What is the biggest lesson you have learned in

the corporate world?

Prashant
Updated Oct 9
Quite a few lessons in the last 10 years.

1. You work for a boss, not a company. If you screw up with the Boss, the
company is no good and your job is on the line.
2. Just passed out of college? Skip campus placements and bulk
recruitment drives but do join a small unknown company doing something which
will teach you the basics of your trade, rather than joining a large organization
where you are just another resource.

Lame companies coming to your campus for bulk recruitment. This includes all IT
sweatshops which offer the normal training-bench-mind-numbing-job routine,
bulge bracket investment banks which makes you work you like a dog for meager
pay (which may seem high at first to some, but youd eventually realize that its not
worth it), and every other shitty company which pays like shit, and more
importantly, robs you of some of your most productive years by forcing shitty work
down your throat.

You may not realize this then, but you will regret this when you turn 30 and have a
mid-life crisis wondering why you arent filthy rich, why your wife isnt insanely hot,
why your job sucks and how your life didnt quite turn out to be the way you
imagined it would when you were a kid.
3. Use your talent to generate passive income alongside your day job.
This doesnt have to be huge but you should generate some passive income which
covers your basic needs - rent, food, transport etc. That way, you are never really
dependent on a job and can move on without a second thought, when needed.
4. Build complimentary skill sets. If you are a sales person and have 5
years of experience in sales, quit. You have mastered one skill to some extent. Now
go learn how to code. After 5 years, you have two skill sets in hand - how to code and
how to sell. Now you can start a company, if needed.
5. Do the difficult task early on. With age, your liabilities will increase and
risk taking abilities will decrease. Be entrepreneurial right from college itself and try
to start a company from your dorm room. It will fail and thats fine. This experience
will come in handy after 56 years when you would start a company on your own
again.
6. An Opportunity is always disguised as an Adversity. You will grow
only when you are forced into a ditch and you learn how to come out of it. Whenever
there is a career crisis, remember, opportunity lies in adversity.
7. Every profession is actually a business, so treat yours like one.
Doesnt matter if you work for Microsoft or if you stand in a lemonade stand, the
core ethics is the same. Treat your job as your business, any profession is actually a
business. You were hired because the hiring manager rejected 1015 potential
hires and selected you on the basis of role fit, cost, experience and lots of other
things. The person who hired you is doing a business transaction and so should you.
So if you see that you have worked 3 years in the company and your salary hasnt
moved, your business hasnt improved and time has come to try something new.
8. Being Salaried is the most expensive way of doing
business. When you work for someone else, you are doing only one transaction a
month. Thats risky, you may lose this customer tomorrow and then you will have to
find a new one, which is not that easy. If your entire business depends on only one
customer, it will never scale and it can collapse anytime because not everything is
under your control. You may be fired, laid off, transferred, not given any promotion
and other indirect ways, so be careful.
9. Nobody cares. So you think your company cares about you? There is a free
gym, free lunch, free housekeeping, pick and drop. Youre wrong. The company has
no care about you, it cares only about its own profits. They build illusions to retain
people, so you dont quit and keep doing what you are doing. When the company
loses its value in stock market or something happens, you will lose your job. When
things go wrong in your company, nobody cares. The press doesnt care, your
investors dont care, your board doesnt care, your employees dont care, even your
mama doesnt care. Nobody Cares
10. Salary negotiations are forgotten 5 minutes after the interview. It
doesnt matter and nobody will ask you again. So negotiate if you can. If you dont,
you are not selling, you are getting sold.
11. Number of years of work experience is not a measure of
pedigree. Dont get fooled by the number of years of experience. It proves that this
person has been into this industry for long but it doesnt prove that he can do it
 better than you. I had a boss who had 10 years of experience in Java but she couldnt
even debug the basics, forget solving it.
12. When going in an interview, focus on what they want and not
what you know. If you want to crack the interview, focus on what they are
looking for, and not what you know about something. They are not interested in
what you know, they are interested in if you know something that they are looking
for.
13. There is no such thing as work life balance. Anything worth doing will
unbalance your life. And thats fine. You will get used to it.
14. Be well dressed, no matter the position. Show me an executive who
dressed badly and got promoted frequently?
15. If you are always smarter than your peers, you are in the wrong
room.Get the hell out of that place as soon as you can. You cannot be the smartest
guy in anything and if you become one, you are doing it wrong.
16. You will be laid off or fired at some point in your career. Prepare
early for that day. It doesnt matter how hard you work and think you are not
replaceable, you actually are. So prepare an emergency fund which will help you
sustain brief periods of unemployment. and while you are laid off or fired, never go
all guns blazing against the company. It will hurt you more than them, so keep quiet
and move on.
17. Dont fall in love inside office. Dont do that. Its a trap. Avoid it.
18. The HR rep is not your friend. The HR person is not there to save you,
she is there to save the company, should you decide to go against it. And the HR
person will lie all the time. Get used to it and never trust her.
19. If you know the answer, shut the fuck up. Dont say you know how to
do it unless someone asks you to. Keep quiet and see what happens. When everyone
