The Rules of Work: The Unspoken Truth About Getting Ahead in Business [Paperback]

Richard Templar (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 5, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0131858386 | ISBN-13: 978-0131858381

For some people, work's a breeze: they glide effortlessly through all the office politics and back stabbing, always saying and doing the right thing, getting raises, getting promotions, getting results. What do they know that everyone else doesn't? The rules of work. Those rules are surprisingly easy to learn -- and once you know them, they're equally easy to live by. Now, Richard Templar's brought them all together in one place: the quick, irreverent The Rules of Work: A Definitive Guide to Personal Success. Templar doesn't just show you how to LOOK more effective: he shows you how to BE more effective in today's  workplace environments. Discover how to get ahead without compromising your principles; how to project the air of confidence and energy that wins respect; how to carve out a powerful niche for yourself; how to handle conflict without alienating the warriors; how to read your corporate culture; when to speak and when to remain silent; when to stay late and when to leave early; and how to capitalize on the key moments that can supercharge your career.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Richard Templar's recent best-selling business books include I Don't Want Any More Cheese, I Just Want Out of the Trap! He is also author of Free Agency; Fast Thinking Finding Facts; and the forthcoming Rules of Management: The Definitive Guide to Managerial Success. He has spent many years in managerial roles in industries ranging from casinos to higher education.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction

I first started formulating The Rules of Work many, many years ago when I was an assistant manager. There was a promotion going for the next step up—manager. There were two possible candidates, myself and Rob. On paper I had more experience, more expertise, most of the staff wanted me as their manager and I generally knew the new job better. Rob, to be honest, was useless.

I was chatting with an outside consultant the company used and asked him what he thought my chances were. "Slim," he replied. I was indignant. I explained all about my experience, my expertise, my superior abilities. "Yep," he replied, "but you don't walk like a manager." "And Rob does?" "Yep, that's about the strength of it." Needless to say he was quite right and Rob got the job. I had to work under a moron. But a moron who walked right. I studied that walk very carefully.

The consultant was spot on, there was a manager's walk. I began to notice that every employee, every job, everyone in fact, had their walk. Receptionists walked in a particular way as did the cashiers, the catering staff, the office workers, the admin, the security staff—and the managers of course. Secretly, I began to practice the walk.

Looking the Part

As I spent a lot of time watching the walk I realized that there was also a manager's style of attire, of speaking, of behavior. It wasn't enough that I was good at my job and had the experience. I had to look as if I was better than anyone else. It wasn't just a walk—it was an entire makeover. And gradually, as I watched, I noticed that what newspaper was read was important, as was what pen was used, how you wrote, how you talked to colleagues, what you said at meetings—everything, in fact, was being judged, evaluated, acted upon. It wasn't enough to be able to do the job. If you wanted to get on you had to be seen to be the Right Type. The Rules of Work is about creating that type—of course, you've got to be able to do the job in the first place. But a lot of people can do that. What makes you stand out? What makes you a suitable candidate for promotion? What makes the difference?

Act One Step Ahead

I noticed that among the managers there were some who had mastered the walk, but there were others who were practicing, unconsciously, for the next walk—the general manager's walk.

I happened at that time to be traveling around a lot between different branches and noticed that among the general managers there were some who were going to stay right where they were for a long time. But there were others already practicing for their next step ahead—the regional director's walk. And style and image.

I switched from practicing the manager's walk and leaped ahead to the general manager's walk. Three months later I was promoted from assistant manager to general manager in one swift move. I was now the moron's manager.

Walk Your Talk

Rob had the walk (Rule 15: Develop a Style That Gets You Noticed), but unfortunately he didn't adhere sufficiently to the rules in Part 1—he didn't know the job well enough. He looked right, sounded right, but the bottom line was—he couldn't do the job as well as he should have. I was brought in over his head because they couldn't fire him—having just promoted him it would have looked bad—and they needed someone to oversee his work so that his mistakes could be rectified quickly. Rob had reached the level of his own incompetence and stayed there for several years neither improving nor particularly getting worse—just looking good and walking right. He eventually shuffled himself off sideways into running his own business—a restaurant. This failed shortly afterward because he forgot Rule 2: Never Stand Still —or maybe he never actually knew it. He carried on walking like a manager instead of a restaurateur. His customers never really took to him.

By practicing the general manager's walk I got the promotion, but I also got it because I paid great attention to doing my job well. Once in this new job I was, of course, completely out of my depth. I had to quickly learn not only my new role and all its responsibilities, but also the position below, which I had not really held. I had stood in for managers but I had never been a manager—now I was the manager's manager. I was in great danger of falling flat on my face.

