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Best occupational advice you have received

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UVaWahoo

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After my discharge from active duty, my first civilian job was with Price Waterhouse. I guess because of the times and that I was a veteran, one of the partners became somewhat of a mentor to me and gave me the best professional advice I have ever had. This was long before personal computors, we were still using pencils and paper worksheets. He asked me to come in on a Saturday and help him with a project. Actually, my contribution was basically to help post numbers to multiple rather large worksheets. When we were finished, I mentioned to him, that I really wasn't sure what it was we just did or if I ever would.


He had me follow him to a conference room/library. On three walls were shelves holding multiple CCH and other reference materials. He said to me, the most important quality to succeed is the ability to ask the right questions. Look around, finding the answers is easy. Don't worry if you don't know all the answers, someone will always have the answer to the right question. I believe you have the ability to ask the needed questions. That one moment, that one Saturday afternoon, had a positive life time effect on me.


Accordingly, my advice to anyone starting on their professional adventure, find some experienced individual you trust to be your mentor, learn from them, Grasshopper.


Edit: I messed up, this should be in the Random folder, anyone know how to move it.
 
The best advise I ever received with in relationships, which could be occupational at times. They told me that going into marriage, if you expect it to be 50/50 all the time, every day, then the marriage will end up failing. Some days its 90/10, other days it's 60/40 and some very well could be 50/50. But it will change based on the day. Best advise I ever received before I got married.
 
I've received a couple:

Never let the thought of a paycheck keep you from doing what's the right thing

You'll only get sued and lose if you tried to take shortcuts. Document everything, and get it all in writing.
 
Mward said:
You'll only get sued and lose if you tried to take shortcuts. Document everything, and get it all in writing.
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Live by this daily in my field. Great advice.
 
You won't get fired for making a mistake. You'll get fired for not learning from it.
 
"Don't get an education degree, do anything else"

I didn't listen, but best advice ever.
 
You don't need a title to be a leader, and people who lead without a title usually get one.
 
Never trust a guy who needlessly backs his car into a parking spot.
 
He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else. - Benjamin Franklin
 
Smart people only make the right decision 50% of the time. Don't be afraid to make a mistake or you'll miss the opportunity to accomplish something 100% of the time.
 
Successful people enjoy the "Process" more than the "Result"
 
"You don't take care of Soldiers by not enforcing standards. You take care of them by helping them exceed those standards." I was a young Specialist at the time and about to start a very long and unpleasant GI party cleaning the barracks. The Battery had just gotten a new Top Kick, and he was very disappointed in the lax disposition of the organization. I hated that new First Sergeant at the time, but those words have stuck with me now that I'm a non-commissioned officer.
 
Take your work seriously, and take yourself lightly.
 
Never burn your bridges, ever. You never know when you might need to come back across...
 
Barberakb said:
Never burn your bridges, ever. You never know when you might need to come back across...
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Agreed - it's a very small world and you never know who's path you will cross again and when!

We all want to go out in an epic flame of glory when we feel a wrong has occurred - temper it, not worth it.
 
Erky said:
Never trust a guy who needlessly backs his car into a parking spot.
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I love this one!

Don't complain about the small, monotonous tasks managers give you because they are a test for bigger more important ones.
 
Work for tomorrow not for today.
 
Leadership develops daily not in a day.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
My mother: "Why don't you go and talk to a recruiter?"

21 1/2 years later, I came home again.
 
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