How To Succeed At Any (Corporate) Job

At TeamGuru, we believe in a few key principles that drive our culture. They help us grow as individuals as well as a team. We would love to share them with you.

1. Show up / Play full out

Think of your job (in any business) as a game. It will help you to understand the rules and the skills to be learned.

• You want to win the game for yourself and your team. Your team includes you, your boss, your customers, your colleagues, and your suppliers.
• Show up prepared every day with maximum energy and focus.
• Not every game can be won right away, but you can learn and improve every time you play it.
• Face the truth: if you are not willing to give all you’ve got, someone else will end up taking your place in the game. You are in charge of your own destiny.

2. Act as a leader

Real leaders act as examples and inspire others to become the best versions of themselves. You can choose to be a leader at any time - this is unrelated to "official hierarchies" and only reflects your own ability to learn and grow.

• Constantly look for the best path for the team to take. Help to clarify priorities, so that everyone is working toward a shared goal.
• Be the first to stand up and face a challenge. Your courage will give courage to others.
• Protect the team (reminder: this means you, your boss, your customers, your colleagues, and your suppliers). If anyone on the team needs help or gets under pressure, it is your role to back them up. Your help can have different forms: give them a hand, serve as a mentor, suggest a different solution, or just be present and help them clarify their own thoughts.

3. Be early

The value of anything you do (think of a customer request, report for your boss, email reply to your colleague) increases dramatically when delivered sooner than the other party expects.

• Being responsive will give you an edge and you will be earning "emotional currency" from everyone you interact with.
• Learn to execute small things immediately as they show up. It will prevent stacking up clutter in your mind and in your to-do list.
• Understand the impact of being late: one person can slow down the entire team. A real-world example: 5 people waiting for 5 minutes before the meeting starts = 25 minutes lost.

4. Play it smart

Keep things simple and always hold the desired outcome in mind.

• When speaking or writing, aim to deliver a short and clear message. 
• Don't drop the ball: passing a task to your colleague is not enough - you need to make sure that they have received it, understood it, and were able to complete it.
• Be positive and nice to others. Respect the team and the team will respect you.
• Stay focused on the right outcome. Keep asking yourself: What problem are we trying to solve?

5. Have fun

Practicing these principles will inevitably improve many areas of your life, like your job security, wealth, personal growth, or happiness. It may not be super easy and you will not always get it right. But if you take the time to reflect on your actions and remind yourself of who you want to become, nothing will be able to stop you.

Have fun and enjoy the journey!