hybrid

you are who you hang with

In business, you will need other people to help you achieve your goals. Whether you are the boss of many or the boss of few -- or just part of the few -- you will need others to become successful. This is a fact of life that is undeniable.

The bottom line is that to achieve great heights, you must fly with the best. And others will judge you based on those that surround you. So choose your lieutenants carefully.

If you choose men of quality, competence and integrity to work with and you are able to work well together, you will come off looking brilliant from the onset. By picking the right crew, you will gain respect. By picking the wrong crew, you will be derided as someone that can't even pick the right people to work with? let alone manage them or organizations of any sort.

Becoming more successful

As your organization grows and you become more and more successful, you want to make sure to spread the wealth. The last thing you want is for your lieutenants and soldiers to start whispering behind your back and starting rumors that undermine your position.

Thus, you must make sure to keep your men happy? but not too happy. A fully content man is never as effective as a man with hunger in his eyes. So remember to keep your guys happy by praising them and giving them material rewards as a show of appreciation.

Don't spoil them though, lest they become ingrates. You all know what happens to ingrates.

For those of you who are wondering what exactly a man of quality consists of, I'm about to let you know.

You want to have a strong right hand man, a man with a good reputation, a man who can hold his tongue, and finally, you want good friends and powerful friends on your side when you need them to be there.

Not everyone can be trusted

We all know there are different types of people in this world. Some good, some bad and some fools, that give the word "idiot" a bad name.

What are the different types of people in this world and which ones should I avoid at all costs?

Types of people

I'm going to give you guys four basic types of people that you will encounter in your business career as well as in your daily life. No matter how you slice it, every person you meet falls into one of these four categories and should be treated differently according to their type.

The four types are as follows: men that understand things on their own; men that can appreciate the intelligence of other men without necessarily being as intelligent; men who neither understand nor appreciate the brainpower of those that do understand; and finally, the flatterers. Read below to learn how to treat each type of man.

1) Men that understand things on their own
These are the men that move the world, the prime movers. They build the infrastructure and economy of a country. They say that history is written by the winners, well, these men are the winners of history. They are able to imagine the future, they have a vision of what they want to create in their lifetime and they find the resources necessary to make their vision come true.

They are the Caesars, the Aristotles, the Gates, and the Rockefellers of the world. These are men who shape the world to fit their mold, not men who let the world shape them. Try to associate yourself with this type of man as much as possible as they will likely bring out the best in you.

2) Men that appreciate the intelligence of others
Perhaps not on the same level as the prime movers of the world, these men are still able to achieve greatness and success in many ways. Usually allying themselves with a strong leader, their strength lies in being able to execute plans to perfection and being able to recognize and follow men of genius to help them achieve their goals.

Every great general has a strong second in command. Behind every great general there are great lieutenants. One feeds off the other. These, too, are men of honor and should be frequented as much as possible.

3) Men who neither understand nor appreciate
These men are not inherently bad people; they simply aren't very smart. By associating with this type you will likely encounter many failures before realizing you should stay away from them as much as possible.

The fact that they cannot recognize intelligence in other men renders them incapable of sound judgment. The last thing you need on your team is someone who can never make the right decision.

In the long run, bad decisions add up? to disaster. Now I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer but I can recognize talent.

When I meet a Caesar and have a chance to do business with him, I move full steam ahead because I know the venture will succeed.

4) Flatterers
Stay away from this type of scum at all costs. Men are vain creatures and will gladly listen to almost anything from almost anyone, provided it is what they want to hear. The flatterer will tell you what you want to hear, he will cajole you with his words, often in a very subtle manner, with the goal of obtaining something from you that he normally would not deserve.

The danger in believing the flatterer is that you might lose track of reality and make the wrong moves. The wrong moves can lead to disaster in no time. Flatterers can be people from within or from without your inner circle. Either way, they are dangerous. Do not succumb to flattery; it will mark your downfall.

The best way to avoid flattery is to let people around you know that you only want the truth from them. Make sure they know you aren't offended by the truth. This way you will get the real deal and can make the right decisions based on the right information.