Lesson 1

Instead of waiting until the beginning of 2010 to start this thing off, I am posting the first lesson today.
I had coffee/beer with a friend of mine yesterday and the entire conversation was based on the importance of respect in the workplace and how he has yet to have a boss that has the ability to treat people "right". Hence the importance of...Lesson 1:

"Treat others how you like to be treated; someone needs to let the business world in on it."

Warning: Treating others how you would like to be treated is NOT the golden rule in business.

I repeat: Not the golden rule in business.

Unfortunately for young graduates, the rule your parents have been stressing to you for the past 20 some odd years does not apply to the business world and the phrase, "do as I say not as I do", has replaced it. Young graduates need to know that 99% of office workers are out for number one, and don't give a rats ass about helping you along in your job. You are a threat to them, and unless you have an amazing boss that recognizes your talents as an asset to the company and nurtures your growth (which most people do not), you better understand three things:

1. You and only you, better figure out how to succeed on your own, and quick.
2. Understand that the company that just hired you knows that you will probably be switching jobs within the year. With that being, they are going to take everything they can from you to maximize revenues because they don't know if you are an asset or a liability yet.
3. If you are going to make it at your first job, watch what you say. Everything you say will become an office rumor, and whatever you don't say can come back to haunt you later on.

My first job taught me about respect and the respect of others. I worked for a young woman at a mortgage bank and it taught me more in the six months I worked there than in my four years in college.
Respect and the almighty dollar are "IT" in business, whether you are fighting for it or to maintain it. Look at every young business person that tries to "fake it until they make it". They are doing this because they associate success with wealth and respect.

Worrying about how other people are feeling no longer plays a role in the overall success of a young graduate. The focus needs to be about yourself and your own personal survival. The theory that people still abide by "treat others how you would like to be treated" is unfortunately false. Those who still abide by that theory instead of understanding the golden rule of business and the "you come first" mentality, fall into a group that will eventually have two things happen to them:

1. Become insanely successful by starting their own business and running things how they deem adequate
2. Choose to uphold their moral and ethical standards while working in the confines of a cubicle for the rest of their lives, never achieving what goals they once had.

Here is a tip, make your own "Golden Rule". Trust your gut and the rest will fall into place.