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Imagine you’ve just completed your first week of work and survived all of the trainings and orientation meetings. So, you head home for the weekend and finally get a chance to begin processing the interesting things that you've noticed so far.
For instance, you observe the handful of employees who arrive 25 minutes early every day verses the handful who stroll in 15 minutes late every day. You’re already starting to make assumptions about who the friendly or chatty employees are. Perhaps you noticed the same person who interviewed you last month seemed to barely acknowledge you this week. What about the dead silence you experienced in the cafeteria because everyone went off-site for their lunch break? The dress code instructions you received at orientation don’t align with what you’re seeing people wear in the hallways. The list could go on.
These are expressions of corporate culture. As you immerse yourself in this environment you will have to learn how to navigate the unspoken rules and behaviors if you plan to excel and progress through the ranks. Quality work is a requirement—not an option. But building credibility is your most important goal within the first year. We’ll talk about specific communication techniques later in this chapter that will help you do that. First, let’s take a deeper look at culture.
Espoused Vs. Enacted Values
Some of the most influential relationships you’ll ever have can come from your workplace. This includes future mentors, advisors, and peers. The first thing you’ve got to master is your understanding of the espoused vs. enacted values of your organization.
Espoused values are the core beliefs and rules that are communicated to you. For some organizations, however, what is instructed isn’t what’s always practiced. What’s enacted can vary greatly and there’s no employee handbook to prepare you for what you have to learn through immersion and on the job training. For example, there could be an espoused value of teamwork and project sharing amongst your peers. However, though employees are encouraged to collaborate, you begin to notice that your teammates don’t communicate effectively about shared tasks and prefer to get things done on their own with significant praise from their supervisors. The enacted value, therefore, is focused on individuals not the team. You’ll easily learn the differences overtime and will have to manage your behavior around these two concepts for your own success within the organization.
The secret is, once you get comfortable successfully navigating your company’s culture, then you will unlock the benefits that at one point might have felt unattainable. Leadership roles and peer respect will follow you once you establish credibility and allies. Among such priorities as doing a good job and adhering to the rules of conduct, you must seek out opportunities to shine. Talk to your manager or director about upcoming projects. Volunteer occasionally to stay a little later to help get something done—even if you’re not paid overtime. Regardless of your approach, communication is key when it comes to navigating corporate culture. But what is corporate culture exactly? According to Investopedia:
People hire who they like and who they see themselves working well with. There are studies that try to dissect what actually happens in the interview process and how particular cultures impact the people working within it. There are great resources in the back of this book if you’re interested in learning more about these topics.
We’ve discussed how certain behaviors and potential team dynamics affect culture. But the Investopedia definition also touches on the development of culture. This culture is created organically by the people that your bosses hire and by these personalities working together to create the intangible vibes and work life you experience every day.
Your first task is to get to know those in positions of influence and gain the trust and respect of your colleagues. Keep in mind, respect doesn’t have to mean they like you. It just means they know the level of excellence to expect from you because of your consistency and how you deliver in the workplace.
Sometimes I get asked that infamous leadership question of whether it’s better to be feared than loved. I say neither. I’d rather be respected because you don’t have to love me to follow me. If we’re working on a project and you trust my judgment, fear is irrelevant because you know I’m going to do what’s best for us all. This is the type of attitude you should push hard to convey every day. Be confident and humble. Be consistent and focused. Be aware of your accomplishments and document your new triumphs as often as possible (daily, weekly or monthly).
A Personal Lens
Over the years I’ve had many mentors and leaders who chose to champion me and offer me opportunities as I climbed the corporate ladder. Interestingly enough those champions were 90 percent white men and 10 percent black and white women. As a black woman in corporate America, I’m no stranger to micro-aggressions, bias treatment, racism or harsh judgments. However, despite those very real obstacles I found ways to balance those negative interactions with more positive ones without compromising my integrity or work ethics.
