Policies are like sand, culture is like rock. You can shift lines in the sand but you can only draw them on a rock.
Bending the policies at the workplace can be dangerous and risky, but you probably won’t damage your reputation via the grapevine in such situations, for everything else, I can’t say. But the culture of an organization is like a rock, you can’t change it yourself, but you can only immerse yourself in it.
Find your place quickly in an organizational culture and soon you’ll be part of a winning team. Success without such efforts or without understanding the political environment of a corporation is impossible.
Always acknowledge a fault frankly.
Make mistakes, but acknowledge them even faster. There’s nothing worse than sitting on it. The best part is accepting it because it shows you care and are doing whatever it takes to fix it. This will throw those in authority off their guard and give you an opportunity to commit more.
You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.
What you see around you might not necessarily be the be all end all. Respect everyone equally because you never know who holds the door to the right opportunities which would be perfect for you.
Education consists mainly in what we have unlearned.
Always unlearn. Great leaders never get accustomed to old tried and true ways, accept change with a passion and work towards proving things they did previously wrong, learning from everyone at every level in an organization. This is typically hard since the freshest and youngest minds have to newest and most modern solutions. Don't let ego come in the way of unlearning.
Never let your schooling interfere with your education.
Some of the best learning comes on the job so continue to learn from every person you meet and every task you work on, be it for pay or without. Formal schooling is important, but don’t let it blindside you.
Every generalization is false, including this one.
See every problem by itself and understand its beauty. No two situations are the same. Leaders thrive in ambiguous situations and love blank sheets of paper. Never generalize and take problems for granted. Dig deeper and look for every possible underlying cause before going further.
