Skip to main content

Home  »  Business NewsUS business news   »   5 weird workplace rules made by millionaire business leaders

5 weird workplace rules made by millionaire business leaders

Follow the rules

Follow the rules

Doing things in an unconventional way is a characteristic of most business leaders.

However, most of the time it's seen as the secret to success.

The rules may seem strange, quirky, and just pointless but they do seem to work for our successful leaders.

READ MORE: Moustaches only, don’t sneeze and don’t use aftershave – Unusual work rules from famous companies

Clear desks and only use red or black ink

This rule was made by the legendary businesswoman Martha Stewart.

One of her office rules says that documents must only be written in either red or black ink.

Another rule stops employees from having any personal items on their desks such as family photos, coffee mugs with prints saying “Might be vodka” and office plants.

However, employees are allowed an “approved basket of office supplies.”

Sounds slightly extreme right?

Forced socializing and secrecy

This one was made by Steve Jobs.

As we all are aware the late Steve Jobs’ was a perfectionist and his approach to workplace rules is no different.

He strongly believed that face-to-face collaboration is the best solution for creativity.

The entire Apple headquarters building was built as a massive ring to ensure staff had no choice but to bump into each other and talk.

Apple is also big on secrecy.

According to former employees, the business has strict rules about what their employees can blog, text, and talk about — even with their partners.

Everyone has to refer to products using codenames, and trashcans are monitored for any hidden messages.

They even send out important documents with slightly different variations in punctuation so that if ever there’s a leak, they’ll know who is responsible.

The pizza rule and warehouse restrictions

We all know Jeff Bezos right? Well, he has unique management techniques when it comes to company meetings.

According to Business Insider, the Amazon boss holds his meetings to a “two-pizza rule.”

The idea is based on the idea that if the number of members can’t be fed with two pizzas, then the meeting is too crowded.

He believes smaller meetings are more productive meetings, so he will only attend the ones that comply with his pizza rule.

At the Amazon warehouse, workers have to comply with extremely bizarre rules.

Firstly, they can only drink water that’s in a clear bottle so management is able to see.

They're also not allowed to wear lipstick, wear a watch, chew gum, or even bring their phone inside the building.

Set a response deadline in every email

This rule was made by Katia Beauchamp who is co-founder of Birchbox.

She said everyone in the team must include a deadline for when they need a response to their email.

This applies even to the simplest and smallest questions.

The idea is that it makes email prioritization a lot easier and ensures the sender gets the response they need when they need it.

Need Career Advice?Get employment skills advice at all levels of your career

Entire days working only on mobile

The former Google CEO Larry Page, revealed he avoids using the computer for work.

With the company’s focus being mainly mobile, he encourages engineers and product managers to spend a day a week working from their mobile phones.

It allows the creators to simplify their products for an optimal mobile experience, but it also pushes them to develop more products to fit the mobile lifestyle.

It’s an effective strategy but you can imagine it will be frustrating for anyone who might have to type out a massive document on their iPhone.

Follow us on YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook