Corporate World: A Survival Guide

The corporate world is not much different from the political world. Those who let go of feelings will be easily surpassed by those who think rationally. There is no way out: either you move the board part or they move you. There is no half game as there is no half pregnant.

Some professions are more demanding than others. Some companies are more demanding than others. However, the rule is one: if it is worth it, there is competition. If the niche you choose does not exist competition, take a step back and rethink. Maybe you missed the way.

Some people coexist well with competition. Others go into paranoia. Others in depression. Others use drugs to mask reality. The most resilient path in the long run is not in these options. They can lead to mental or physical ruin.

Although the media and the school say that society is a union of people in pursuit of a larger goal (not detailing what this is after all), the reality is very different. A rational look under the world presents reality in a clear way.

The Guide

A corporate office is not what you expect when you are in high school/college. No one expects to sit in a cubicle, stay all day doing reports or spreadsheets, and after 8-12 hours return home on public transportation. But this is the fate of the ABSOLUTE majority of the student class. There are very few who will really enjoy the wonders the world has to offer.

House Of Cards does not only exist on Netflix. It’s a big punch in the stomach. Sooner or later he will come. The theoretical and fanciful world of high school/college is different from the real world. In addition, there is a complete lack of preparation for corporate reality. Competition, traps, swindles, plays, manipulations, crimes, sabotage, betrayals. None of this is taught in the traditional teaching system. You need to know that a) this exists b) is used constantly c) how to do to protect yourself.

Never love your company because you don’t know when your company will stop loving you. Your employer company is NOT your company. So never take it for granted. The only option is to own the business. You will face the market risk, the risk of the segment, the risk of competitors, the risk of consumer delinquency, the risk of the government. But you will not face the risk of unemployment.

No one cares about you, your family or your goals. People’s concerns are exclusively personal. When they care about other people, it is because this is relevant to them and not because they are really worried about their peers. No one will really fight for your dreams. Your company is not concerned about your financial freedom, your mental health, or your personal desires. They just need to look like they are. You are just a part of the gear that if it starts to get too expensive, it will be easily replaced.

People come into your life because they need you and they’ll leave you eventually. People come to you because they need something. Maybe it’s professional contact, maybe it’s a political maneuver, maybe it’s exploitation or maybe it’s sexual desire. There are several hypotheses. But the essence is the same: no one approaches another person without ANY interest. If you look at the world this way, many doors will open. Everyone within a company has the same goal: to gain more prestige, power and money. This puts an end to any naivety in your thinking.

95% of meetings are a tremendous waste of time. They serve only for a fanciful political scenario. We started out of nowhere and got nowhere. At the back, 2 or 3 employees will do the whole project and who will bring the glory will be a manager and some of his closest colleagues. Do you happen to know the names of the slaves who built the pyramids of Egypt?

When you feel that you are more smarter than you boss, you should consider change your job. Your boss is not necessarily smarter than you. By the way, experience shows us that there are many employees infinitely more talented than their bosses, but that they are eventually exploited by the latter. There is no secret, if you realize that you are more talented than your superiors, you may be missing out on your most precious asset: TIME.

You will grow much faster working a day for yourself than a month for somebody else. This is a path with no return. Rare cases where business owners are once again employed. It’s hard to go back to eating toothpick ice cream after a Häagen-Dazs. Aside from personal growth being exponentially greater, the financial reward is also. There’s definitely no way to get rich by working for someone else.

Conclusions

i. The corporate world is filled with different personalities: competitive, territorial, temperamental, paranoid, defensive, etc. First you must rationally analyze the environment that is inserted.

ii. The walk to the top of the corporate world is not much different from the political scene. Even subtle lines of e-mail are weapons: writing, punctuation, coloring, parading. Start reading through the lines.

iii. Everyone wants to demonstrate that they are superior in some aspect: intelligence, appearance, achievements, money, etc. It’s pure competition. Study games that are worth playing.

iv. Experience shows that only 5-10% of employees are EXTREMELY helpful. The vast majority varies from a blood sucker to a middle-skilled employee. If you are within 5-10%, think seriously about having your own business.

v. Who really makes the company happen is an employee with this profile: stacked of work, stressed, visibly sick, without social and political skills, and poorly paid. If you fit here, at least you already know what your role in the company and how they see you.

vi. The absolute majority of corporate life is summed up in: long hours of underpaid work, lots of administrative tasks, lots of wasted time in useless meetings, spreadsheets and powerpoints, living with people you would not want to get along with, and a fierce competition for money and status .