We were never going to get very far in our “Does it work?” series without running into The Rules of Work. Without fail, every time I ask people about the career bibles that inspire and guide them, someone will mention Richard Templar’s international bestseller. The Amazon reviews are similarly enthusiastic: “it will show you the path, the way you need to go,” they assure me.
At first read, it seems to me that the contents can be split pretty cleanly in two: half is genuinely good, if slightly obvious advice. The other half is an unintentional work of comedic genius, like a TED talk delivered by Alan Partridge.
In an attempt to follow Rule 4.2 (Don’t bitch) I will start with the positives. A lot of the rules revolve around letting go of the unnecessary politics of the office and taking control of your own destiny: creating short and long term plans and thinking “more like a boss and less like a worker.”
This is sound advice. For a while now I’ve been feeling like I should have more of a plan, rather than just coasting along and seeing what happens to comes up next. In the current job market, it’s easy to feel so relieved to be employed and not living off your credit card that you forget to challenge yourself.
I take the time to compile a one month, one year and five year plan, each including detailed, practical steps that need to be taken in order to move forwards. This is surprisingly empowering and helps to reignite some of the enthusiasm that has been dampened by winter rain and early starts.
I also agree wholeheartedly with Rule 9.3: Know when to stay late and go early. Staying late for no reason other than “making a good impression” isn’t helping anyone, and can actually make it look like you’re inefficient or struggling with time management.
It has to be said however, that despite these nuggets of solid advice, elements of this book stray dangerously close to the ridiculous. Sample quote: “under promise and over deliver. It also helps to sometimes act dumb. Pretend you don’t understand some new technique or software when in fact you know it back to front.”
Unless you’re Boris Johnson or Paris Hilton, this seems like an indisputably bad idea. I would go as far as to call it career suicide for a journalist (“that breaking news story? I’ll write it up tomorrow. Oh, and could you show me how to open an email?”), but to be honest I’m struggling to think of any industry where pretending to be stupider than you are will help you to progress.
Things swiftly move into Monty Python territory when it comes to the rules of getting dressed for work. If you are a man, you should be clean shaven. If you must have facial hair, you should always check it for “insects, crumbs, fluff and mould.” Apparently nothing ruins a job interview like turning up with half a slice of toast and a bee in your beard.
Also off the menu are “fancy type shirts”, “velcro” and “modern fashions or statements of artistic license.” I am sorely tempted to start an online appeal to send Richard Templar to meet the uber-successful, hyper go-getting, and sartorially-off-the-wall residents of the Silicone Roundabout in Shoreditch.
Here, the book launches into a warning tale about a guy who rode a motorbike to work. He never got promoted, despite being brilliant at his job, because his means of transport identified him as a “youth.” Apparently being young and cool is bad for business. Except if you turn the page, the next rule is “Be cool.” I’m so confused.
Luckily for those who, like me, have lost the basic will to live by this point, there are several pages clarifying how this can be achieved. If you don’t know what cool is, the book explains, “try typing it into your word processor and then using the Thesaurus option.”
This pretty much sums up The Rules of Work: there’s something charmingly out of touch about it, like a dad telling his teenage daughter that she looks “trendy.”
If there’s one thing I took away from this, it was a realisation that the world of work, and what is expected of us, is changing at lightning speed. This book was first published in 2003, and 12 years later, in a world where flexibility, job satisfaction and wellbeing have come to the fore, much of it seems hugely old fashioned. While some things (having a clear plan, maintaining authority and avoiding “presenteeism”) will always be good advice, the way we work has changed almost beyond recognition - and part of being successful is knowing how to keep up.
