An old boss once told me “if anyone ever asks you if you are busy – even if you aren’t – always say yes.” He was laid off just days after he gave me that advice. I thought it was a really good piece of advice though.
Thinking about it, I’ve received a lot of good advice over the years. Things like never try to show a VP how smart you are in a meeting and executive presentations should always have one picture and very few words per slide. Helpful stuff like that.
I’ve also received some of the most horrific advice in the history of the known world.
When I was shopping around for my first house, my Dad told me I should try and find an abandoned McDonald’s or Gas Station to fix up and live in. I won’t go into his reasons why but I assure you they were not based in logical thought.
I recall my Uncle trying to convince me to join the Navy instead of going to college. This was in like 1990 just weeks before the Gulf War with Iraq.
A guy I used to work with told me the best way to pay off your house was to apply for like fifty credit cards and pay all the debt down that way.
My shop teacher in high school told me I should be an engineer when I grew up. Too bad he didn’t look at my Iowa Basic test scores because those would have told him that my aptitude for high level mathematics is just above that of a muskrat.
With all this horrible advice it’s a wonder we’ve been able to get by.
That said, I’m going to chime in with my own bit of advice for those of you Townies left at “the company.” The next time a VP asks you “so tell me, why are our customers leaving us?” Stare him dead in the eye and say “I think mostly because of you Jim.”
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