Carl Hiaasen Quotes

In every work environment, there will be politics. If you really want to rise to the top, you need to figure out what those politics in your workplace are. Then, you hook it in. You decide what conforms and what does not conform to your personal code.

I'd be bored to death if I spent all my time with other businesspeople, bankers and lawyers.

To get promoted, company executives need to be able to see you as one of them.

Networking is the No. 1 unwritten rule of success in business.

You know what they say about bein' nice to the right people on the way up Sooner or later you gonna meet them comin' down

Early to bed and early to rise is a bad rule for anyone who wishes to become acquainted with our most prominent and influential people.

Personal relationships are always the key to good business. You can buy networking; you can't buy friendships.

A dinner lubricates business.

I don’t want to have to go out and play golf with someone before I can get anything done.

I don't believe in a lot of schmoozing and buttering up. Not that you don't become friends in work. But I think it's a misconception that you have to do a lot of hanging before you work.

I would come to New York, work, and then get out of New York. I didn't go out to dinner with other people on the Management Committee. I didn't socialize. I didn't politick.

When it comes to nurturing professional relationships and developing a community, LinkedIn is one of the best resources.

It may be that you will be happiest in the rat race; perhaps, like me, you are basically a rat.

Some of my unhappiest moments have been in organizations. Somehow it seems to be quite respectable to do things in organizations that you would never do in private life. I have had people insult me to my face in front of colleagues. I have had my feelings rammed down my throat on the pretext that it would do me good. I have been required to do things which I didn't agree with because the organization wished it... In my worst moments I have thought organizations were places designed to be run by sadists and staffed by masochists.

Many, if not most, career opportunities come to you through people you know. So the more people you know, the more opportunities you have. Improving your social network is a great example of a system for moving from lower odds to better odds without having a specific goal.

I don't like being told what to do and kissing you-know-what to get up the corporate ladder.

I wasn't a shrinking violet when I joined Fox News. I didn't have any power at Fox - I had no power in the TV industry - but I had been a lawyer for nine years who had practiced employment law.

Even after choreographing some big numbers, I didn't qualify as the top choreographer. You need to have godfathers and big people to support you for others to take you seriously.

The ability to network successfully can be one of the greatest assets in business. It allows some people to find incredible opportunities, while others just watch from the sidelines.

In the earlier years of my career, I made my own attempts to fit in and be accepted as one of the tribe of Sand Hill Road guys.

There's a lot of 'who you know' in this business, and I don't think I skipped a step on the journey.

I started my career in Hollywood, where I learned the rumors were true - having success there really was dictated by how who you knew, not what you knew. I grew frustrated by the fact that careers could be made and broken by relationships alone.

You need to be really great at your job. You need a strong network of peers, and you need a strong network of mentors.

Now I'm president. I get to meet a lot of other company presidents. They're such weird people. I'm fascinated by them. I use some of them as enemy characters in our games.

Networking is all about connecting with people. But then again, isn't that what life is about? The more time you can find to get out of the office and build true friendships, the farther your startup will go. Entrepreneurs need to remember to spend as much time working on their business as they do in their business.