Small Sample Size
Everyone, but especially black professionals, suffer from a “small sample size” problem, according to Verna Myers, author of Moving Diversity Forward, and it’s evident even in a formal setting such as the office or business meeting(9).
The research sample size is typically used when it’s impossible to interview every single person in a large group, such as black Americans, to collect information. So a percentage of the population is used to gather the needed data. This kind of empirical study can tell us a lot about people in certain areas such as income, education, family structures, and employment. It helps us see where people in the U.S. might need assistance or better school programs, for example.
But in a social or work setting, many people have their cultural lenses on and do not have anything even remotely close to scientific research when forming opinions or gathering data about others. Many of us have small sample sizes that are the basis for our opinions or “knowledge.” And many people think they know all there is to know about a person based on a limited number of similar people they’ve met. They have preconceived notions about blacks based on a small group from that population that is portrayed in movies, music, and the media. We all have ideas of how a black, white, Russian, Indian, Chinese, or Australian acts, talks, and dresses. These stereotypes are insulting and can limit a professional’s opportunities in the business world.
Meyers encourages people to face their own biases in order to confront the unfair judgements of others. She suggests that we get out of our comfort zones and get to know each other. It’s too easy to stand back and avoid real conversations especially in today’s world where we work hard to be sensitive and respectful. But we won’t learn anything that way. Look for opportunities to connect with people who are different. It’s important to be open to learning about their views and to express yourself as well. (10)
Unintentional Words Can Hurt
I’ll never forget when I was 26 years old and just a few years in a marketing role, one of my bosses, a white LGBT woman came to me and asked me to personally help her with a lead generation project. She told me, “I understand that you’ve been doing some interesting things in the Intellectual Property group; how about we come up with an expansion plan for the Commercial Litigation group? We can work on the research together and hopefully present this work to the managing partner.”
I was happy that I spent time staying visible and talking up my experience and elated that I was the first person this partner called when the idea came to her. After the project ended successfully about eight months later, I was seen as an authority around the office and was seen as someone who could handle working with teams and ever more demanding competing tasks. This project was one of the cornerstone opportunities to my future development and promotions.
Even with this story there were challenges. I’ll also never forget the day I co-presented this same project plan with a stellar dark blue suit on and patent leather heels. I turned to hand out some summary sheets and greet some of the attorneys already settled in. Just as I was about to stand and transition the presentation slides, a partner spoke up and said, “You look great by the way. I like that Keisha hair that you’ve got going!”
Now this wasn’t the first time I wore my hair in its natural state, but it was certainly more commonplace for my colleagues to see my hair straightened. Let’s just say that comment certainly caught me off guard. It took about 30 seconds which felt like an eternity for me to snap back into presentation mode and by that time I was quite warm and sweaty-palmed. So much so, I took my blazer off and used those moments to collect my thoughts and return to my game face.
About a day or two later, I received a note from that “Keisha” partner asking me to stop by for a quick chat. She praised my work and asked me questions about how she could implement some of the ideas with her clients. Just as I was about to leave, she asked, “Hey, everything good with us? You seem a little off.” I had a decision to make in that moment. I could have said, “Yep. All good and looking forward to working with you some more.” Or I could be honest and ask, “Exactly who the hell is Keisha?”
Long story short, I used that moment to kindly let a woman who could have me fired understand that her words can hurt, even if unintentionally so. You’ll be surprised by how much grey you’ll have to navigate in corporate America. It’s not so much avoiding the easier-to-identify pitfalls such as respectful communication and sexual harassment. It’s more so about how to handle the small things that can easily get under your skin. Micro-aggressions are just that, and are defined by Webster as, “an indirect, subtle, or unintentional discriminating statement, action, or incident against members of a marginalized group such as a racial or ethnic minority.” It’s in these subtleties where the best of us are tested. Over the course of my career I’ve heard comments like:
“You’re really nice for someone with your background.”
“Tiff I don’t really see color when we interact.”
“I would never know that you’re black from speaking to you on the phone. Very good.”
