The 52 CORPORATE CAVEATS

What You Need to Know to Survive in Corporate America

By Tyrone Turner

Sample Version for SlideShare

 L E G A L S T U F F

Author: Tyrone Turner

Email: tyroneturner1@gmail.com

All rights reserved. No part of this ebook may be reproduced or

transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical,

including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or

retrieval system without written permission from the author,

except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

Disclaimer

The author, advisors no any of the resources named in this ebook shall

have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with

respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused by any of

the ideas mentioned directly or indirectly in this ebook.

Also, the persons mentioned in this ebook are fictional and any

similarities to actual people are purely coincidental.

Copyright © 2013 by Tyrone Turner

First Edition

United States of America

 T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

DEDICATION

SPECIAL THANKS

INTRODUCTION

LOVE YOUR ENEMIES

THE 52 CORPORATE CAVEATS

WHAT TO DO WHEN IT HITS THE FAN

F.A.M.I.L.Y. IN THE WORKPLACE

MODEL EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT

CONCLUSION

CORPORATE SURVIAL RESOURCES

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S

The following individuals have been a huge help in guiding me through

the sometimes troubled waters of Corporate America:

Alan Sklover, Esq.

Ciro DiSclafani

Marilyn Gibbs

David S. Bunch (“Sensei Buddha”)

 D E D I C A T I O N

This ebook is dedicated to all of the hard-working people out there

who are doing all they can to protect and provide for themselves and

their families.
 S P E C I A L T H A N K S

Thank you to my best friend, who is more like a brother, David S.

Bunch. He is known affectionately as “Sensei Buddha.” You are a great

teacher and a cherished friend.

Thank you to my friend and mentor, Ciro DiSclafani. Your coaching has

helped me better appreciate and exercise the art of asking questions

and active listening.

I cannot call you by name, but you know who you are; those covert

operatives who have guarded my flank and pulled my coat to plots being

cooked-up against me. Without your help, I would have been a casualty

of war a long time of go.

Thank you to my enemies. You have helped to learn more about myself

and to identify who my true friends, allies, frenemies and enemies

are. I love you for that.

 I N T R O D U C T I O N

First things first, this ebook is written specifically but not

exclusively for intrapreneurial employees, older employees, employees

who are exceptionally good at what they do and those who have never

worked in but will be entering Corporate America. Robert Greene, the

author of the The 48 Laws of Power and the The 33 Strategies of War,

inspired me to write this paper. The title of this ebook, The 52

Corporate Caveats, is intended to pay homage to him. I learned so much

from his books and adapted and applied the lessons learned to the

workplace.

I have worked in Corporate America for more than 25 years. I have met

some good, outgoing people along the way. I have also met some real

jerks along the way too. There is also a healthy compliment of people

who are either apathetic or too afraid to get involved with issues in

the workplace. This book is meant to shed some light on some of the

shady things you should know about what you may experience while

working in Corporate America. It is not all doom and gloom, but I want

to tell you the real deal on how things go down.

I am not a lawyer, but one thing that you should know of the bat is

that the “At Will Employment Doctrine” is bull…! We’re fed that

nonsense so that employers can protect themselves from governmental

investigations and civil lawsuits. Bad employers tend to hide the At

Will employment lie cover-up their unfair and at times illegal

practices like retaliating against you for reporting harassment or an

unsafe work environment. I have resources listed like Adam Sklover’s

Sklover Working Wisdom blog and Workplace Fairness’s website that you

can refer to for more information on at will employment and how to

protect yourself against it and other shenanigans. Their website

addresses are listed in the Corporate Survival Resources section at

the end of this report.

My upbringing, the U.S. Army and my martial arts training have

certainly prepared me to be mentally tougher and more tenacious than

most. However, most of the things that I will be sharing can easily be

adopted and applied by just about anybody. The secret to survival is

being alert and aware of what is going on around you. When you see

that pile of poop, don’t step in it. When you see the writing on the

wall, read it and heed it.

I started sharing the various warning that I will be sharing in this

book on Twitter under the hash tag #loveyourenemies. Some of my

connections encouraged me to expand on what I was sharing so here it

is. There ended up being 52 tweets (i.e., posting on Twitter) so that

is where I came up with the number 52. I will provide brief

explanations on what is meant by each statement. The explanations are

meant to be thought-provoking. They are not meant to be exhaustive

explanations or proverbial “magic bullets.” Put on your thinking caps,

and draw on what you already know – what you have experienced, seen or

heard. Experience is always the best teacher, but it need not be your

personal experience.
It is funny how the number of caveats that I tweeted about ending up

being 52. The number 52 is special to me because you have 52 cards in

a deck of playing cards and there is an urban combat system called “52

Blocks.” This book is certainly 52 cards that you should have in your

deck that will help you be able to take a defensive or an offensive

posture depending on the circumstances – just like “52 Blocks.”

