How to Impress Your Boss (but don't lick his boots)

Your purpose as a manager or employee is to get things done, not to impress your boss. But we know that to get more things done you need to impress your boss so that he will trust you and pass to you more things.

Here are the 7 Easy Ways that Anyone Can Impress their Boss Without Licking his Boots:

1. Be Frank and Open. Admit mistakes. Never shade truth.  This is key to gaining long term trust
2. Help Your Boss to Be Right. This is not being subservient or time-serving, but means you support your boss in whatever ways so that he can be right.  For example, you help him to improve his writing so that he will not be mis-understood. 
3. Respond Fast or at least Show him Enthusiasm.  Show a Can-Do attitude, not 'See-What-I-Can-Do' style
4. Handle your personal problems well so that he knows you can be trusted to handle the organization's problems. For example, don't have frantic calls from your family members frequently.
5. Protect him with your willingness to take the 'shit'.  This will relieve him so that he can concentrate on more important things like bringing in more profits. 
6. Adopt Army Style Work - which is no nonsense, but Solution Oriented Behavior, not Blame Culture.
7. Ask yourself: If you were the boss, what would you do?  Your answers will give you everything you need to impress your boss. It's that simple.