I have a hard time with small talk, dinner-party phoniness and the whole idea of sucking up to a boss or someone in a superior professional position. The idea of learning how to "network up," which I once taught students in a high school career course I designed, makes me want to vomit. I know it's good advice, because I've seen it work throughout my entire career by people willing to do it. But I cannot do it personally.
I have certainly heard the cliché about how we're supposed to treat the janitor with the same respect as the CEO. But in practice, I have rarely seen that happen. What has hurt me professionally is that I tend to treat the blue-collar folks with great respect and upper-level professionals with disdain. Too often, I have no respect for these higher-ups because I find many of them to be incompetent suck-ups.