“Do you know any rappers?”
I once overheard someone in a leadership role say this about a brilliant senior IT professional who happened to be Hispanic with English as their first language: “He has an opinion. Fine. He can barely speak English, so why should I care?”
The list goes on and ultimately these types of comments are products of existing biases, lack of understanding, or blatant disregard for the strength of diversity. This of course extends beyond the work place. Micro-aggressions exist in our schools and communities, and by extension, affects relationship building on many levels. This is one of the reasons why it’s so hard to connect with people who don’t look, think, or see the world the way you do. They’ve got a huge amount of what I call “brain baggage” that impacts their lenses and willingness to connect with others.
This brain baggage can include their background, family life, socioeconomic status, education level, political views, ethnicity, cultural tastes, sexual orientation, and religious beliefs. The faster you determine how you’ll respond and navigate this minefield of other people’s “stuff,” the more effective you can be in building powerful relationships despite these real barriers.
Being Your Own Advocate
I mentioned earlier about the high visibility project where I let my work shine. What I didn’t say was that I spoke about my work to others and didn’t wait for someone to notice. I made sure folks knew about the work I completed and the immediate impact it had. I put my results in writing at any opportunity that came my way and sent a copy of those reports to my personal email so that my record wasn’t lost. I made sure that I was my best advocate long before my mentors and work champions were. In doing so, I set the tone for success because my value was communicated in a respectful way and not easily forgotten.
This approach really creates the lane or space for people to feel comfortable supporting you and hyping you up to others. Some people say “you’re only as good as your last six months.” This may have some truth, especially come review time at work. But I challenge you to change your mindset and see yourself as valuable and irreplaceable regardless of what others think. Always remember, your life is the sum of your choices. As you navigate the labyrinth of corporate America there will be times when you question your worth. By promoting your self-image and documenting all that you accomplish day-in and day-out, you can weather the potential storms; comments that hurt, awkward encounters, or unfair treatment. You can put any negativity aside by learning from those situations and standing behind the hard work that you’ve put in to building the best version of yourself. Especially for those having trouble seeing it.
The PMM—Using the Perfect Message Model
After every project make sure someone notices by requesting supervisor feedback on projects regularly or by sending updates of your progress to directors. It’s important to keep track of your work and especially important to document any comments or positive assessments from leadership. This is not only essential for promotions, but for inclusion in your success journal and for enhancing your personal brand. You have to be able to communicate what you bring to the table in an articulate way. So write it, read it, and speak it.
Further, communicating with senior leadership requires strategic thinking. You have to think before you send an email. You have to think before you return a phone call. And you have to think when requesting work or simple favors. Strike the right balance with the following model and you won’t go wrong:
The perfect message model (PMM) asks you:
I once had an idea to help partners keep track of work assignments for their attorneys. The notion came to me after I overheard one of the executives complain about workload and not being able to find the right help for new cases that were coming in. Two weeks later, I offered a suggestion to leadership that would help them anticipate junior attorney schedules, forecast needs up to 90 days ahead of time, and generate meaningful reports that highlighted utilization rates and other informative data. I knew that I was obviously overstepping my boundaries, but I also saw it as an opportunity to differentiate myself and demonstrate my commitment to the company. Because the timing was right and I had enough seniority in my marketing role I felt the communication of my idea was the right thing to do. I made my suggestion with the PMM and as a result, the firm purchased its first resource planning software six months later. How did I do it? It all started with a simple email that met the right balance of characteristics:
Good afternoon ______,
It was a pleasure working on that e-blast campaign with you last month. I have a few more ideas for Q4 that would be of interest to you and the employment litigation team for year-end exposure.
Separate from those developments I wanted to share with you an idea I had regarding the monthly timekeeper sheets you have accounting create. I noticed that you handwrite the next month’s anticipated hours and then have Sarah cross-reference them with the actuals. I know another way to track this type of data and it’s through use of a staff scheduling system.
