Things I hope I remember...(OR, idle gyan 'coz I'm too bored to write a real post)

Monday morning 9:30 am, I've been here since 7, and already I'm defusing a potentially explosive mistake by IT, by soothing the traders and cajoling IT to clean the mess up asap. Its partly my mistake, too, as I should have questioned the assumptions made during the whole process. In between kissing ass of all concerned and making them work, I thot I should write down things that I keep reminding myself...(also, this counts as a post, and goes towards fulfilling my resolution of atleast 5 posts per week) -

1. Never make any assumptions, if possible. If you absolutely have to make assumptions, validate them, publicise them, and be ready to question them, always.
2. Professional life is the constant struggle between covering your ass and actually getting something done. Sometimes you have to follow the whole process, and cover every eventuality to ensure success, sometimes (especially when time is of the essence), you have to improvise, streamline, speed up the process or abandon process and use your experience and instinct to get the job done. The ability to understand when to do what, is your competence.
3. It doesn't just sound sexy, it also makes professional sense to stand up for what you believe in, as long as you believe it is in the best interests of the firm. If you accept status quo, you are not just dooming your firm to mediocrity, you are also losing a chance to coast into the upper echelons of the firm.
4. There are things that are made by man, there are things that are made by God (or nature, or evolution, or chaos, whatever makes you happy). Examples of the former are religion, plastic, and business processes, while examples of the latter are human nature, trees, and free will. Preserve and deal very carefully with things made by God, question, debate and try to improve everything made by man.
5. Sometimes you screw up, or sometimes things get so out of control that you get angry, frustrated, or you start to panic. In those times, take a deep breath, look out of the window (or if you face skyscrapers, like I do), come out of the office, take a walk or get a breath of fresh air. In my case, I come out and walk till the end of Wall St, which is also the end of Manhattan island, and stand at the pier, by the East River. I can see Brooklyn Bridge on one side, and the Statue of Liberty on the other side. If I turn around, I can see the mass of structures thats Wall St. I think to myself, any screw-up that i do, is it going to kill somebody? Is it going to affect any God-given bounty to mankind? Will the Sun not rise tomorrow? Will the stars stop shining tonight? When I find the answers to these questions is No, I smile and come back to work. Try asking yourself these questions, and you will get a proper perspective on your missteps. (In case the answers to any of those questions is Yes, then you are really screwed, man...)
6. Everyday, try talking to atleast one stranger face-to-face. It could be at work, in the train on your way home, at the supermarket, in the gym or the pub. It could be a simple smile and a comment about the weather, or it could be an interesting conversation lasting hours and several drinks (and a number, if you are so inclined and so lucky). It could be with someone your own age, it could be someone older, or someone younger (though if you look like the typical engineer or IIM grad, I would suggest staying away from kids below 14, however honorable your intentions...). Approach someone without any preset notions, and without any expectations. It will do wonders to your confidence, give you a fresh perspective on life (Point 5 above was suggested to me by a retired Columbia University doorman, a Scot, who I met at a pub), and might improve your chances of getting laid (not necessarily with a retired Columbia University doorman, but hey, whatever makes you happy...).
7. As far as possible, try to look at both sides of a situation before taking a decision, or jumping to conclusions. If you hate Rudy Guiliani (or love Hillary Clinton) because the New York Times hates him (loves her), try to find out what an ideologically opposite paper (Wall st Journal) says about him (or her). If you love slasher movies and extremely violent video games, try watching the Titanic (or DDLJ). You might still not change your view, but it will help you get a more nuanced position.
8. Look sharp. Nothing spectacular, just shave, trim unwanted facial hair in other places, shower, use a deo, get rid of any nasty odors from your mouth (try chewing gum, works for me), wear clean, matching, pressed shirts and trousers, manage your hair (comb it, gel it, whatever), and wear clean socks and polished shoes. You will not only stand a better chance of being taken seriously at work, your wife will stay some more years with you before running away with a younger guy.