard practice now.

I’ve only used
my dirt file once.

But that one time
saved a good man
his pension
and gave him a severance
that bridged him to retirement.

He has his house today
because I kept a file
on our unethical employer.

Keep a dirt file.
It will be well worth
the time and effort
involved.

And it is the only income security
we truly have
from employment.

Color Is A Power Move

One of the (many) things
I noticed
when I was playing hard
in the corporate world
was…

I got more respect
when I wore a brightly colored suit.

I had a bright red
power pant suit
I’d wear
when I pitched important projects.
The execs would assume
I was in charge,
which I was.

If I was acting
in a secondary role
and wanted to support the team lead,
I’d wear black or dark blue
or some other dark color.

If I was being a little sh*t
and DIDN’T want to support
the team lead,
I’d wear bright blue or bright green.
And then the execs would
give me enough respect
to make the team lead uncomfortable.

Color is a power move.

And it WILL irritate
the f*ck out of women-hating men
when we use it
to our advantage
because they are restricted
to power ties
and can’t fully use the power
of color.

USE that advantage.
Wear color when you want
to be seen as the leader.

Hiring Newcomers To The Country

A manager told me
she had recently hired
an employee who had just
immigrated to the country.

She was happy,
telling me
that new employee
was unlikely to leave.

Because that new employee
would be trapped.

She wouldn’t have the country experience
or connections
or other resources to move.
And she would likely be afraid
of f*cking up
her immigration status.

The manager didn’t say that
but the situation was obvious.

If that is your reason
for hiring people
new to the country,
you suck.

You suck as a human
and you suck as a manager.

Create a place
people want to work at.
Don’t trap people.

Share The Reason For The Meeting

An extremely skilled salesperson loved one
was told on a Friday
to attend
a one-on-one meeting with his manager
in person
scheduled on Monday.

There was no meeting topic.

He talked to his coworkers
and the manager had scheduled
mandatory one-on-one meetings with them also.

One of the coworkers
had asked what the meeting was about
and was told…
nothing.
He was told to attend
and they would discuss ‘it’
then.

They all assumed
they were being laid off.
My loved one spent
a stressful weekend
reaching out to recruiters.

By Monday morning,
interviews had been set up.
He walked into the meeting
with his manager,
prepared to be laid off,
and…

they spent the hour
reviewing company policy changes.

No one was being laid off.
But the damage was done.
The interviews were set.
The employees had mentally disengaged
from their current employer.

If you set up
a one-on-one mandatory meeting
with a direct report
and give them no information
about it,
know that the direct report
is assuming they’re being laid off.

You’ve lost that employee.

And, this is much needed
tough talk,
you SHOULD lose them
because you’re being a sh*tty manager
and an even worse human.

One Thing EVERY Employee Should Be Doing

Your manager is, right now,
keeping files on you.
That’s one file
– the official one in Human Resources
– and there’s another file
– the secret, off-the-record file
only your manager knows about.

That second file
has every mistake,
every unprofessional comment,
every minor (or major) thing they could possibly
use against you
if they want to fire your a$$.
It is detailed,
has exact times,
dates,
screenshots,
other information
the manager can point to
in order to prove
the contents were legit.

You should be keeping
a similar file on your manager
(and anyone else who has authority
over you).

I call this the dirt file
because if things go wrong
and your employer is threatening
to fire you without the severance
you deserve,
that file gives you
negotiating power.

If things go well,
no one will ever see it.

Keep this file on a personal device,
a device your employer
would never gain access to.

I hope you never use it.
I used mine…once
and it not only saved my severance
but it saved the severance
of everyone on my team.

Keep a dirt file.

Harassment By Your Boss

One of my buddies
is an excellent salesperson.

She has been
blowing the sh*t
out of her quotas,
performing like the star
she is.

Her customers like
and trust her.
Her coworkers
also like her.

Her new boss,
however,
is a woman-hating
a$$.

He wants her gone
but he can’t fire her.
He doesn’t have grounds
for that
and
he also doesn’t want
to pay her the severance
she’d deserve.

So he’s harassing her.
He calls her
at all hours of the night.
He books meetings
when she has to pick up
her kids from school.
He assigns her extra work
and he bad talks her behind her back.

He is trying to force her
to quit.

This technique is so common
it has a name
– constructive dismissal
– and it is illegal
in many countries.

If you feel
you’re being targeted,
see a skilled employment lawyer.

Follow that lawyer’s advice.

Gather the evidence
you’ll need for a case
against your employer.

Get the severance
you deserve
and ensure that a$$ never does that
to another employee.

If you’re an employer
and/or a business builder,
watch for signs
of constructive dismissal.
It is a lawsuit waiting to happen
AND
it is costing you
skilled employees.

Because, when my buddy leaves
her current employer,
she’s taking ALL her customers
with her.

F*ck her current boss
and f*ck her current employer
who is allowing the harassment
to happen.

Learn How You’re Evaluated

Yesterday,
I talked about
how landing a small deal
can often
save a salesperson’s job.

If we’re working in corporate,
we ALL have metrics
that, if we meet them,
can save our jobs.

This might be
finalizing expenses
by day 10
for accountants.

Or upselling a customer
if we’re in customer service.

Or gaining the support
of a key person
if we’re…well..anyone.

Don’t merely ask
your manager for this information.

Ask someone
who has been employed
at the company for a while,
preferably someone
in a similar position.

And listen.

It could mean the difference
between having a job
or…not having a job.

Layoffs And Respect

Several large companies
laid large numbers
of their employees off
via email this week.

I understand
why they would choose
to end employment that way
– It’s emotionally easier
for management
doing the layoffs.
Management
aren’t put at risk
for possible violence.
Management can lock
employees out of systems
immediately.

But, if you’ve noticed,
this is ALL about management,
about THEIR comfort,
about THEIR safety.

It is cruel and cold
to the employees
being laid off.
These employees
are more likely
to self harm.
They will
never work for that company
again.
And they likely won’t
care about their next employers,
their next jobs.

It will merely be a job for them
or, as corporate is calling it,
‘quiet quitting.’
Their productivity will be
complete sh*t.

Know the consequences
when you go this route
with layoffs.

And know,
when you hire again,
that the job market has changed
due to companies
taking these actions.

The Glass Cliff

If you’re working in corporate
or in politics
or in another type of organization
you haven’t founded
and you’re great at what you do,
you will be offered
a top leadership position
sometime in the future.

If you’re a woman
or a person of color
or another visible minority,
that leadership position
is likely to be a sh*tty one.

The organization
is in trouble
and there’s a slim chance
the next leader
can resolve that trouble.

This is called
the glass cliff
and it is extended
to people
the organization
believes are expendable,
people they can blame
when it goes as badly
as they think it will go.

As a ‘bonus,’
they can then say they promoted
a woman or a black man or a person in a wheelchair
in the past
and it went terribly
so they’ll never make that ‘mistake’ again.

If you accept the position,
you will likely fail.
They expect you to fail
and, by withholding all their support,
they will do their d@mnedest
to ensure you do fail.

But
you likely won’t
become the leader
of that organization
under any other situation.

The choice is
personal.
Whether or not
you accept the position
will depend
on your personal perceptions of success
and your personal goals.

But realize that
you ARE being walked out
on that glass cliff.

You WILL likely fail.
And that failure
will impact you
for the rest of your life.

Everyone will
always know,
however,
you held that esteemed position.

The choice is yours.