Some of these are an awful idea - for instance, 'make your grunts do the work and take the credit'. I'll say, from experience, that especially on smaller teams, it actually reflects better on you to give your grunts credit for the work and take blame for the failures. Obviously this depends on having a boss who's not a total moron, but assuming that, your grunts will work for you that much harder as you give them credit and your boss will see you as an effective manager.

 
DaCarez:
Some of these are an awful idea - for instance, 'make your grunts do the work and take the credit'. I'll say, from experience, that especially on smaller teams, it actually reflects better on you to give your grunts credit for the work and take blame for the failures. Obviously this depends on having a boss who's not a total moron, but assuming that, your grunts will work for you that much harder as you give them credit and your boss will see you as an effective manager.
in IB the make your grunts do all the work and take credit advice is very useful, the associates that work the least have mastered this. just outsource all the work to the analyst pass it on as your own and go home at 6 every day.
 
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leveredarb:
DaCarez:
Some of these are an awful idea - for instance, 'make your grunts do the work and take the credit'. I'll say, from experience, that especially on smaller teams, it actually reflects better on you to give your grunts credit for the work and take blame for the failures. Obviously this depends on having a boss who's not a total moron, but assuming that, your grunts will work for you that much harder as you give them credit and your boss will see you as an effective manager.
in IB the make your grunts do all the work and take credit advice is very useful, the associates that work the least have mastered this. just outsource all the work to the analyst pass it on as your own and go home at 6 every day.

So here's the thing about those associates (worked with one of those guys in my brief IB stint) - those guys know exactly what they're doing, which gives you leverage in having them manage upward, used sparingly of course. For instance, if you have a trip planned for a long weekend and the client wants to (needlessly) start turning a presentation for ~2 months out, that associate can/will cover for you since he knows it's in both your interests. Just need to get to that dynamic - again, if they're total morons, then you just need to go over their head.

 

Unfortunately, I've read the book. I'll have to say one thing: you cannot just read these lines without the context from the stories that the author has picked.

Specifically, when applying 'make your grunts do the work and take the credit', you have to understand that it is vital in protecting yourself. The lesson is not to disparage or belittle the people who work for you. The example given was Nikola Tesla, who failed to take credit for work that may or may not have been collaborative. It mentions his duel with Edison on electricity (AC vs. DC) and his not patenting radio technology, which he lost out to Marconi. He died penniless... brilliant guy though.

"All I've ever wanted was an honest week's pay for an honest day's work."
 
watersign:
Some of them contradict one another but if you read each one objectively, you will see that in certain circumstances they need to be applied differently

This is a moot point... Why does this even matter?

The answer to your question is 1) network 2) get involved 3) beef up your resume 4) repeat -happypantsmcgee WSO is not your personal search function.
 
blackfinancier:
watersign:
Some of them contradict one another but if you read each one objectively, you will see that in certain circumstances they need to be applied differently

This is a moot point... Why does this even matter?

What's your point?

One of them says to never fit in, while another says to not stand out. Kind of obvious

alpha currency trader wanna-be
 

As I said before a lot of the "laws" have stories or anecdotes behind them. I suggest everyone read the book if they have a chance. It's in the same vein as Art of War.

"All I've ever wanted was an honest week's pay for an honest day's work."
 

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Cupiditate numquam repudiandae molestiae qui vel. Rem temporibus ab quod sit ducimus. Rerum numquam placeat dicta consectetur.

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