fails, then speak up.
20. Everyone is saving their asses. Dont think bad of your manager, he is a
human after all and he has his limitations. Nobody is your enemy at work, everyone
is busy saving their own ass.
21. Never be the manager if you want to stay relevant in your
industry. Be the Doer, a shooter, not the person holding a flag. The manager gets
the applause but the Doer is respected.
22. The world moves faster than the company you work for. The
company may be a fortune 500 one but the world moves incessantly fast. The
moment you move on from that job and find a new one, you are a beginner. At least
for few months, you are a beginner because the world has changed.
23. Dont burn bridges. One of the managers I worked with, was laid off and I
helped him get a job in another company through a friend. He remembered it and
when I was looking for a change, he volunteered and found me a job. When we
worked together in the same company, we didnt have the best relationships but I
made sure the bridge was not burned.
24. Create your own organization. If you fail, you can always come back and
find another job. There is no point in working for someone else all through your life,
no matter how much salary or compensation is offered. You are working in a
company because someone at some point in time, took a risk, quit his job and
started the company. So why dont you do it for yourself?
25. Stock options are practically worthless, if you are a junior
employee.Stock options are good if you are in management but if you have just a
few years of experience, say NO to stock options. Opt for a higher pay instead, which
will help you save more, so you can quit the job with good savings and start a
company where you have 100% ownership.
26. Employee surveys are pure bullshit. Ignore them. Dont take them
seriously, nobody cares.
27. Check your emotions. Remember, nobody cares. You being emotionally
blind is of no use. Crying over a piece of paper or for a promotion or a pay raise or
whatever is not worth it. If they dont do what you think you deserve, wait a bit and
move on.
28. Never let anyone guess what your next move is or could be. Your
company has surprises ready for you so you should follow suit. Never take a leave
and attend an interview, your boss will figure it out sooner than later. Look for the
job where no one is looking, the best jobs are usually hidden.
29. Remember, the goal is not to find a good job. The goal is to find ways
to eliminate the job once and for all. So you should be doing different things,
learning skills and take yourself to that level where you know how to sustain
yourself without a job. With age, your likelihood of getting hired and staying there
will decrease, since companies are always looking to replace older people with
younger counterparts, thereby saving lot of money on salary and compensation. An
employee is often a burden and the company is always looking at ways to be capital
efficient.
30. Big company disease: Young graduates often suffer from Big company
disease and Ego Boost, even I have suffered the same while working for a top
MNC which paid me huge salary (close to 15 Lakhs with just 3 years of work
experience. I could save 7080 K every month. I was working only for money back
then, saved good pile of cash and left to pursue other objectives). But reality is, the
 World doesnt care which MNC you have worked for. Yes, it will add a lot of weight
to your resume but it wont help you get a job if you lag in the basics. And often
times, I have seen that working in a small company is the best way to brush up your
basics, compared to a larger org. Do not think that working for a big company will
increase your chances of getting hired for the next play. The world is becoming
FLAT day by day so dont be deluded by big names.
31. If you find a good boss, Stick. Read point #1 and if you find a good boss,
do yourself a favor and stick with him. Finding a Good Boss means you have won
80% of the battle and it is this Boss who will help you advance. I have worked for
horrible bosses and have a couple of good ones as well and from my experience, it is
this Boss who will eventually decide how peaceful your sleep is.
32. Never be the first person to sit in a meeting room and never be the
last one to leave it. If something serious is to be discussed and you are the first
one in the meeting room, you will become a scapegoat. If you leave last, the boss
may scapegoat you for something which he forgot to discuss in the meeting.
Example - Hello Mr.X, can you fix these two bugs in Saturday, we have to do a
release monday morning. Great, now your weekend is spent solving bugs.
33. Dont try to be friends with your Bosss Boss. It wont work and your
boss might think otherwise. Dont overtake your boss and Skip level meetings are
generally a fancy name given to see which employee hates his boss. Then the
management will sit and decide what to do with that employee.
34. In your team, find the most influential guy. Be friends with him first.
Then beat him. First be friends with him so that you gain some initial ground and
then go ahead and beat him. This is to ensure when he gets promoted, you get his
position. If you dont do it, someone else will do it.
35. Make sure your Manager knows what you are doing. A lot of the
time, you will be given tasks by someone in the team and not the manager who is
supposed to do appraisals, reviews etc. Make sure the manager knows you by name,
by face and that he knows what you are doing. It doesnt matter who gives you work
but it matters who is the person who takes decisions.
36. Know how to ask for a raise. If you dont ask, the answer will most likely
be a No. Believe me, there are seminars and workshops which teach people how to
ask for a raise. Most people are shy and they think too much about the
consequences. In my case, I just talk to the manager and say I need a raise. Thats
it. No other words, just - I need a raise. As if you are demanding something you
already deserve. He wont say NO, he will say - Ill see what I can do. But if you say
I was thinking if you can revise my pay, you lose some ground. Be direct.
Went anonymous because my boss is on Quora and he is a real badass. Worst part, he
follows me even outside meeting rooms. (see point #1)

