“He’ll be the nicest guy in the world, but don’t be fooled. He’d leave you on the floor and step over you to get where he wants to go.” – Someone about a business partner.

The truth is, most people don’t care about you… at least professionally.

They are not invested in your success, they’re not looking to help you, and they are largely focusing on their own interests. Aggression is’t a bug; it’s a feature, and everyone displays it differently. That’s particularly true as you get to higher seats… and maybe a little less true when first starting out. 

In the early days, you do sometimes get a periodic mentor or champion. But as any established person will tell you: as you rise, you’re ultimately on your own. That is true within every aspect of your career, company, and business. 

Not only are you ‘on your own,’ but you will have forces actively working against you; to take advantage of you, take you doen, or get you out of their way. Not everyone plays nice. They are ruthless in their determination to be the top dog in that space. It is what it is… but there are ways to work with them that can benefit you, instead of leaving you as the 38th body they drop on their path forward. 

They won’t come in the packages you expect, and will often throw you off guard. Some may be your peers, your boss, your employees, or those you do business with. Sometimes they’ll genuinely surprise you. 

This piece is a practical grounding meant help you be the winner in the dogfights to come. Though, in truth, most of the things that will knock you out won’t look like dogfights at all. It will just be someone screwing you over. Let’s work to not let that happen to you or happen again if you’ve already experienced this. 

Everyone at higher levels is in this game to win. Let’s talk about the things you might need to shift or provide a checkpoint to see if you are well-positioned.