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Home Life at Home). If you’re under emotional pressure at
work, again, you’ll need to come up with constructive ways to
keep your energy levels up—go for a run at lunchtime, tackle
the person who’s bugging you, talk to your boss about your
worries.
Finally, your spiritual side needs room to stretch to feel ener-
gized. For some people this can happen outside work, while
others need to be doing a job that gives them a strong sense of
moral worth. Only you know where you stand on this, but
make sure that your job isn’t cramping your spiritual energy,
or in the end both you and the job will suffer.
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W A L K Y O U R TA L K
I T ’ S YO U R J O B TO M A K E
S U R E T H AT E N E R GY I S
T H E R E W H E N I T ’ S N E E D E D .
Never Let Anyone Know How
Hard You Work
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T H E R U L E S O F W O R K
Look at someone like Richard Branson. He’s always seen as
playing, flying balloons, living on a converted barge, flying to
the States. You never see him sitting at a desk, answering
phones, doing paperwork. But at some time during his work-
ing day that is exactly what he must do. We just don’t get to
see it. Thus we think of him as the business playboy, the
happy-go-lucky entrepreneur, the devilish entertainer. It’s a
neat image and one that he seems very happy to go along
with—and why not?
This is the sort of image the intrepid Rules Player wants to
cultivate—suave, easy, relaxed, languid, in control, and very
chilled. You never run, never panic, never even seem to hurry.
Yes, you may stay up until the early hours of every morning,
but you will never admit this. Yes, you may work through
your vacations, weekends, and days off, but you will never let
on, never moan about how hard you work or the hours you
put in. To the outside observer you are coasting, taking it easy,
taking it all in your stride.
Obviously, to be able to do this you have to be very good at
your job. If you ain’t, then you’re going to fail trying this Rule
out for size. So, what do you do if you aren’t very good at your
job? Burn that midnight oil again getting good. Learn, study,
gain experience and knowledge, read, ask questions, revise,
sweat, and cram until you do know that job inside and out. Do
this first, and then you can wonder about looking cool and
very relaxed.
There are a few Rules within this Rule:
• Never ask for an extension of a deadline.
• Never ask for help: never admit that you are out of your
depth—you can ask for guidance, advice, information, an
opinion, but never help.
• Never moan or complain about how much work you have
to do.
• Learn to be assertive so you don’t get overloaded—this is
not about letting others know how hard you do work, but
you don’t have to overdo it and overwork.
• Never be seen breaking into a sweat.
• Always look for ways to ease your workload—unnoticed
of course—and ways to speed things up.
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W A L K Y O U R TA L K
TO B E A B L E TO D O T H I S
YO U H AV E TO B E V E R Y
G O O D AT YO U R J O B .
Keep Your Home Life at Home
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T H E R U L E S O F W O R K
When you go to work, you’re supposed to be focused on
work. To get on with your job. If you spend your time focused
on what goes on at home, people will assume you’re not really
committed to your job. And they’ll probably be right, if the
truth be told.
Think of the people you’ve worked with in the past—or
indeed now—who spent their time chatting about their fami-
lies, relating details of their social life, complaining about their
mother, fantasizing about their vacations, discussing their
latest shopping trip, whining about health care, and telling
you about their plans for Christmas. How many of them
would you describe as passionate and committed to their
work? Probably none of them.
You don’t have to keep your personal life so private that your
colleagues don’t even know that you have kids, that your
mother is in the hospital, or that you enjoy fishing. But you do
have to keep your personal life well in the background and
concentrate on your job during working hours. That will
ensure that you do the best job you can in the quickest time
and the most effective way. That will ensure that your boss,
and your boss’s boss, see you as a focused and enthusiastic
worker. And that will ensure that you enjoy the job more and
find it more satisfying—no one can enjoy themselves fully
when their mind is elsewhere.
Your colleagues don’t need to know about your personal prob-
lems. Sure, you need to have an outlet and good friends to talk
to, but not during working hours. If you have good friends
among your coworkers, have a drink after work to discuss
your problems.
Listen, everyone has an ailing parent, a child who’s going
through a tricky patch at school, an irritating neighbor, a
mortgage they can barely afford, or a sister-in-law from hell
coming to stay for the weekend. They don’t need to hear about
your problems. Sorry, but that’s the way it is. I’m not unsym-
pathetic, but this isn’t the time or the place for it.
Of course, I realize that there are occasionally major problems
that will have some impact on your work. One of those very
rare and exceptional events like a divorce or a bereavement. In
these cases, of course, you won’t be able to hide it at work,
and you should let your boss know why you’re not quite so on
the ball for a few days or weeks. But if you’re doing your best,
and you have a reputation for being work-focused and keep-
ing your personal life out of the job, the people around you
will be so much more understanding and sympathetic when
you really need them to be.
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W A L K Y O U R TA L K
N O O N E CA N E N J OY
T H E M S E LV E S F U L LY W H E N
T H E I R M I N D I S
E L S E W H E R E .
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