I got away with a hell of a presentation today, and this is one of the slides I shared with folks who attended my class preview today.

Throughout my career, I've always found it strange why people are so eager to Angkat Bola / Carry Balls / Brown Nose their way up a workplace. I think employees should be generally agreeable and get their work done promptly, but there is not need to go overboard when it comes to making your bosses feel good.

One particular case I know involved a colleague of mine who had an exasperating habit of inviting her managers to her home for a barbecue while not inviting her immediate peers. She was not mean to her peers - she just wanted to "manage her superiors" beyond what was socially acceptable in a Singaporean workplace (Obviously, she's not Singaporean). As a consequence of that, she rose  up the...