It’s nothing complicated and could save you plenty of time with projection reports at the monthly partner meetings. Software programs like the one I’m describing are relatively inexpensive and can be up and running quickly. You can even track attorney vacation requests in a discreet way. I’d like the opportunity to propose a few options before the next partner meeting for your consideration. Can we talk more about it next week? I’ll have a formal report on the options available to us should you wish to get a better idea of what the market is offering to satisfy business needs like the ones we’re experiencing.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards,
Tiff
The timing, approach, and appropriateness were aligned while the problem and solutions were articulated. Once I was given the opportunity to speak up further, I did my homework and was ultimately able to contribute a vital tool to the operations of the law firm. This accomplishment definitely made it into my success journal.
Body Language Matters
Aside from written and verbal communication, body language is just as powerful to convey thoughts and emotions. I’m sure you’ve been in a situation where you thought someone was in a good mood because of their smile while another person seemed to purse their lips in anger. You figured it would be best to steer clear of the second person. But be careful what you assume. Someone may have thought these things about you. Perhaps you left an office meeting where you might have loved or potentially disliked what you heard. Could someone easily assume what you were feeling based on how you folded your hands or turned your neck?
If you’re going to master navigating the minefield of corporate environments you must take control of the messages, words, thoughts, and behaviors that come out of your head. Your goal should always be to have the Perfect Message Model (PMM) in use. I was taught that those who control the language control the conversation. Taking control of your career and gaining the relationships you need to elevate your quality of life requires that you master this model.
Sticking to a PMM requires that you control your emotions and calm your impulses. It reminds you to look twice before you press send on an email. The PMM suggests that you draft what you’re going to say before speaking up in an important meeting coming up. The PMM insists that you do your homework before talking to just anybody in the organization. What you say is just as important as to whom you say it.
As you get closer to colleagues and gain more responsibility, you will gain exposure to how people think and make decisions. You’ll observe their habits as well. Remember, we all have a bag of biases and prior experiences that shape the way we see the world and interact with people. They stem from our socio-economic backgrounds, geography, religion, nationality, age, and gender among others. Biases have a direct impact on corporate culture because as stated earlier, people make up the culture. It affects communication styles, how conflicts are resolved, how trust is established, how decisions are made, and what is determined as most valuable to the organization.
Beware of Bias
Everyone unconsciously projects their own biases on others—myself included. It’s so subtle and natural that we don’t even realize it’s affecting our behaviors. Someone you work with may think that you should be saying or doing certain things based on your age, skin color, gender, heritage or political ties. Remember, white people with blond hair aren’t dumb and not all black people who love music listen to rap. Be careful of the internalized stereotypes that media feeds you. Give everyone a fair chance to reveal who they really are and what they’re into.
Having this openness is the essence of building lasting relationships. Trust leads to tolerance and appreciation. The more you can understand people, the better you can find ways to relate to them. Sounds again like dating right? Well it’s true. You spend a lot of time at work so getting along with your team to keep the trains moving is important. Though we’ll cover more of this in future chapters, let me say here that the time you take to introduce people to your personal interests will pay dividends to you later down the road.
Take stock of the cool things that you’re into. Someone you work with may have the same hobbies you do but you’ll never know it unless you bring it up in conversation. This attitude and relatability is called the watercooler effect. The “watercooler” is anywhere a group of employees gather around and chat. It is a synonym for gathering and connecting people in a certain environments citation needed.
Break the Ice With Interesting Stories
I have colleagues from all walks of life. I love meeting new people and love folks that have great energy. A great vibe can leave a lasting impression long after a person has forgotten what you said and what you do for your living. Most folks give their best energy when they’re talking about things that they’re committed to or genuinely care about.
I met someone once that spent two weeks every year building homes in random and impoverished neighborhoods all around the world. This person had a good job and was involved in some pretty cool business ventures from what I gathered. However, after I went home and crafted my usual “great meeting you-stay in touch” note, some months later, I saw a similar program advertised on social media and I immediately thought of that person.
