careers

How to Be a Boss: Drink Hot Sauce

Photo: Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images

Claire Boucher, a.k.a. Grimes, does more than just create listenable electronic fairy-pop. She’s also the CEO of two companies, it turns out: Grimes Creative Corp and Fair Tour Corp. How did she get to be such a confident young boss? In this essay excerpted from Rookie Yearbook Three, Boucher shares the best career advice she’s picked up along the way.

A lot of it is “standard advice for young ladies” — be true to yourself, understand copyright law, take care of your body, shut out negative energy, et cetera. But there are three truly unexpected and weirdly valuable lessons that I will write on an index card and hang in my cubicle to help inspire my own world domination.

How to dress: “I used to try to wear heels, and it was a disaster. Now I always prioritize comfortable shoes. Also, avoid wearing white: Busy people don’t have time to change clothes very often, and white gets dirty fast (unless you are Olivia Pope). Just find one or two things that look cool that you can also sleep in.”

How to keep going in the face of exhaustion: “If you are tired and you need to be peppy, drinking a bit of straight hot sauce really works.”

How to time manage: “Try to date someone who is good at cooking. It will save time.”

Good stuff here, because you know who gets an energy fix from drinking straight hot sauce instead of espresso? Bosses. That’s who.

How to Be a Boss: Drink Hot Sauce