"If a "nice guy" runs your company, you might be able to say whatever's on your mind in the boardroom and get away with it. But most successful CEOs aren't nice guys -- they're very serious people, often edgy to the point of mania. At General Electric, where I spent 20 years as the speechwriter for hyperkinetic CEO Jack Welch, I watched dozens of executives torpedo their own careers by saying the wrong thing to the boss -- not "politically incorrect" jaw-droppers, just maladroit or foolish remarks.
Even if you work at a small company with 1 percent of GE's revenue, there are certain verbal blunders you should avoid at all cost."
[via Yahoo]