I couldn’t remember their name right away but I certainly remembered the story and the fire in their eyes. I can’t stress enough how stories connect people and create intimacy literally ten minutes into a conversation. Sports talk has the same effect. Have you ever talked fantasy football with a die-hard football fan who runs two little leagues in their community? I have. Instant connections and plenty of banter for hours if I had let it roll on.
Stories are powerful. Document yours. As I’ve said before, your life is the sum of your choices and your choices are all value judgments. Now value judgments are rooted in the stories that you tell yourself. Make them worthwhile and others will gravitate to you.
Wherever these gatherings happen, you will have the opportunity to connect with people you work with by simply sharing interesting information about yourself and listening to their stories as well. You can break stereotypes and stop assumptions in their tracks by just opening up about your interests. For me, wine has been the topic I use to break the ice and to engage peers and executives alike. There is something about wine that transcends biases and messy stereotypes. It connects people from different socioeconomic backgrounds and gives people a unique and favorable impression of you instantaneously.
How Wine Works For Me
Once upon a time, wine was seen as an elitist subject reserved for the affluent and well cultured. Wine hasn’t been that for a while now. It’s an art form just like other arts if you become well versed enough in it. Depending on how you talk about it, folks will appreciate your understanding of the beverage and will likely know less about it than you.
In any event, if you know a bit about wine you’ll likely find someone who wants to hear more about it or share your enthusiasm for the subject. Either way it’s a win and a great starting place for conversation. Because, it’s easy for people to make poor assumptions about your personality, work ethic, and lifestyle based on their own biases, it’s your responsibility to tackle those perceptions head on. Speak up, go out for coffee, say thank you, say people’s names correctly, and be accessible to your peers.
With all this said, I’ve often gotten questions about where to draw the line and what healthy boundaries should be in place. The answer to that is personal. If you have personal commitments outside of work hours then a healthy boundary would be no work calls or client outings on specified nights out of the week. Perhaps there are things about you that you don’t want to ever share with your peers—don’t! Set boundaries that help you bring the best version of yourself to work every day without sacrificing your authenticity.
Tone and Generational Differences
Other things to be aware of when interacting within a corporate environment are generational differences. At some point in your career you may be leading teams of people from various age groups. The people you may report to could be much younger than you. The person that reports to you could very well be older than you. In today’s global economy we operate among a lot of diversity in the workplace. How you interact with older people might mean less emails and more in-person meetings and phone calls. Your colleague who is nearly half your age may simply want a text or voice note to get the updates they need for on a project.
As a marketing and business advisor, I train attorneys on how to develop rapport and trust with their clients. These lessons are also necessary for me because business leaders are my clients. With every project I had to get my clients to trust my judgment and writing skills. In the legal world, content and strong writing is pivotal to success. This meant that I had to use the word “because” instead of “since” in certain correspondence for the older partners and more infographic heavy presentations for the younger partners. Why? Because I noticed that older partners responded to my work more favorably when I wrote in a certain tone and used specific writing styles that reflected their generation of learning.
If this is what it took to earn my client’s trust, then I quickly applied it to every relevant situation. Conversely, my younger clients (entrepreneurs and professionals) preferred visuals and less words in their communications. So whenever possible, my reports to them were heavily bulleted with plenty of graphs highlighting data on how many likes and forwards they received with regard to their social media activity.
I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “what you say is just as important as how you say it.” Tone is a topic that has understated value. It has the power to make or break relationships that you’ve built in the workplace or in your network. Have you ever experienced a time when you read an email that came off offensive? It wasn’t the words so much as it was the command or reprimand that came with it. It didn’t even start with a “good morning.” It ended abruptly, gave no explanation, or politeness. It could have been cold or passive aggressive.
Now, you were able to decipher what you were being informed of by the person who sent the note. So, you do what you’re asked but never look at that colleague with the same warmness. Don’t be the person that writes that kind of email! Remember that proper greetings, pleasant introductions, and thoughtful information will go a long way with those you correspond with.
