General: Dell's directives

Here are Michael Dell's Directives for successful business as mentioned here:
1. Spend money to succeed, not to impress.
2. Anything that can be measured can be improved.
3. Curiosity is a rare commodity — develop it.
4. Ambitious people focus on career. Successful people focus on results.

A must read for every Techie with an ambition:

HOW CAN A GUY CLIMB THE LADDER MORE EFFICIENTLY?
People obsessed with their careers don't do as well as those who are obsessed with results. If you have one person always asking, "When's the next promotion?" and another person asking, "How can I help?" it's pretty obvious which one is making a bigger contribution.
WHAT WOULD YOU DELETE?
The way people focus on the boss, as opposed to focusing on results. You don't totally ignore the boss, but the person in charge has a lot more to worry about than just you, and you have to worry about a lot more than just the boss. You've got to worry about your peers, the organization, your customers. If you're a good teammate, a good leader, if you're helpful and provide great value to your customers, that's going to be far more valuable to the organization than just focusing on the boss.