Don’t Be An Asshole

As I’ve gotten older, I really have no patience for people who think too highly of themselves. Confidence is a good thing and it’s one of the key ingredients to success. But when confidence bleeds over into arrogance, the goodness ceases to exist. The dirty little secret about arrogance is that it’s most often used to mask insecurities. Truly confident people don’t need to boast about their accomplishments, they don’t need to put others down to feel better about themselves, and they will usually listen far more than they talk. They know that their actions will speak for themselves. Arrogant people are just the opposite. They use bravado to cover up their shortcomings, they intentionally do things to make others feel small, and they will usually talk far more than they listen. The rare few who truly do believe that they are better or smarter than everyone else likely suffer from a personality disorder (see current POTUS). Regardless of the root cause, arrogance is never a good look. The more time I spend on this earth the more I realize we’re all the fucking same, man. Some of us may be better at certain things than others, but at the end of the day we’re all equally flawed and wonderful in our own ways. One of the many things I love about working at Torq is that we have a strict no assholes policy. In case you were wondering what constitutes being an asshole, I’ve made a top ten list below:  

10) If you’ve ever lied to someone’s face because you lacked the courage to have an honest conversation… you might be an asshole

9) If you’re ever publicly demeaned anyone for any reason… you might be an asshole

8) If you’ve ever passed on hiring someone because you think they may be better at the job than you… you might be an asshole

7) If you’ve ever taken too much of the credit for someone else’s work… you might be an asshole

6) If you’ve ever one-upped somebody with a story full of name drops to make yourself sound more important… you might be an asshole

5) If you’ve ever proclaimed yourself to be an expert in anything, and you don’t have a PhD… you might be an asshole

4) If you’ve ever delighted in terminating someone’s employment… you might an asshole

3) If you’ve ever stopped listening to someone mid conversation because you’ve lost interest… you might be an asshole

2) If you’ve ever flexed on someone just because you can… you might be an asshole

1) If you think none of these things apply to you because of your position or title… you’re definitely an asshole

Bottom line, don’t be an asshole. Stay humble, work hard, be kind. Good things will follow