It's a Jungle Out There

As we get set for the Labour Day weekend, what was it that Tarzan said to Jane after a hard day swinging through the trees?
“It’s a jungle out there!” We’ve heard that expression over the years out in the working world. A few years ago I read an interesting piece on how to better survive in the jungle.

For openers, I was reminded of the fact that a cheater is a cheater. What someone says or does in the most innocent of situations speaks about his or her real self. If someone cheats in a friendly game of cards or golf, then beware. This is quite probably that person’s true nature and in business dealings that trait will surface at one time or another. It is also true that a person who is nice to you but is not nice to a server or a cashier is not a nice person.

We’ve heard this before, but the best way to survive in the jungle is to say what you mean and mean what you say. In business, promises are made and broken every day leaving a terrible impression and hindering progress in business dealings. Credibility is crucial to long term survival and promising then not delivering is worse than not promising in the first place. Remember, too, there is no such thing as a secret. Don’t assume requests for confidentiality will be honoured and don’t repeat confidential information in written form as it could come back to bite you.

Finally, my favourite way to survive out there is to keep laughing. A sense of humour put to use every day can be an effective shield against the slings and arrows fired at you from liars, thieves and scam artists.