When I use the words enemy, foe, rival, adversary or hater in this

book, I am referring to a jealous peer at your job who always seem to

try to throw you under the bus for their own self-interest, or a

horrible boss that feels threatened by you or is just a jerk for no

apparent reason at all.

Thank you in advance for your time and attention and I sincerely hope

that you find value in what is shared here in this paper.

 “LOVE YOUR ENEMIES”

This is a 34-part haiku chain poem. Some of the haiku even rhyme. I

think that I’ll call my rhyming haiku Haiku Rhyme Chains. By the way,

make sure to love your enemies. When you do, it really peeves-off

those dirty rats! 

Enjoy the poem!

“Love Your Enemies”

© 2013 Tyrone Turner

All rights reserved.

They give you focus.

They ignite your passion and

make you determined.

You will learn who you

really are. Adversity

alone will show you.

Colin Powell said,

“Get mad, get over it then

get going.” Wise words.

Do not let anger

consume you to the point of

becoming reckless.

Do not waddle in

the cesspool of self-pity.

It yields no results.

When one is prepared

a counter-strike will be an
unpleasant surprise.

You were not supposed

to be able to respond.

They thought you beaten.

Little did they know

how thick and impregnable

your castle’s walls are.

How deep your moat

and accurate your archers.

The oil pours so hot.

They thought you to be

alone, but you have allies

and wise advisors.

What foes may do to

you – or attempt to do, may

indeed be heinous.

However, do not

hate them. Hate blinds you. It makes

you brash and reckless.

Be thankful for what

they teach you. For how they push

you to new limits.

JFK said, “Fix your

roof when the sun is shining.”

Not when it’s raining.

Use times of calm to

fortify your defenses.

Prepare for battle.

Be not the one to

be called an aggressor, but

one who defends well.

That way, perhaps your

reputation will serve as

a deterring force.

To sum this all up

take the time to remember

this haiku chain rhyme:

#####

To your rivals you

owe a debt. Pay them back by

not getting upset.

Work to get even

instead. Psychological

warfare hurts their heads.

Their greed and lowly

scruples give them gall to run

into a brick wall.

That wall is one of

your castle’s walls. Now you have

them by their damned balls.

You don’t have to turn

the other cheek. Not when its

justice that you seek.

Do all you can to

keep the peace. However, do

not let good sense cease.

Be patient and let

things take their course then ride-off

on your swift white horse.

It is a sweet thing

to give them a kiss and watch

their pants soil with piss.

Kind of like how Mike

told Fredo, “I know it was

you.” Smell the doo-doo?

[Sidebar, click on the link below to see a clip from the Godfather II

http://youtu.be/lv00uh1XsHs where Mike Corleone “sons” his brother

Fredo]

Be well-schooled in the

compiled teachings of Robert

Greene. Know what I mean?

Read The 48

Laws of Power so over

foes you will tower.

Learn from the book The

33 Strategies of

War to tilt the score.

“What would Jesus do?”

Well, look what they did to him

so they will screw you.

Kill them with kindness.

The unjust will think you dumb,

blind and mindless.

Feigning weakness is

a smart way to cope. Ali

called it “Rope-a-Dope.”

#####

Learn who is who. Friend,

foe, or frenemy. Just please

love your enemies.

 5 2 C O R P O R A T E C A V E A T S

1. Appreciate your rivals. They push you to stay on your toes and

out-maneuver them. They help you sharpen your sword.

Why is Chevrolet such an improved automaker? Probably because

of Ford, Chrysler and imported options. Competitors cause you

to think outside of the box and do things that you may not

have thought possible. Sometimes you need a little push. Even

when it is one of the haters at work who are trying to throw

you under the bus.

2. Rivals use tactics that you can prep for in future battles and

even use against others. An unconventional advisory staff.

When a coworker does you dirty at work, shame on them for

being a dirt bag. If you let it happen to you a second time,

shame on you for being asleep at the wheel. Take note of what

they did to you and perhaps it is a tactic that you can employ

in the future to “off” one of your rivals.

3. Foes help you to determine the borders of your soul -- you'll

know when you’re firing on all cylinders or where you're weak.

Your enemies will let you know who you are. It is easy to talk
 tough but it is a different thing once you have to walk the

walk. As it is said in boxing, “Everybody has a plan until

they get hit.” The founder of Judo, Jigoro Kano, emphasized

the need for free fighting (randori) because you will never

know what you’re made of until you meet a resisting opponent.

