You want to get ahead in life and in your career.
Formal status symbols in a business setting tend to come with promotion. In other words, you have to earn them. They are rank insignia in the corporate military.
Some of the most common are:
– A reserved parking space next to the building.
– An office with a window (corner offices and those on the best upper floors)
– Executive dining privileges
– Wet bar in office
– Jacuzzi adjoining office
– Company-supplied Blackberry email device
– A private secretary
– First class travel privileges
-designer lamps and furniture, as well as LCD computer monitors
Although you, as a management showdown aspirant, may not qualify for some of the status symbols above, you may be able to find reasonable facsimiles. You might not qualify for a reserved parking spot right next to the building, for example, but you might be able to get one in the reserved lot, which is better than walking three blocks from the general parking area like the rest of the pawns.
Make it your business to say nice things to the secretary who handles such matters. It’s also worth making friends with people like the head of facilities and maintenance, who would be in a position to install a better office carpet or wallpaper than you deserve. Check out Dale Carnegie’s timeless book How to Win Friends and Influence People for the finer points of dealing with such people.
You may decide it’s politically expedient to spend your own money on things the company won’t provide, like that newest Blackberry or GSM cell phone and high-end office furniture.
Out-of-towners, new hires, and casual visitors who don’t know the difference will think your expensive trimmings come with the territory. If someone is rude enough to ask, “How did you rate this?” he just smiles and shrugs. That adds to the mystique of it.
Informal status symbols are another matter. These are usually adopted by the informal organization, and their importance varies from one company or department to another. For example, it has been reported that some managers like to display computer software running on large LCD monitors as status symbols.
The “authority” with such a “screen” may not be the first thing about these products and may also be technically inept in any computer skills.
Also think of a bank of slim LCD computer monitors as little more than a string of dim lamp bulbs. The most impressive upcoming computer accessories to be displayed include Microsoft Office System 2007 beta 2 Software, blocked computer web pages on Sourceforge.net, especially those web pages dealing with security, corporate firewall and encryption projects. Also, it always helps to show the latest Beta version from Microsoft. Software like the upcoming vaporware Vista operating system.
All these future advanced computer programs are for the most part mythical.
Can anyone you meet tell you the difference between their “Longhorn” prop computer screen and your “Vista”?
These advanced showroom computer software projects are always changing due to the nature of deadlines and the childish, infighting nature, as well as the poor writing skills of computer programmers.
In reality, no one can refute your experience or take your bluff seriously.
Anyone who does is either a liar or a fool and certainly not your competitor in seeking management or promotion in another field.
And anyway, it’s not like the others you’re trying to upgrade haven’t had enough problems with their current version of Windows or the computer systems they struggle with.
If you find it difficult to improve others, you can also leave your computer screens locked to those program screens and informational websites. Instructional CDs or reviews of these and other operating systems or programs may also be left for display and demonstration purposes.
And it never hurts to try to show that you are always in the process of updating your skills and knowledge. This will be seen as a demonstration of your time management and management assessment and decision making skills.
It’s always nice to pretend you’ve mastered a Linux distribution or Sun Microsystems server systems.
It should also be noted that there are readily available computer programs to help you pretend that you are busy 28 hours a day.
With the touch of a key, a blueprint of a work project can be displayed on your expensive and tidy LCD monitor while, on the news, you were actually searching the web for travel sites about your next vacation abroad, or just playing a game of lonely. A handy feature to have for when your boss walks in the door.
Most informal status symbols revolve around personal or office accessories. These include BlackBerry and
High-End Business Laptop Systems
In addition, these accessories must bear a silent testimonial to their value, both their stature and the essential value of the data they contain.
Expensive locks, encryption, and satellite-tracking security systems to protect your laptop from theft scream the importance of your laptop and your data on which the entire future of your business revolves.
As an up-and-comer, you should consider purchasing a portable communication device, such as laptops, even if your company doesn’t provide them.
Also consider the importance of Blackberry mobile email systems and high-end GSM phones because they can ultimately prove to be a wise and important investment in your career.
A Blackberry unit linked to the corporate computer and communications system, for example, means you’re a dedicated manager who may need to summon the electronic genius at any hour of the night to get data from your office files to solve a problem. life management. crisis.
Of course, it is prudent to point out that, with simple planning, such a crisis may never have occurred.
Today, you can even link your new GSM phone to your laptop for instant access from anywhere in the world to your head office.
Remember to often demonstrate your wireless capabilities, even if it’s a simple access point, or even your expensive Internet connection/GSM phone.
Just like an empty briefcase carried away at the end of the day or work week, it also doesn’t hurt to be seen lugging your laptop or Blackberry to and from work. You certainly seem more progressive and farsighted than your colleagues.
Remember that these and other quietly promoted corporate status symbols can advance your career in several important ways.