How to Get Credit for Your Work at Office: The Salim-Javed Lesson
Learn how to get credit for your work at office using the same move Salim-Javed used on Zanjeer's posters in 1973 — and why "showing your work" matters more than doing it.
Want to know how to get credit for your work at office? Look at what Salim-Javed did in 1973. Zanjeer's posters carried Amitabh Bachchan's name and the director's — not theirs. So the writers hired a painter and stencilled their own names across Bombay's posters themselves. They went on to charge more than the film's hero.
TL;DR- Zanjeer's 1973 posters didn't credit its writers, Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar.
- They hired a painter and stencilled "Written by Salim-Javed" on posters across Bombay themselves.
- They went on to become the first Hindi screenwriters paid more than the film's hero — up to a lakh rupees more per film.
- The lesson, from Austin Kleon's book, is "Show Your Work" — talent that isn't visible gets claimed by someone else.
- The same thing happens in offices: the person who builds the presentation overnight isn't always the one who gets credit for it.
How to Get Credit for Your Work at Office: What Salim-Javed Did on Zanjeer
In 1973, Zanjeer turned Amitabh Bachchan into a superstar. But the film's posters, plastered across Bombay, carried the hero's name and the director's — not the two men who actually wrote it. Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar didn't sit quietly and wait to be noticed. They hired a painter and, going from Opera House across the whole of Bombay, had "Written by Salim-Javed" stencilled onto every poster wherever there was space — sometimes even on Amitabh's painted hand. That single decision is the whole lesson in how to get credit for your work at office, told through one of Hindi cinema's most famous names.
Why Zanjeer's Writers Weren't on the Poster
Here's the part most retellings skip: the painters were in such a hurry putting up hundreds of posters across the city that they'd scrawl the credit wherever they found room — sometimes right across the hero's own painted arm. It wasn't elegant. It was two writers refusing to let their work go unnamed. And it worked — Salim-Javed went on to become the first Hindi screenwriters who charged more than the film's lead actor, commanding up to a lakh rupees more per film to write.
The Book Behind the Lesson: Show Your Work
This is exactly what Austin Kleon calls "Show Your Work" in his book by the same name — one I've read and go back to often. The idea is simple: doing good work is not the same as being seen doing good work. Plenty of people do excellent work that nobody notices, and someone else quietly walks away with the credit for it.
The Office Version of the Same Problem
I see the office version of this story constantly in my corporate training sessions. Some poor professional stays up all night building a presentation, and the next day, someone else presents it and takes the entire credit. Meanwhile, another colleague barely does the work but is excellent at looking busy — and that's the one who gets noticed. This happens in almost every office I've walked into.
| What Salim-Javed Did | Office Equivalent | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|
| Hired a painter to stencil their names on posters | Send a short update after finishing work, not just at kickoff | Makes ownership visible in the moment, not after the fact |
| Covered posters across all of Bombay themselves | Loop your manager in before the credit-taking meeting | Removes the chance for someone else to present it first |
| Became the first writers paid more than the hero | Keep a simple record (notes, emails, shared docs) of your work | Gives you proof when it's time for appraisals or promotions |
Why Talent That Isn't Visible Gets Claimed by Someone Else
Talent is important, but talent that stays invisible eventually gets claimed by someone else. The people who are actually good at their jobs, who genuinely do the work, often don't get the credit — and that's precisely the gap Kleon's book addresses. As I put it when I first told this story: "टैलेंट इंपॉर्टेंट है लेकिन वो टैलेंट दिखना भी जरूरी है" — talent matters, but that talent also needs to be seen. It isn't enough to be good. People also need to see that you're good, or someone less deserving will happily take the applause.
How to Show Your Work Without Sounding Like You're Boasting
You don't need to paint your name on a wall. Send the two-line update after you finish something, not just when you start it. Loop your manager in before the meeting where the work gets presented, not after. Keep a simple record — a note, an email thread, a shared doc — that shows the work was yours. Salim-Javed showed their work with paint and a stencil; you can do the same thing with a habit of visibility, and if your team needs this built into a proper programme, that's the kind of session I run for corporates.
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Avinash Chate TEDx Speaker · Founder, The Future Corporate · 11+ yrs experience Avinash has trained Indian Army, BRO, RBI, BARC, JSW Steel and 1000+ corporate leaders across India. His work focuses on leadership development, communication skills, and behavioural training rooted in Indian values and modern business needs. |
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get credit for my work at office without sounding like I'm boasting?
Keep it factual, not self-promotional. A short update after finishing a task, looping your manager in before a work gets presented, or keeping a simple written record of what you did are all ways to show your work without it feeling like boasting.
What did Salim-Javed actually do to get credit for writing Zanjeer?
Zanjeer's 1973 posters credited the hero and director but not its writers, Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar. So they hired a painter and had "Written by Salim-Javed" stencilled across posters all over Bombay themselves, making sure audiences knew who wrote the film.
What is the book "Show Your Work" about?
"Show Your Work" by Austin Kleon argues that doing great work isn't enough — you also need to make that work visible, or someone else may end up getting the credit for it. It's a short, practical read on building visibility around your own work.
Why do some people take credit for work they didn't do?
Often it's simply because the person who did the work never made it visible, while someone else was better at presenting or being seen. Talent that stays invisible tends to get claimed by whoever is standing closest to the spotlight when credit is handed out.
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