4. Keep your adversaries where you can see them. It is so much

fun to see them feign happiness at your achievements.

Once your enemies reveal themselves, keep your eyes on them.

It is like baseball – keep your eye on the ball. You must keep

them close so you can better study them. Also, it is somewhat

amusing to watch them fake their joy at your accomplishments.

That is when they really reveal themselves. They may smile but

their eyes reveal their true feelings.

5. Some become too emotional and public in their attempt to

discredit you. This causes new-found helpers come to your aid.

According to THE BIBLE, Pontius Pilate washed his hands from

having any responsibility for Jesus’s crucifixion and

execution. There are some good people in Corporate America

that will do things to help you when they see that someone is

out to get you. Believe me when I tell you, without the aid of

these new-found allies, you’ll be toast.

 F. A. M. I. L. Y. I N T H E W O R K P L A C E

Okay, I talked about how things can suck so it is only fair that I

offer a solution. You know, it always killed me on some folks

criticize things but never offer alternatives. I remember when I was

at a seminar a few years back and the author of The Slight Edge, Jeff

Olson, said, “Have you noticed that there are no statues erected in

the honor of critics?” That is so true! I committed at that moment to

not criticize anything unless I was willing to work on finding a

better way.

So, what with this proposed workplace code I’m not talking about

bringing the kids and your spouse to work. I’m talking about a new

doctrine that could be used in the workplace that could yield better

results; more revenue, more happiness and more hope for advancement.

F.A.M.I.L.Y. is an acronym. I would be remiss if I did not admit that

this was inspired by my experience working in the direct selling

industry where cooperation is encouraged over competition. A good

leader should work to encourage these things in her little fiefdom in

order to create the “perfect workplace.” Now, people are not perfect,

but if we adopt this as our code we will get better.

Here is what F.A.M.I.L.Y. is all about:

Fairness
Everyone is to be treated with appreciation and respect, and any

progress or special dates (e.g. birthdays, anniversaries with the

company, promotions, etc.) should be celebrated. Your skin color,

ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, religion, political views,

handicaps, health nor any other legally protected class should be a

factor. Whether you average-looking, ugly, drop-dead gorgeous matters

not. It is all about giving everyone equal access to opportunities and

to due process.

Accountability

Everyone is to be held accountable for their actions and/or the lack

thereof. No more “throwing others under the bus” to save one’s own

hide. How can you have true success at work when everyone is

suspicious of each other? Let’s all be adults and like President Harry

Truman used to say, “The buck stops here.” That is the mindset that

needs to be instilled in today’s workers.

Merit-based Promotions

Ideally, promotions will be based on merit. Let’ start picking the

right man for the job. By the way, oftentimes, the right man for the

job is a woman. Organizations can’t achieve greatness with “hooking-

up” their cronies. Put the right people in right positions and

beautiful things can happen.

Intrapreneurship
The best ideas come from the field. I heard that Post-It® Notes was

created by a 3M employee. Companies should start paying attention that

their employees have a wealth of ideas. As a matter of fact, companies

oftentimes steal employee-generated ideas and claim them as their own

intellectual property as per the employee handbook. Dang. At least

give the employees some sort of incentives and recognition. Well, they

don’t know about the F.A.M.I.L.Y. code yet so maybe they’ll do better

once we school them. Nurture employees and encourage them to come up

with new ways to do things or to submit product ideas. Have them take

entrepreneurial-like initiatives while working for the company.

Intrapreneurship is the new cool.

Leadership

I believe that leaders are made, not born. Skills can be taught. If

you want your employees to be better, Corporate America has to do

better with giving them educational opportunities. This can be

classroom instruction, tuition reimbursement, mentorship or cross-

training. Also, leaders need to understand that you must be a servant

to your employees first. Being the boss doesn’t mean that you have to

be a “double S.O.B.” spelled backwards!

Yeoman Work Ethic

Projects should be handled with enthusiasm and a sense of urgency from

beginning to end. Revenue is lost because of lethargic work habits.

Work hard so you can play hard. Like the great rapper, Big Daddy Kane
said in his song, RAW, “I worked like a slave so I can become a

master.” Ideally, this is how one gets promoted.

All six parts of F.A.M.I.L.Y. are interdependent on each other. You

have to have all of them firing on all cylinders to create the perfect

workplace. Will there ever be the perfect workplace? No. Nonetheless,

it is an ideal to strive for because most current options stink.