Never Let Anyone Know How Hard You Work

But I was, by now, a dedicated Rules player. There was only one recourse – secret learning. I spent every spare second available – evenings, weekends, lunch breaks—studying everything I could that would help me. But I told no one—Rule 10.

Within a short time I had mastered enough to be able to do the job well enough. And the embryonic Rules of Work were born.

Have a Plan

Being a general manager was both fun and painful. It was 50 per cent more work but only 20 per cent more pay. My next step, logically, was regional director. But it didn't appeal. More work, much more work but for not that much more money. I began to study the rules in Part 3. Where did I want to go next? What did I want to do? I was getting bored being stuck in the office all the time and all those endless dreary meetings. And all that time spent at head office. Not for me. I wanted to have fun again. I wanted to practice the Rules. I formulated my plan.

What the company didn't have was a roving troubleshooter—a sort of general manager's general manager. I put Rule 4: Carve Out a Niche for Yourself into play. I suggested to the chairman that a report was needed. I never suggested that this was the job I wanted, but the agenda was obvious I suppose. I got it, of course, and became a peripatetic general manager, answerable directly only to the chairman and with a job description I wrote myself. And pay? A lot more than the regional directors were on but I practiced the rules in Part 5: Look After Yourself. They didn't know and I didn't let on. But I cultivated their support and friendship. I was never a threat because it was obvious I wasn't after their job. They may have wanted the money I made if they had known, but they didn't want the little niche I had carved out for myself.

And I did this without being ruthless, dishonest or unpleasant. In fact I was always diplomatic when dealing with the general managers. I treated them with courtesy and politeness, even when I had to correct them on some aspect of their job. I added the rules in Part 4 and Part 8.

Knowing the People Who Count

And I quickly learned that if I wanted to know what was going on in a branch, it was best to speak to the people who really knew—the cleaners, the receptionists, the cashiers, and the drivers. It was important both to identify these people and to be on the right side of them—Rule 86. They supplied me with more information than anyone would have believed—and all for the price of a simple "Hello Bob, how's your daughter doing at university these days?"

The Rules of Work took shape. Over the next few years I watched them grow up, gain maturity and experience. I left the corporation and founded my own consultancy. I trained managers in The Rules of Work and watched them go out into the world and conquer their destiny with charm and courtesy, confidence, and authority.

But I see you have questions. How do these rules work—are they manipulative? No, you don't make anyone else do anything, it is you that is changing and improving.

• Do I have to become someone else? No, you may need to change your behavior a bit, but not your personality or values, you'll go on being you, but a slicker, quicker you, a more successful you.

• Are they hard to learn? No, you can learn them in a week or two—but it does take a long time to really master them. But we are learning all the time and even practicing one rule is better than none at all.

• Is it easy to spot others doing them? Yes, sometimes, but the really good Rules Player will never let you see what they are doing, they're too good for that. But once you become a Rules Player too it does become easier to see what rule people are using at any particular time.

• Will I notice benefits right away? Oh yes, you betcha, immediately.

• Do I still do them? I wouldn't even admit to doing them in the first place—I'm a Rules Player after all.

• Is it ethical to use the Rules? Yes. You aren't doing anything wrong, merely utilizing your own natural skills and talents and adapting them, using them consciously. This is a key area for understanding the Rules—consciously. Everything you do will have been decided beforehand—you'll still appear spontaneous of course, you decided that as well—but you will be a conscious manipulator of any situation rather than an unconscious victim. You will be awake and aware, living in the moment, and taking advantage of your own abilities. The bottom line is that you must be able to do your job—and do it well in the first place. The Rules are not for boasters or posers or bullshitters or charlatans or coasters. You think you work hard now? It's nothing to doing the Rules successfully—now that really does take work.

And let's face it, you love to work. You love doing your job. You have to be, to be wanting to read the Rules and to want to be moving onward and upward. What I am suggesting is that you consciously think about every area of that work and make changes to improve:

• The way you do it

• How people perceive you to be doing ...

Product Details

rules 1 through 5 of one of The Rules of Work [PDF]

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: FT Press (February 5, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0131858386
• ISBN-13: 978-0131858381
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #67,743 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #65 in Books > Business & Investing > Business Life > Motivation & Self-Improvement

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Worthwhile Words on the World of Work, June 12, 2006

By 

Matthew Dodd (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rules of Work: The Unspoken Truth About Getting Ahead in Business (Paperback)

If you are looking for some good insights and perspectives from an experienced business manager about how to use the unwritten and unspoken rules of your workplace to your advantage, then you should read this book. Templar's 100 rules cover the gamut from what to wear and how to act to get noticed, to developing a career game plan. If you have never worked in an office environment, this book will help prepare you for what you will likely experience. If you have spent any time in an office environment, you will find many familiar situations to which you can relate.

