THE TOOLKIT
Unwritten Laws of Business

Over the years, I’ve heard countless stories about people feeling frustrated, annoyed, anxious, defensive, outraged, and disrespected. However, you should know that it is usually–and I say usually meaning about 90-95 percent of the time–the result of unintentional behavior or series of behaviors. As such, I’ve found there are principles in business that can’t be found in a college textbook or management 101 course. These principles help explain why people unintentionally may come across as jerks or why organizations may feel so challenging sometimes.

• Business ain’t fair.
• The only constant in business is change.
• You will always be asked to do more with less.
• Ambiguity is the only certainty.
• No one woke up this morning thinking, “How can I screw you over?”