Ten Secrets to Getting Promoted

There is only ONE way that this country and the middle class can thrive again. If you hadn't noticed, the big corportations (and their money) are now running the country. If you think you are still living in a democracy, look again. The corporations (money) now own the Democrats as well as the Republicans. The ONLY way the middle class will ever get the land of promise back is to band together and vote money OUT of politics. Let the government fund EVERY political campaign. Make it a crime to give a political contribution to a government employee. After all, Politicians ARE beholden to money contributions. By taking out the money (influence) from political campaigns, Democrat senators could then pass real, effective, laws to reign in the corporations power and money grabbing from the middle class, instead of pussy footing around ansd passing "restrictions" on the banks that the banks just laugh at. I am a Democrat, but Clinton removed the biggest safety valve this country had on protecting our money from the banks, and that is Glass-Stiegel. He literally removed the fire extinguishers that would have prevented this economic castriphie.
Also, Democrats must pass laws to prevent "American" corporations from profiting from the American economy if they then take American jobs overseas. This is heresy!
Again, the corporations ARE NOW running this country. If the middle class does NOT wake up and band together with their votes and take money out of politics, the middle class, and the American Dream have vanashed. In actuality, the dream is ALREADY gone. The corporstions have won so far, but the Middle Class has one card left to play, and it is their ONLY chance-THE VOTE. Our combined votes can still defeat the corporations, but we ALL have to band together. One vote can not change things. But millions, and the middle class has that many-CAN. Eric

The book is only $10.99. I can hardly believe that the author has 20 years experience is about 40 and is such an expert on the workplace.

Boo Hoo,you're a bunch of babies.Start your own company so you don't have to rely on anyone else!!!!!!!!!

Upon further reflection, I think it is very difficult to know what a company is like until you have actually worked for them. That's when expectations can begin to unravel especially if you were told one thing about the company values and you find it is really something completely different once you have experienced firsthand. I just wish there was more accountability on the part of business owners to be upfront about what they expect and what they expect you not to expect of them once they have hired you. The burden, it seems, is always up to the employee -- either take it or leave it. The real battle is to find a group of people you can work WITH and not just FOR, and who possess a standard of excellence that matches the prerequisites an employer seeks in an employee. Enron comes to mind. If anyone has ever read the book about what this company did or followed the story, it is a perfect example of a powerful company that could still have done well by adhering to the own mission values it promulgated to the press. Instead, it fired and harassed anyone who did their job honestly. There was no reward for working hard, obtaining degrees, being helpful, careful, or catching mistakes that an honest group of people running a big business would have appreciated. No. It promoted people who were willing to lie, cheat, and steal their way to the promotional top. Please find me a company that is run and operated by people who have ethics - people who want the business to profit but NOT at the expense of the consumer and the employee! Does it exist in modern day America?

I made the 3 communication errors in the first answer of the blog, and a couple of months later I was fired. My motive was good - trying to maintain the quality of our product - but my delivery of my suggestions was poor. The frustration and stress of having to deal with the problem contributed to my poorly communicating it.

I am now reminded of what I read a few years ago in one of Norman Vincent Peale's advice books: To have a suggestion or criticism accepted by your boss or co-worker, it helps to forgo your desire to get credit for it. Instead, subtly and gently introduce the idea so that the listener eventually sees the advantage of it and adopts it as his own. This makes it much more likely that he will implement it. Thinking that it was his own will give him a pleasurable feeling of accomplishment when he does implement it. And he may associate the feeling of pleasure with you. (However, this will probably be subconscious, so don't expect any thanks or acknowledgment or even remembrance of it).

This method, because it is subtle, may not work right away, so patience will probably also be needed, as well as some forethought and planning of how to best introduce the idea.

If it works, you will have the reward of knowing that you generously contributed something good to your workplace community, and you will probably get to keep your job, with some likelihood of its being improved!

Bullshitting 101, Brown nosing 101, Malingering 101, and Outright Lie Telling 101 are mandatory for these "college grads." In my day, good grades, honesty, and hard work got you ahead in life.

Well,thank you for your sharing.But I think each one has his or her own fate,and will encounter different occasions.The key factor is your attitude,just as the old saying goes,attitude determines your destiny.

When last I was passed over for a promotion. I asked my boss:"Sir. Just for my edification. Why was he promoted instead of me?"

I loved my manager's response: Well. Compared to your work record, he doesn't do anything wrong"

I responded:" He doesn't do anything wrong, because he doesn't do ANYTHING!"

And my boss answered:"Yup! And the is why he, unlike you, has NOITHING wrong on his work record!"

Shows that working hard/smart doesn't mean a damn anymore!

I asked the boss why he lied to the employees. I had documented the three occasions with dates and witnesses. He got upset. I told him I would forgive him if he just admitted and be honest. He fired me. Go figure huh?

I agree that it's not always the employee's fault for being passed over a promotion. My company believed in "best practices" and so, nobody from within got promoted but they always seeked candidates outside the company, because best practices dictated these people had more experience. So, what did I do? I too employed "best practices" and left my company. Gone was all the experience I provided my company. Also, gone was my loyalty. Ironic, but to replace me, they had to hire someone at a higher salary. Sometimes, employers never know they had it so good until they lose someone.