Every boss, every person for that matter, has a hot button or two.  A hot button is something that is guaranteed to elicit a strong emotional response or reaction.  For example, a hot button is that agenda item or task that they keep asking about.  That project you’re putting off that means nothing to you, but the world to them…that’s a hot button. 

The presentation that she’s got to give to senior management in 3 weeks is not a priority for you, but it is for her.  What your brand’s volume growth is doing in Texas, your smallest market, is not a concern to you compared to the bigger issue of decreased brand loyalty, but to your boss, he stays awake at night thinking of Texas.

If you don’t know what your boss’s hot buttons are, you’re not going to be successful on the job and your career will stall out.  Why?  Because you’re going to be putting your time, effort, resources and attention against the other things that matter most…to you.  The work you’re doing and accomplishing might move your business forward, it might save the world, but it won’t matter…to your boss.  Right after you tell him how successful your last idea was and the fact that you stayed in the office until 10pm to get everything done, he’s going to ask you about Texas. 

You’re going to get angry.  But you shouldn’t.  The warning signs were there, they always are.  You’ve got to find out what your boss’s hot buttons are and you’ve got to tackle them, make significant progress against them and always be ready with an update.

I tried for many years to push aside these hot buttons – big and small – but it never works.  If you take an inventory of your own hot buttons, you’ll find that you’re always thinking about them and asking about them.  Once they’re being handled and under control, you relax and get your work done.  Just do the same for your boss or your boss’s boss and you’ll find that your road to promotion and life in the spotlight gets a little faster and smoother.

Now go tackle a hot button you’ve left on the side of the road in Texas for dead.