The Cheat Code: 9 ways to get ahead in the workplace from Silicon Valley exec Brian Wong

Want to hack your job? Here, Kiip founder Brian Wong shares the secrets to his success
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Rachael Sigee11 August 2016

Following the rules, tiptoeing around your boss and passing all your exams is so normcore. With an attitude like that you’ll still be slaving over the same desk in a decade’s time. Instead you need to be more Brian Wong.

His mobile rewards network, Kiip, is a Silicon Valley success with more than $15 million of venture capital investment and he’s been on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list three times. All that and he’s just 24. Wong left high school when he was 14 to enrol in university.

He doesn’t think he did anything especially radical to get ahead of his peers but he does think an MBA is “a colossal waste of money”. Instead, he reckons a few small adjustments helped him leapfrog the competition and he’s written a book called The Cheat Code, sharing his tips for getting noticed at work. Here are the secrets of his success.

Go balls-to-the-wall — but only when it counts

Wong might be powering through the ranks of Silicon Valley but he has no intention of peaking too early. He only goes all out when it’s really important and conserves energy at other times. At make-or-break moments, you need to make sure you put on a great performance and not just a good act. He doesn’t say you need the “X” factor — but that’s almost definitely what he means.

Email at weekends

Hold up, whizzkid, we thought email was over? Not according to Wong, who calls it “one of the great powers of the new business culture”. Apparently, we should be bombarding our targets with emails, especially at weekends because that’s when the most important people will be working.

We should email them from different accounts and at the same time follow them on Twitter, add them on LinkedIn and comment on their Instagram pictures. The idea is to trick them into thinking they know you from somewhere.

Light your halo

Sasha Fierce is in the room. Wong doesn’t quite have Beyoncé’s alter-ego but he does have a game plan to appear more confident than he is — which is lighting your own halo. This means make people like you.

For those of us not socially blessed, he recommends whacking a big grin on your face and being super-nice so that when people hear your name it doesn’t matter if they can’t remember what you said, at least you made them feel good.

Piss people off

Once your halo is shining brightly you can go back to pissing people off. Shock value gets your point across like nothing else, and your passion will always overshadow your rudeness. This is the business-speak version of a Big Brother contestant saying “I’m not being mean, I’m just being honest.”

F*** luck

Supposedly it’s all about serendipity, which Wong defines as “finding value in unexpected events”. Whatever falls out of the sky, you need to make the most of it. And the better you position yourself, the better stuff will fall on you.

Get a trademark haircut

This is sounding more Trumpian by the page. But Wong isn’t actually suggesting you rush out to get a mohican. He recommends creating a recognisable language for your brand that becomes its signature, so that certain words or phrases become associated with your business.

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Use exclamation marks

It’s all as simple as using exclamation marks! Even if that seems really annoying! Because actually, exclamation marks act like a smile! They show passion, enthusiasm and confidence in your own statements! But beware using triples — Wong warns that can really get on people’s nerves!!! Also avoid using if you’re delivering bad news. “Sorry but we’re not going to require your services any longer!” doesn’t quite strike the right tone.

Be ignorant

Wong says being a 19-year-old looking for investment and having no idea that the financial world was crumbling around him in 2008 was an advantage. So keep an eye on those post-Brexit interest levels because it might be a prime time to start asking for cash.

Don’t get drunk at work

Obviously getting boozed up at your desk is a no-no but Wong is talking about after-work meetings, parties and functions when networking is not helped by calling your client by the wrong name and tripping over your coat on the way to the smoking area. Instead, keep a non-alcoholic cocktail in hand and use the time to make connections and allies.

The Cheat Code is published by Virgin Books on September 8, £12.99

Follow Rachael Sigee on Twitter: @littlewondering

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