An excerpt from the comedians new book.
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If you want the rest of the tips, well, youll just have to buy the book.
Being a Black woman and a boss is the shit!
Ive never had a Black female professor or high-school teacher.
Same goes for never having a Black woman as a boss.
Sadly, this is the norm, especially in entertainment.
Is some of what Im about to tell you going to be ignorant or ignorantly presented?
I think we all know the answer to that question.
So thanks for signing up for this DeVry University version of Harvard Business School.
Like Ferris Bueller famously said, Life moves pretty fast!
1: For Some of Your Employees, This Is Just a J-O-B.
Which means that, yes, for some of your employees, it is JUST.
Call me cynical, but I dont believe anyone goes to the dentist.
Maybe Lupita Nyongo does, because her teeth are blindingly white.
But for the rest of us?
Sounds like common sense, but its easy to forget when youre deep into the day-to-day.
You have to remember that your company is not your employees dreams.
For others, you and your company were the fallback option for the dream gig they didnt land.
This leads me to …
No.
Cut to me having that job: I typed with a maximum of four fingers (and still do!
I firmly believe most people arent lying to you out of malice.
It is not your responsibility to make work feel like summer camp.
5: You Didnt Get Into This to Dracarys a Bitch
Or maybe you did.
And I get it!
Ruling with an iron fist and intimidation can get the desired results.
Just look at dictatorships, politicians, and Jamaican hair braiders.
), are a different breed.
I mean, who is loyal to a boss?
6: Ooooh, Child, Surround Yourself With People Who Will Keep It Real
This is pretty self-explanatory.
In fact, some of your ideas will be shit.
Straight-up clangers that make contact with every square inch of the toilet bowl on their way down the drain.
Obviously, this should be done with tact.
Now, yes-people, on the other hand?
Theyre either gone and onto their next meal ticket or standing silently when speaking up could turn things around.
getting paid) and that they feel like theyre my favorite.
Oh, you thought you were only going to give, and never receive, feedback?
Ya aint Black Jesus, walking on water or turning water into wine.
Trust me, its way more difficult for them to give you feedback than for you to receive it.
Still, its tough to hear constructive criticism.
In the beginning, every time my employees gave me criticism, I wanted to vomit.
My skin got hot.
But that was my own shit.
I dont know about yall, but, to me, delegating feels like a rebirth.
And to have free time making curated U2 playlists for your friends even though they didnt ask for them.
True, but I was 10!
I didnt want sensible-ass sneakers!
I wanted something that looked dope and oozed suburban wealth.
I simply got over my disappointment, put on those Keds, and played with my classmates.
This is what you have to understand when youre the boss.
Youre going to call some shots or do things your employees wont like.
Your company cannot be run by committee, so youve got to make the executive decisions.
Still, therell be times when youll want to go a different way.
Either way, what matters most is that you set the tone and they follow it.
Well, I hope this provided some guidance on how you might operate your own business.
But not on Zoom, yo.
If I get a Zoom invite from you, I will definitely fake my own kidnapping.
Copyright 2021 by Phoebe Robinson.