The book is divided into ten parts (Walk Your Talk, Know That You're Being Judged at All Times, Have a Plan, If You Can't Say Anything Nice--Shut Up, Look After Yourself, Blend In, Act One Step Ahead, Cultivate Diplomacy, Know the System--and Milk It, Handle the Opposition), each with ten rules, that cover many important and sensitive aspects of virtually any work environment. Each rule is presented in two pages in a very conversational writing style that is generally easy to read.

I liked most of the content of the book. However, the book had way too many distracting spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors (including a 115-word sentence!) that detracted from the main points. Also, I found too many shady or questionable passages that seemed to contradict the rules they were describing or other rules:

-"You have to look as if you gossip without ever doing it." (from Rule 31--Don't Gossip)

-"But if in doubt--never lie or embellish if you can't think fast on your feet." (from Rule 44--Never Lie)

-"You don't need to volunteer information unless it directly helps you to do so...Sometimes it pays to be a little editorial with what truth you are giving out." (from Rule 47--Know the Difference Between the Truth and the Whole Truth)

-"If you need information and someone asks you why you need it, invent something entirely bogus...Don't lie, but you can be circumspect, devious, inventive, creative, eccentric, and you are allowed to set up a decoy." (from Rule 95--Don't Give Too Much Away)

Despite the book's shortcomings, I found many worthwhile points that either reinforced what I already knew or did, or that I am adapting into my overall style and behavior:

-"There is no bad karma in trying your hardest to be pleasant, cooperative, helpful, friendly, kind, and honest in your dealings with others around you." (from Rule 24--Develop a Game Plan)

-"Remember though what we said right from the outset--you have to be able to come up with the goods, you must be able to do the job--and do it well. That is the bottom line. If you can't do the job leave the stage." (from Rule 67--Walk the Walk)

-"You must work to live, not live to work. Don't take stuff home with you--learn to be assertive and say no. Put your family first. Spend time with your children--they will grow up so fast you will miss their precious childhood if you work your way through it...." (from Rule 80--Put Things in Perspective)

-"There are no bad jobs, only bad attitude to jobs." (from Rule 99--Capitalize on the Career-Enhancing Moments)

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Truth Road Map, May 27, 2005

By 

John G. Hilliard (Toronto Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rules of Work: The Unspoken Truth About Getting Ahead in Business (Paperback)

If ever there was a how to book on career success this has got to be it. This is a no nonsense and straight to the point book that covers the basics for a successful career. The book focuses on getting promoted or moving into a better position, but the rules are such that anyone can follow them and become better at your job. What gets me as while I was reading the book I kept thinking two thoughts. One was the fact that I kept thinking these rules are all common sense. The second was the number of the rules that I have seen broken or that I have broken.

Overall I found the book wonderful. It was informative and well written. It gets right to the point and does not get bogged down in long winded and marginally useful examples. The book can be read in one sitting and is the perfect companion for a road trip. This is one book you will find yourself reading multiple times.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Rules of Work by Richard Templar, February 24, 2005

By 

Joseph S. Maresca "Dr. Joseph S. Maresca CPA,... (Bronxville, New York USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rules of Work: The Unspoken Truth About Getting Ahead in Business (Paperback)

This is an exemplary work on the details of getting ahead in

today's business environment. It incorporates some of

Andrew Carnegie's advice, as well as others in the human relations

art. Here are some of the more noteworthy pieces of advice :

- get your work noticed by management

- develop a niche or specific area of your expertise

- overdeliver what you promised

- make definitive commitments

- be cognizant of your attitude

- dress appropriately

- smile and extend your hand for a handshake

- exude energy and enthusiasm

- be cool

- speak well of others generally

- set realistic objectives

- keep copious records and notes

- understand the corporate culture and hierarchy

- speak in the "we" rather than the "I" mode

- don't get too personal

- study the opposition as well as proponents

All of the above advice will constitute important precepts for

the workplace. Naturally, the details of implementation will

differ for each employer or work setting. Nonetheless, the

general principles set forth by Templar are worthy of emulation.

The work is important, if you intend to advance in a workplace

of any size and complexity.