I need Help with this, plz!

Ta.qUe.Ri.a wrote:

(We have pictures of you so-called mooners. And just because the pictures aren't of your faces doesn't mean we can't identify you…) Eve Arden in Grease.  See here for a group of mooners :  http://tinyurl.com/ynk8jm The enemy is the downturn in business  a downturn in business is when sales / income start to drop. (I love the business casual look for the way it combines unattractive with unprofessional while diminishing neither.)  Being casual remains unattractive and unprofessional. If you were to wear a smart business suit every day and then suddenly, without warning, turn up in denim and a worn T-shirt, chances are people would look at you askance.* look at you  askance means to look sideways at you - they will not look you directly in the face.   If you turn in good work and then one day hand in a pile of rubbish, people are going to think you have blown it You have failed .  You must be blameless, above reproach (that is probably the same thing), honest, reliable and dependable (again that is probably the same thing).  They are subtly different:  blameless = not responsible for anything bad; above reproach = cannot be blamed; honest = truthful; reliable = can be trusted to behave as expected; dependable = someone in whom you can have confidence.   But you do not have to be grey or dull or boring. You can be exciting, dynamic, stylish, adventurous, innovative, challenging (accept challenges or challenge others? challenge others to match you) – just make sure that whatever it is you decide to be, you stick at it and be consistent consistently. Always be consistent - not varying your behaviour or actions.   We are not talking budgets here or corporate targets. We are talking personal goals, personal objectives, personal bottom line What is being dicussed are goals and aims that are unique/personal to you.   It has always led me to believe I am a failure, but I found out the other day that there is a gene for good sporting skills and it is one I obviously don't have. Am I a failure? Nope, just genetically challenged, and I can't beat myself up about that. Lacking the gene for good sporting skills, so have to work extra hard at these skills as I am not genetically designed to be good at them. There is not another person in sight [This sentence lacks enough context to be sure what the author means, but something being in sight means you can see it] because measuring (it means comparing, doesn't it?Yes - with the additional meaning of assessing yourself in terms of the other.) yourself against anyone else is a mug's game. I once owned a motor bike – a rather grand one and I loved it very much. I came alongside another motorcyclist at the traffic lights and looked his bike over. ' That is the one I want,' I cried to myself in the splendid isolation of my crash helmet. [I said to myself in my mind] He was looking at my bike and obviously thinking the same thing. As the lights changed and we both roared [they both accelerated hard so their motorbikes roared away] away together I realized he and I were riding identical bikes. Ah, the fickle mind, how it winds us up, beats us up   [upsets us - makes us worry]  and plays tricks. Look at anyone and chances are there will be something to envy, but you don't know what goes on inside them. Walk a mile in someone else's shoes, they say, and chances are you will be a mile away; but you have got their shoes, make a run for it.   The first part is part of a saying: To understand another person, walk a mile in their shoes; The author has combined this with suggesting that rather than merely envy other people, set out to match and better them and their achievements - you have got their shoes, you have walked a mile in them, now run away and keep the shoes.   No one knows what goes on inside your head. No one knows what lofty heights [metaphorical mountains - the heights of success] you aspire to. No one knows what you are really up to – remember Rule 40: know what you are actually doing – so you can work on your game plan  [your own plan for your career] and be doing your job well at the same time   there is nothing quite like having someone dampen your firework.[firework = fire-crackers and so on, which won't work if they are wet; metaphorically allowing other people to prevent you succeeding.]  An awful lot of management is having front – being able to look the part, to inspire confidence, to walk your walk. If people get wind of any game plan that deviates from that confident air of the perfect manager they will lose confidence. The important thing in business is never to seem at a loss or unsure of what you are doing. If you look and behave with confidence, then people will believe you.  . If you have a game plan of rapid promotion, people will assume you are a high flyer [high achiever] and stop giving you long-term projects on the grounds that you will be moving up too soon. And so on. Play your cards close to your chest [don't let other people know what you plan to do] and keep up the appearance of dedication, commitment, reliability, diligence [working hard]and stability – even if in your heart of hearts you are planning revolution, climbing Everest or taking over the empire.   In any workplace there will be a mountain of red tape, [In Britain legal documents were and are tied together with a pink tape, which is known as red tape - it is a metaphor for over-control] bureaucracy, old rules left in place from previous management regimes – get rid of them all. Question everything you and your team do and make it work slicker and quicker (what's the difference?slicker = more efficient; quicker = faster) by getting rid of anything that is redundant, unnecessary, left over.[get rid of anything you feel is unecessary. This is the work equivalent of clutter clearing, process feng shui [ "feng shui" - Chinese theory of making a place harmonise with the environment - so "process feng shui" is de-cluttering office processes] if you like. Beats me, but I had to work unbelievably hard to get rid of that bit of Dickensian nonsenseDickensian = old-fashioned   You won't beat yourself up over them, nor sit in a pit of misery over them [You will not agonise about them] but you will analyze what went wrong, discuss with colleagues why it went wrong and make a plan to prevent it from going wrong again.   You are a better manager, more experienced, have a wider spectrum to call on [make use of] when you have made a few errors.