Efrain Martinez @martefrain: People say kissing ass is the only way to get up in life. Is this true?
ANSWER:
Ass kissing is the worst way to get ahead. You will be hated by your peers. Your boss will lose respect for you. And your underlings will lose faith that you know how to manage upwards.
The only way to succeed in a business environment:
learn everything about your industry
learn everything about your company
learn everything about the background of your superiors
treat your colleagues with respect and kindess and honestlhy
give credit everywhere you can. The more credit you give, you will eventually get three times the credit back.
Be silent at all times except when you are absolutely convinced (and use the above to convince you) that your words have value.
Then you are delivering value and you will rise to the top.
Otherwise all ass-kissing does is it makes your lips brown and your breath bad.