 M O D E L E M P L O Y M E N T C O N T R A C T

This model employment contract is taken from page 179, Appendix A in

the book You Could Be Fired For Reading This Book; by Glenn Solomon,

Esq. This sample employment contract is inspired by the Model

Employment Termination Act (META). It was adopted in 1991 by the

National Conference of Commissioners of Uniform State Laws. According

to Mr. Solomon, out of the 50 states in our great union only Montana

has adopted laws based or are similar to the principles outlined in

META.

Employment Contract

It is hereby agreed between _____________________ (Employer) and

_____________________ (Employee) as follows:

1. Employee is hired by Employer for the position of

_____________________, beginning _____________________.

2. Employee’s compensation is to be _____________________.

3. Employer may terminate employee’s employment only for just cause

or lack of work.

4. In the event of termination of employment employee has the right

to submit the issue of just cause or lack of work to arbitration.

5. The arbitrator is to be chosen by the parties with responsibility

and costs to be determined by the arbitrator.

6. In the event that the arbitrator finds that termination is no

supported by just cause or lack of work the remedy shall be limited to

reinstatement with or without back pay or front pay in lieu of

reinstatement when reinstatement is impracticable.

7. Employee and employer have the right to representation by counsel

at their own expense in arbitration.

8. In exchange for protection against at-will termination employee

gives up the right to sue under federal or state law for employment

discrimination, wrongful discharge, or breach of contract and accepts

arbitration of all disputes according to this agreement as the sole

recourse.
9. By signing this agreement employee warrants that he/she has had

one week to consider it before signing with the opportunity to consult

with an attorney. Employee understands that he/she can rescind this

agreement within fourteen days of execution.

10. This Agreement supersedes any previous agreement as well as any

non-competition agreement or other employment agreement between the

parties that is inconsistent with the terms of this Agreement.

11. Except for paragraph 2, this Agreement can only be modified in

writing.

12. Employee does not agree to give up the right to termination only

for just cause or lack of work in exchange for an increase in

compensation.

_____________________

_____________________ _____________________

for Employer Employee

date: date:
 C O N C L U S I O N

Well, I hope that you found this ebook helpful. I dare not get too

deep into things by giving you actual names, events, locations, dates,

and why certain things happened. That would be unwise and could

possible open me up to lawsuits. However, the intention of this ebook

was to provoke thought and to pull your coat to some things you can do

and resources you can use to protect yourself and/or get justice for

wrongs done against you. Please, don’t let the bastards get you down.

Do your job to the best of your ability but do not eat crap – stand up

for your rights and demand respect. The info in this ebook has given

you A LOT of options that I did not have. Take heed of what was shared

here become the best professional possible. Remember to protect

yourself at all times.

Unfortunately sometimes bad things happen to good people. Don’t take

it personally but don’t take things sitting down either. The squeaky

wheel gets the grease but sometimes the squeaky wheel gets “greased”

(i.e., fired). Keep clean and document, document, document as it is

the best way to protect yourself. Personal notes are cool but email

communications to and from your enemies are solid gold. With emails,

make sure to bcc (blind carbon copy) your personal email account so

that you always have a record.

You’re the dealer of this deck of cards and you ultimately are in

control of your destiny.

All the best to you in your current and future endeavors.
 C O R P O R A T E S U R V I V A L R E S O U R C E S

Workplace Fairness www.WorkplaceFairness.org

Model Letters to Keep You Out of

Trouble at Work www.SkloverWorkingWisdom.com

Legal Expenses Insurance Plans www.LegalShield.com

The National Labor Relations Board www.nlrb.gov

The Equal Opportunity Employment

Commission www.eeoc.gov

The Occupational Safety &

Health Administration www.osha.gov

United States Attorney’s Office www.justice.gov/usao/

Protect Your Online Reputation www.BrandYourself.com

 A B O U T T H E A U T H O R

Tyrone Turner has been working in Corporate America for more than 25

years. During that time he has seen the good, the bad, the ugly, and

the stupid. His hometown is the Bronx (NYC) and he currently lives

with his family in Queens, New York.

He is a consultant that helps intrapreneurs achieve their goals and

helps organizations and companies improve overall performance.

He has released three other books to date. They are a business

networking book entitled The Whole 9 Yards: Breaking Tackles While

Building Your Brand, and two poetry books; For the Love of Women of

Color and The Morning After. He has more information products and

poetry-related projects in production.

He is a martial artist and enjoys writing poetry, exercising, and

meeting new people.

Connect with him on LinkedIn and follow him on Twitter.

The page addresses are www.linkedin.com/in/tyroneturner and

www.twitter.com/tyroneturner respectively.

His business blog is at www.Whole9YardsBook.com. He can be reached via

email at tyroneturner1@gmail.com or by phone at 347.948.3255.