Update #1: As lot of people have wondered in the comments, here is some more truth. I
do run my own company in stealth mode without quitting the job I am currently doing.
The job pays me well enough and it is an indirect way to fund the business I am running
in the background. You may wonder why so?

It is because if I quit the job and then try to run the business, I will need to raise money
from a third party, who will then take some stake in the business. That way, I am not the
sole owner anymore. Losing stake in a company in early stages is a huge loss, since you
have very little ground of negotiation with investors.

So I am working on my product, building something and setting up things slowly while

keeping the day job which funds the business I am running in the background. If it goes
well and picks up speed, I might quit the job and pursue it full time. But not now, I will
still give it some time so that the roots go deeper in the ground and it can stand on its
own.

How much revenue the business generates? It generates enough to sustain two fresher
level employees. So I am currently pumping the money that the business generates into
the business itself and also using cash from my day job to sail it as far as it is possible. A
day will come when I will certainly jump ships, but there is a right time for everything.
Also remember, if you are starting a business, you should stay Bootstrapped for as long
as you can and avoid raising money unless its absolutely unavoidable. Keep your day job
if it is 810 times of your living expenses. Spend 25% on your livelihood, save 25% in
Bank as cold hard cash, and rest of the money can be pumped into your venture till the
point it generates cash.

Whats the goal? I am 30, do not own a flat (will never own one until that point is
reached when I no longer work for the man, because I want to be mobile) and have 34
year of cash stacked into the bank which will let me survive without any job. I want to
increase this a bit further, lets say 810 years. Once I free up that time, I will pursue my
entrepreneurial dreams full time. Thats the goal.

Good luck working for the man!

The Rant: How did we end up here?

Look around you. Everyone has a Master. You have a Boss, he has a Boss and even the
Bosss Boss has a Boss. Where does this all end? Who is at the top? Nobody knows.

