What are Your Top 10 Commandments of Corporate Life?

After more than twenty years in the corporate world, I can list the following top ten commandments of corporate life:

1. Corporate vision is good but your boss’s vision is gospel. Your immediate goal has to be to deliver the task at hand.
2. Teamwork is important but don’t shy from claiming more than your share of credits.
3. Allocate 50 pct of your time in working hard, 30 pct of your time in selling your work to your boss and 20 pct of time in selling your work to senior management. Network. Network. Network.
4. Always question the status quo. This is one trait that gets you noticed by the senior management and you get pulled to the top.
5. Watch your back. I don’t advise people to be nasty to others but protect yourself from nasty people. Not only the paranoid survive but do very well.
6. If you are stuck under a boss who doesn’t allow you to grow, cut your losses fast and find a new boss (in the same company or elsewhere.)
7. If you find a boss who helps you grow, never leave him or her, and grow with them.
8. Never indulge in an unethical practice. If you are not able to correct the situation, moving out of an unethical situation is always better. Such tactics may help you in short term but may land you in trouble or even in jail in the long term. Promotions and money are important but not at the cost of ethics.
9. Be eager to take new challenges and develop variety in your experience. Don’t shudder from taking new projects for the fear of failure.
10. Above all, take care of yourself. At the end of it all, you will only be left with yourself. If you feel that you sacrificed yourself for corporate success, you may not have a happy ending. Do well, work hard, party harder but TAKE CARE of YOURSELF.

Good Luck and share with others if you like!!