A note like this could be the difference between getting the support you need from your teammates or being left to work alone. If you know the person well, feel free to write with contractions, i.e., instead of “I will” say “I’ll”, or instead of “have not” say “haven’t.” We all speak with contractions so applying that style to your emails makes the tone instantly more conversational. Sometimes it may even be better to give information with bullet points instead of paragraphs—choose wisely.
There are many ways to give the right tone in emails or other correspondence so employ as many as you’re comfortable with and begin with a salutation. No matter what though, people appreciate polite interactions and associate it with maturity, good manners, and emotional composure. So, before you reply to someone, read your comments and make sure they exude the qualities that leave a respectful tone. You’re judged by the words you use, no matter the medium.
Learning effective communication takes practice and communication styles will be different in every organization you work in. As a business owner, you’ll help determine what style works for your corporate environment. Refine your methods regularly and use them for the next strategy—seeking mentors.
Seeking Mentors
Mentors serve as live training rooms for your career progress. It is with them you tailor your approach to work and life. Mentors allow you to ask difficult questions and help prune you into the best versions of yourself. Just as importantly, mentors are the gatekeepers to knowledge you don’t already have. Those who know better, do better. If you don’t have mentors within your industry then you’d better find them soon. Further, you’ll need mentors outside of your area of expertise to help give you a widened lens on how the world works. There are specific ways to go about getting them. But first you’ll need a game plan:
Sounds simple, right? Well it isn’t easy to invite someone out for coffee or lunch, especially when you want something from them. Further, it’s very off-putting to impose yourself on someone by asking them to be your mentor outright. Much like every other relationship we have talked about it, there is a delicate balance of give-and-take when approaching and remaining engaged with a mentor.
I have role models who don’t even realize they mentor me because I took the time to get to know them and I didn’t wait until I needed a favor from them to build the relationship. I simply asked to get to know them and volunteered my services for any of their future project needs. I often tell my clients that sending an article twice a year on a topic that’s relevant to their mentor is always well received—especially went accompanied by a thoughtful note. I encourage you to create similar situations where your mentor can gradually become so invested in your development that you both feel more like friends.
When I’m courting mentors I usually start with a simple ask, such as, “Hey Joe, did you see this article last week?” I immediately thought of you after I read it and wanted to get a feel for what you thought on the subject. Let me know what you think.” This was how I chose to introduce myself. I thoughtfully searched for an article that tied into the projects I wanted access to and I made my interest known to someone that could very well get me the work. The more you engage with a senior person, the more they feel invested in you. They’ll want you to succeed because they’ll feel like they played a role in that accomplishment. It’s a win-win.
To be honest, I remember a time when this didn’t work so well. I was tackling my first PR campaign for a new practice area in 2009 and I had a pretty decent roadmap to work with. But felt like I wanted an objective eye looking over my plans considering I had a lot of people expecting me to deliver. I certainly didn’t want to disappoint them or myself. So I reached out to a marketing leader that I grew to like from a professional organization I was a part of. She was receptive and appreciated my holiday card from the prior winter, so I felt comfortable touching base and share my questions with her.
After five minutes on the phone she said, “the answers to the questions you have can easily be found in a book. Call me back when you need help with more substantive material.” Ouch! That hurt. But she was right. I was so busy second-guessing myself that I asked all of the wrong questions to the right person. That was likely the end of that mentor relationship if I wanted it to be.
But, I’ll say this—if there is someone that you want to keep in your circle then go after them and never take their feedback personally (unless it’s personal). If someone is holding the keys to a wealth of knowledge that can benefit your work then don’t let them go without careful thought. After I nursed my ego, I waited four months before reaching out to this mentor again and when I did, I gave her a brief report on my campaign and the accomplishments that resulted. When we talked, I spoke as if we didn’t even have that awkward exchange earlier in the year. I made sure she knew that her manner wasn’t going to deter me from getting what I needed out of her.
