As easy as 1-2-3. Nope.

Back in 2003, after leaving a job under far from ideal circumstances, I wrote that among Bud's Life Rules are Three Keys to Job Survival:


One: Never disagree with your supervisor.
Two: Never question your supervisor.
Three: Never refuse your supervisor.

I had seen over several decades of working that those three rules came into play everywhere I had ever worked. To my mind, they are universal. And I have broken them on nearly every professional job I've had, including my current, and final, FT job.

So this begs the question, If I have learned these lessons why have I not applied them?

The answer is simple: Because I believe behavior based on values such as doing the right thing, fairness, and honesty—to name just a few—apply even and perhaps especially in the office.

Anyone who wants to live (read: dead souls walking) by the three keys must succumb to the three P’s that are the foundation of most offices: power, position, and politics.

Further, the dead souls must check at the door every single day any expectations they might have related to humanity, integrity, and other values that most of us strive for.

I may have failed to apply lessons learned, but I have never prostituted my value system for the sake of a paycheck.

Do I hear Old Blue Eyes singing "My Way"?