The Unwritten Laws of Business

The Unwritten Laws of Business by W. J. King, 1944.

I came across this book very early in my professional career. I’ve yet to find anything else that so simply lays out how to succeed in the corporate world. After reading this book, any lack of advancement is solely due to execution of the ideas, and not for lack of know what you should do.

True, there are some companies where the cultural politics outweigh general principles like this, but you probably don’t want to stay at a place like that very long.

The book is very short and structured around a few dozen ‘laws’ or rules you should follow to succeed in business. I’m just going to loosely quote the axioms I find most helpful, with just a brief amount of commentary on each one.

However menial and trivial your early assignments may appear, give them your best efforts. Organizations are constantly looking for internal people to promote to higher levels of responsibility. If you show yourself competent in one level, they will be eager to want to groom you for the next.

Demonstrate an ability to get things done.

Do not wait passively for anyone to make good on their delivery and promises. Go after them and keep relentlessly after them. I remember one of my first managers asked me if a certain lead had closed yet. I responded, “I’ve emailed them”, assuming I had fulfilled my obligation. She quickly informed me that it was my duty to chase them down until I had a clear answer.

Confirm instructions and other’s commitments in writing. Verbal commitments are often not enough, and no one should be offended at having their commitments written down and documented.

Avoid the appearance of vacillating on your opinion. Don’t always go with the majority opinion or change your stance often. Stick to your opinions until there is clear evidence you are wrong.

Don’t be timid; speak up.

Be careful in the accuracy of your statements. I’m not sure why, but I find it so easy to round up numbers or add a few extra percentage points to something I’m saying. I’ve never benefited from this and only looked like a fool later when I have to actually show the data.

Every manager needs to know what goes on in his/her domain. Ignorance is not an option, else you are not a manager. An important part of this is to keep your manager informed of what you are doing. Update relentlessly so they are never caught off guard.

Be selective in your supervisor. This is incredibly helpful advice. Especially at the early part of your career, the quality of your manager should be the top determinate for the job you take.

Whatever your supervisor wants done is your top priority. On my best days, I start of thinking, “What would my manager want me to spend my time on today?”

Don’t invade the domain of another department without the knowledge of the manager. Made this mistake too many times.

Seek other people’s opinions and recommendations.

When dealing with customers, you represent the company with full responsibility and authority. I see this in the chat conversations we have with customers. Anytime you say, “The management says I can’t do this” or something like that, you have broken a serious rule and reduced the standing of the company.

Don’t do it all as a manager. Even if you could do it all, and better, it’s still your obligation to train others and be able to step out of your role sometimes.

Don’t make meetings too small or too large. This is an artform.

Everyone should have the authority to execute their job and meet responsibilities. If you don’t, seek out that authority or change jobs.

Don’t short circuit or override your subordinates.

Keep people informed. Don’t withhold communication.

Don’t criticize someone in front of others.

Don’t miss a chance to commend or reward a subordinate or colleague.

Accept full responsibility for your team.

The most valuable trait in business is the ability to get along with all kinds of people.

Appreciate the good in everyone.

Don’t harbor grudges based on disagreements on matters of opinion.

Don’t always look out for yourself. Do things for the good of others.

Don’t take yourself or your work too seriously.

Give people the benefit of the doubt.

Your personal integrity is one of your most important assets.

Be careful of what you say and commit to in writing.