Review of Richard Templar’s "the Rules of Work"

“The Rules of work”

Richard Templar’s, “The Rules of Work”, is a lesson on the proper approach to getting ahead in the business world. For anyone who is wondering what it is that gets someone respect in the office, a raise, or that promotion to the top floor this book will reveal and teach how it is done. Straightforward in his approach, Templar clearly explains in words that we can all understand how to approach almost any situation and come out on top. After reading the evenly divided ten ten-lesson sections, one will be able to learn everything from walking the talk to looking after yourself to acting one step ahead to knowing and milking the system to handling the opposition. The most beneficial thing though, is that many of these lessons can be applied not only to the office, but to one’s everyday life as well. It is almost as if after reading this book, one can finally pass to real adulthood – to being someone in control of oneself and everything around you.

*To be a rules player you must be very good at whatever it is you do. Remember this as it is the basis for everything to follow. If you aren’t good at your job, get better at it or find a new one.*

Part 1 – Walk Your Talk

Pretty simple title right? The basic concept everyone should already know – Don’t talk more game than you can and legitimately want to do. “Before you put your hand up to volunteer for anything, think very carefully.” (6) There is more to this though. Most importantly you should never let anyone know how hard you work. To truly walk your talk you must keep an image of never really working hard but in reality behind the scenes you are working harder than everyone in the company. To be able to achieve this you must also enjoy what you are doing, develop the right attitude, carve out a niche for yourself, know something the others don’t, underpromise and overdeliver, and never stand still. “In an ideal world the rules player will have got their work done by lunchtime, so that they have the afternoon free.” (5)

Part 2 – Know that you’re being judged at all times.

If you can walk your talk, this shouldn’t be too hard to do. Understand that people judge. It is not necessarily a good thing that we do, but it happens all the time. You, the rules player are not one to be judgmental, you are above that, but you must realize that you are being judged by others all the time. This is a lesson on style of dress, confidence, and the overall image that you project. You want your image to be one of success and class. You want others around you to have a first impression of you as a person who has your act together and is confident in your own skin. This comes from understanding the proper handshake to speaking well to dressing well writing well to simply being cool. If you want to be a success you must act like one.

Part 3 – Have a plan

This section gives lessons on how to know where you are and where you are going. Having a plan is an essential part to succeeding. If you don’t have a set destination and direction then you are going nowhere and you wouldn’t be reading this book if you wanted to go nowhere. This section teaches goal setting in both the long and short term, learning the promotion system, developing game plans and building them around your own strengths and weaknesses as well as anticipating threats and looking for opportunities. “Not many people choose consciously to be a loser but that’s where they end up. Don’t let it happen to you. And it doesn’t happen, once you seize the initiative and develop a game plan.” (52)

Part 4 – If you can’t say anything nice – Shut up

This section I found personally to be the one I needed most. Learning to only say positive things and avoiding bitching, complaining, and gossiping has, in a very short amount of time, changed my life in so many positive ways. People are looking and approaching me differently. I’ve been gaining respect from my superiors and actually feeling better about myself as a person in general. “Moaning is pointless. It is unproductive and achieves nothing.” (70) The lesson also teaches you to stand up for others. It is good to be a protector of the little guy. You also must complement people sincerely, be cheerful and positive, be a good listener, ask questions, and most important use “Please” and “Thank You”.

Part 5 – Look after Yourself

As a follow up to the previous section, this is a reminder that not everyone out there is a nice person. There are people out there who will try to sabotage