How not to do things

I have taken a job not writing. Just a job. It keeps me fed and sheltered. At the moment that is what matters. And actually I am learning a lot.

I am learning how not to do things. And it's painful. There are days when I am words away from taking off my apron and walking out. There have been days when I have gone so far as to look up the number for Now Magazine, a weekly publication with muckraking sensibilities — think Lincoln Steffens "I have seen the future and it works" — to let them know such a high falutin' shop treats its' people shabbily. But I don't — I am chalking it up to experience.

So far I have learned
-never ask someone to do something you are not prepared to do yourself.
-never ask someone to do something you are not prepared to teach them to do.
-don't ask your staff to do something and then do something completely different yourself.
-if you don't take things seriously nobody else will.
-don't lay your problems on your staff.
-Never put off until tomorrow what can be done right now.
-Keep in mind, some things are better done tomorrow — especially if we closed an hour ago and everybody's shift is over.