ADVICE TO GRADUATING STUDENTS: WHEN JOINING A COMPANY PRETEND YOU ARE ON A STRANGE NEW PLANET . . .
. . . with lifeforms that think differently than you. Look carefully at the various leaders in your new company. Every generation has its own habits, comfort zones, and invisible expectations, not just around technology but also communication and, much more importantly, decision-making.
Manager Tools always says “communication is what the listener does.” Your success in the first months comes down to noticing how each group prefers information, matching their style, and communicating in ways that feel natural to them, not you. These small adjustments help senior colleagues see you as someone who understands the environment and is easy to trust.
And trust is not only what opens the first doors. It is the absolute foundation of business life. Without trust nothing moves. With trust, everything does.