Contrary to what you might think, this story not only highlights my aggressive approach, but a style that was persistent and humble. You see, mentorship is a two-way street. Your job as the mentee is to be deliberate and engaging. Mentors are busy people and you have to make use of their time effectively. All this to say, this same marketing leader is my friend today. She appreciated that I was able to articulate my achievements the second time around and that I asked questions only a seasoned professional could answer. What she was impressed most by was my corrective behavior and thoughtful follow-up. Asking the right questions and letting a mentor see that you’ve applied their insights is the greatest gift to them.
And I tell this story of my fumble because it’s really an exception to what usually happens. More often than not, older and seasoned professionals are very receptive to coaching and mentoring. They love having opportunities to impart wisdom. Just don’t do what I did the first time—make sure you’re deliberate and thoughtful in your approach and when developing your target list of mentors.
On a side note, mentors don’t have to be just bosses or people who do the jobs you want. Your mentor list should include people from other walks of life with varied levels of seniority—maybe a professor from your college, or a good friend who has a few years more work experience than you. Whoever you choose, value their time and remember that the ownership is on you to get the benefits from the effort you put in. Cultivating these relationships will take time so don’t go hard on yourself or force a connection. Just keep in mind, these relationships require trust and developing that trust will require you to be open, honest, empathetic, engaged, and invested in the process. Further, having a standard that you live by will help keep healthy boundaries between you and your peers. Having standards (or as I call it, non-negotiables) will encourage consistency on your public image and how you carry yourself.
Unfortunately, we live in a world that is extremely judgmental. You’re judged by what you say and how you look long before your actions have an opportunity to shine through. Yes, the words you use at work must be managed, but the words you use in your personal circles should be thoughtful as well.
Again, because of social media, everyone has a platform. Fake news is becoming a problematic issue across all networks and that’s because a few poorly structured comments can catch on like wildfire and implicate everyone involved in a relatively short period of time. As mentioned earlier, what you post on social media matters just as much as what’s on your resume these days and you’d be wise to develop a strategy to control how others access and interpret what you put out on the web. Depending on the industry that you’re in, drama and negativity can cost you your job or your clients if not careful. Be mindful of how you speak in public. It’s nothing to become the latest five-minute celebrity because a video clip went viral due to your entertaining tirade with the wait staff at a local bar or with the guy who cut you off at the traffic light. Social media is a powerful tool that can shape your personal brand into whatever you want it to be and if you choose to interact with colleagues on social media, what you post will directly affect how they view you—post wisely.
Remember my advice about healthy boundaries? Regarding social media, a healthy boundary is to keep your personal life personal, and not to interact with business contacts from your persona social media accounts. If there are benefits to doing so, perhaps create a separate page just for them where you can best control what information they have access to. For entrepreneurs, trends may suggest that sex, money, reality TV, and a lot of drama is what gets you success. I’m here to tell you that it isn’t the only way. Success isn’t having 25K followers or 2,000 retweets. Work hard to create a productive lifestyle that you can be proud of.
Personal Standards
Whatever you produce should have a positive impact on a company or more importantly someone’s life—and you should be compensated fairly for it. The standard you live by should determine where you go, how you dress, and who you interact with. If you’re not someone that uses curse words, don’t start just because it would make your colleagues more comfortable around you. You’re allowed to have non-negotiables. Frankly, people will come to appreciate that you stand for something and have an identity consistent with that standard.
Ultimately, you’ve got to get great at building bridges with people. Learn to adapt across cultural differences by acknowledging people who don’t look or think the way you do. Use everything you know to build rapport, trust, and likeability, so you can thrive in any environment and foster relations with people who will champion your success.
Now that we’ve covered some key strategies in effectively navigating corporate culture, it’s time for a little fun with a trip to the wine shop in the next chapter. First, consider the following questions then I’ll meet you in front of the store!
Contemplate This