still applies, today. For example, one professor told me that for the first year of any new job, to always have a piece of paper in my hand whenever I got up from my desk, and to walk with purpose, no matter where I was headed. Going to the bathroom? Grab a paper and move! It's a subtle thing and, yes, a bit of game-playing, but when you're building a reputation and a career, image matters.

Another professor advised me to dress one level above the company's standards for Year 1, at the company standards for Year 2, and then to ease into slightly more casual than most whenever possible in Year 3. It's difficult to explain, I guess, but I sincerely believe the message communicated is that you have earned the respect and personal confidence to do things your way by that stage, and in my experience, it seemed to work beautifully.

I learned a lot of useless, academic mumbo-jumbo in my years of study, but I still teach my kids to do the little things like these, in addition to working hard and delivering good value.

Any other little, dumb, useful tips you've picked up along the way for those climbing the first rungs of the ladder? And I certainly won't fault you if you thought these examples were silly. Maybe they are. But they seemed to help in my case, and I'm very happy with how things have gone.