How did we end up in a situation where everyone is Working for Someone else? Even
an Entrepreneur has a Boss. The customer is the Boss, who will fire the Entrepreneur if
he fails to create a good business.

Just think about it. You will know who the real Boss is?

The real Boss is Greed.

Yes my friend, it is the Greed which masters you. It is this unending desire of material
possessions which has enslaved you. You have no time for yourself, you spent 4 years in
college learning something which prepares you for slavery, then you got a job, now you
are married with kids and working for the man all day long, years after years.
You are probably waken up by an alarm clock, you rush to the washroom, come out,
force feed, dress up, drive through heavy traffic, stare at a screen for 8 hours, come back
again in that insane traffic, force feed, fight with spouse and crash to bed.

Just imagine, each day of your life is passing by one by one because you are Working to
Acquire wealth, so you can buy a flat someday, have health insurance so it will pay for
your hospital bills when you are dying.

It is quite disturbing to know that everyone is actually living to retire, to save, to quit, to
escape, to find freedom but what is happening is exactly the opposite. Everyone is
trapped, people cannot quit and nobody is free. We are all hopeless wanderers working
like a robot and acquiring stuff for god knows what, waiting to pay bills and die one day.

Most people dont know what the fuck he is supposed to do in this god damn planet. And
in this chase, he lets go of everything but the Chase. He keeps on climbing an
imaginary ladder of success and then one day, he looks back to see his entire life was
spent just like that. Working, working, and working.

Escape if you can. This Corporate life is a Lie which is being sold everyday. You know
it, I know, we all know it and we all want to escape it but nobody knows how. Escape if
you can. Save your soul. Dont be another fucked up retard, hedging and slogging for
money in search of happiness, peace, fulfillment since no matter how hard you push and
how far you go, you will be enslaved in this giant wheel which doesnt give a single fuck
about your so called fucked up existence.

On Public demand in comments, I have removed Anonymity, now you can contact me
through Inbox
What an entrepreneur can learn from movie
Sholay?

Prashant
Written Oct 16
There are lots of hidden lessons in the movie Sholay and I being a pseudo entrepreneur
will give this a try.

Aim Big, despite all Odds

This guy is an Entrepreneur who sets out to achieve his target of Capturing or Killing
Gabbar - quite an impossible task.

He has left police force, his hands have been taken away but he is still determined to
achieve his goals, despite unfavorable circumstances.

Hire Black Horses

He wents on to hire two black horses and bet his game on them, instead of taking the
usual route of Capturing Gabbar through Police Force. An entrepreneur has to do this
often, hire Black Horses and enable tactics that is just not obvious in nature.
Find An Easier way to do a difficult task

The Jail scene is a classical example of Entrepreneurship wherein the two characters
simply bypass a trouble by inviting their target into a trap they setup.

Hire Slow, Fire Fast

Gabbar proves this point wherein he removes or Fires his employees who are not
working. Ruthlessly eliminate people and processes that just dont fit in. Gabbar not only
fires him but also ensures other people in the team get the message what will happen if
somebody does not live upto the expectations that the startup has.

When in Trouble, Bargain for Time until you are reinforced

Basanti proves this point when she Bargains to get some time until reinforcement (Jai)
arrive. An entrepreneur is often in trouble where either he runs out of money, runs out of
ideas or runs out of resources. He has to always bargain for time from someone else to
ensure the least possible damage is done to his business.

One Loyal Employee or Ally is Superior than 10 Experts

Again Basanti proves this point. She is not an expert, she barely knows how to shoot the
gun. However, the hero of the film keep her as a close ally for romantic reasons.

This pays off in the longer run when Basanti splurges her Tanga in the middle of a fight
and saves the two heros from Gabbar.

Have Great Co-Founders

The real entrepreneur in this movie is Thakur not Jai or Veeru. But he ensures to hire
great co-founders who would give as much to the cause as he is giving. THe success of a
start-up depends greatly on how great co-founders work together to achieve a common
dream or purpose.