Rules of Work, 5th Edition

RULE 76

Spend more time with senior staff

No matter what level you are in the company, you can spend time with senior members of staff and they won’t even realise it if you handle it right. Draw attention to yourself and you will be spotted as an interloper, a spy, an intruder, a gatecrasher. Remember as a small child you could attend grown-up parties if you stayed quiet. They forgot you were there. Once spotted, you got carried off to bed – where you belonged. It’s the same as a junior. You can hang around and learn, but don’t blow it or you’ll be sent back to bed metaphorically.

When I was an office junior I noticed that senior members of staff tended to hang back after meetings sort of chewing the fat amongst themselves. The juniors scuttled ...