Don’t screw up at the company Christmas/Holiday party

eWeek so kindly published a list of stupid things you should not do at your company’s Christmas holiday party: “10 Office Holiday Party Landmines to Avoid.” eWeek even put together a cute slide show to help illustrate their top ten list.

I can distill their essay into the following quick guidelines:

• Don’t be stupid
• Don’t say anything stupid
• Don’t dress stupid
• Don’t do anything stupid
• Don’t bring uninvited stupid people

Look, common sense should prevail. It’s not a time to get drunk and cut loose in front of your bosses and colleagues. Be smart, be sober, be polite. Let some other clown make a fool of herself/himself.

Have fun!

Roland Reinhart is an interactive marketing professional. His observations can be found at Chaos365.com and AdMadMan.com.

©2006 Roland Reinhart. All Rights Reserved.

Coworker humor

I did a random search using the keyword “coworkers”. I was suprised by the variety of links that appear in the top results:

• Stories about stupid coworkers
• Advice how to get along with bad coworkers
• Spreading faith to coworkers
• Using astrology to determine your compatibility with coworkers
• Articles about coworker murders

Here are a few links you may enjoy:
StupidCoworkers.com — Stories
iWorkWithFools.com — Stories
AnnoyingCoworker.com — Send anonymous emails

Get rid of incompetent co-workers

I really hate discussing politics. It is so polarizing. But I heard something on the This Week in Tech podcast that was outrageous. Please listen to this audio clip of Senator Ted Stevens, Alaska, arguing his point about “Net Neutrality.”

Regardless of what side your on (pro or against, republican or democrat), the fact that a representative of the American people can’t articulate his arguement is downright scary. The effect of this Net Neutrality debate will impact consumers and businesses in many ways.

So why am I bringing this up? In business, we often find ourselves working with people who:

• can’t articulate their thoughts, ideas and opinions
• have bad thoughts, ideas and opinions
• repeat other people’s comments or state the obvious to hide their lack of experience or knowledge
• just like to hear themselves speak

What should you do?
These people are a hindrance to your project and your professional success. Keep them as far away as possible so they don’t infect your work or your team. Don’t invite them to meetings. Be polite, but be firm.

• If it is a supervisor, run interference and keep that person away from the rest of the team.
• If it is a team member, get him/her reassigned off your project.
• If it is a client, try to work with his/her superior.

Don’t give up. Hate something, change something!

More information:

• AskMen.com: Dealing With Difficult People At Work
• Twit.tv: Episode 60
• Wired.com: Sen. Steven’s June 30th Speech Transcript
• Wikipedia: Net Neutrality
• Wikipedia: Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska)

FYI…Sen. Stevens is also responsible for the infamous “Bridge to Nowhere” pork barrel spending.

What do you think? Please add your suggestions and comments.
Thanks.
-Roland

Roland Reinhart is an interactive marketing professional. His observations can be found at Chaos365.com and AdMadMan.com.

©2006 Roland Reinhart. All Rights Reserved.