Office Politics 101

[.RJ]

Wanna get rich quick....? Own your own business. It never fails but you gotta work your ass off.

Running your own business is by no means a get rich quick scheme. If it was, then everyone would be doing it. Many people that do own small businesses are not rich, but working for yourself and doing something you believe in is much more important than slaving away as an office drone until you retire. I have also heard a lot of small businesses owners say they wish they had the security of a regular salary and a desk job, however. To each his own - most small businesses will fail, and dont make it, especially restaurants. Its high risk and if its poorly managed you wont cut it. I'd like to get myself in a position professionally where I can walk away from it without any worry - and still be able to come back if whatever I decide to do doesnt cut it, or I just dont like it. Starting on your own, you pretty much spend the first 3-5 years without much of anything for yourself, and you'll need to put all the $$ and time back into the business to keep it growing if you want any chance at making it a sustainable enterprise.

All IMO, of course.

[Ginger]

Wanna get rich quick....? Own your own business. It never fails but you gotta work your ass off.

Yeah it does... all the time.

Every business that has ever failed was started by somebody.

[Feersty]

Maybe fails wasn't the right word.

:edit: PetSmart put my dad out of business in 1997 :/

[.RJ]

Its very hard to compete with big corporate business in this area. I like smaller stores but places like Home Depot, Wal Mart, Bestbuy, blockbuster, etc have better selection, bigger stores, and lower prices than the 'little guy' could hope to provide. Granted, their customer service always blows but most consumers are willing to put up with that to save a few dollars.

[ScottyB]

you pretty much spend the first 3-5 years without much of anything for yourself, and you'll need to put all the $$ and time back into the business to keep it growing if you want any chance at making it a sustainable enterprise.

this is what ive heard alot of. i worked for a guy who owned his own landscaping business for the last 3 summers. he has a great setup, doesnt need to answer to anybody but damn....his insurance is rough, no benefits of course, and he pretty much works 7 days a week. thats a weird industry though because it's seasonal, but it was still enough of an illustration to me that i will be content to be someones bitch for a few years.

especially with the interweb thesedays though...if you find a niche you can make big bux.

[.RJ]

if you find a niche you can make big bux.

I hear midget gangbang porn is the next up and coming genre.

Or mike's favorite, NWA.

[BLINGMW]

I have read like 9 words in this thread, but this 3 page monster was all created TODAY? This place is out of control :lol:

[John]

You guys need to find new companies to work for if your managers seriously take these things into consideration. I have no idea how they can form a different opinion of you because you're showing up at happy hour vs. what they see in an every day basis from you in the office.

Trust me, excluding yourself from extracurricular activities is a key indicator of you not being a team player. If you find yourself avoiding all social functions, then perhaps you need a new job where you work in a more fun environment. Work may be work, but you have to find some ray of enjoyment in what you do.

[WRXtranceformed]

You guys need to find new companies to work for if your managers seriously take these things into consideration. I have no idea how they can form a different opinion of you because you're showing up at happy hour vs. what they see in an every day basis from you in the office.

Trust me, excluding yourself from extracurricular activities is a key indicator of you not being a team player. If you find yourself avoiding all social functions, then perhaps you need a new job where you work in a more fun environment. Work may be work, but you have to find some ray of enjoyment in what you do.

Completely untrue in my opinion. I avoid most of our company functions like softball, football games, etc. because I have my own life outside of work and I like to get away from it when I get the chance. I wake up at night dreaming about work, I spend way more than the typical 9-5 at work, I get work related calls basically 7 days of the week... I enjoy every chance I get to get away from it heh. I like the guys I work with and I definitely hit them up for happy hours sometimes, but a good company with good management like ours isn't going to discriminate against you just because you don't always hang out with your other coworkers. You should be being judged by your talent and your ability to work solo and with others in the work setting, not what you decide to do with your free time.

I'm sure other companies are judging their employees that closely, but I'm glad I'm not a part of it, that's retarded. If you really want to bond with your bosses, find a common ground and be yourself. My boss, it turned out, was really into cars I found out at my first interviews. He has a heavily built Corvette that (before the motor caught on fire) ran in the high 10s. He and I have been talking about hitting up the drag strip together until his car blew up. I wanted to do it not to try to brown nose or get ahead because I trust that my actions are speaking louder than my words, but because I legitimately wanted to hang out with him and race =p

Just my 2 cents. In a nutshell, if it's a company event that's "mandatory" then yeah you should go to show support to your coworkers and management, but if its just some after-hours thing that everyone is going to be at, you shouldn't have to sweat being there because Johnny SucksHisBossesDick could become your division's manager next week instead of you. That's silly.

[Evan]

Wanna get rich quick....? Own your own business. It never fails but you gotta work your ass off.

If by "never fails" you mean "about 80% of the time it fails"

[John]

Completely untrue in my opinion. I avoid most of our company functions like softball, football games, etc. because I have my own life outside of work and I like to get away from it when I get the chance. I wake up at night dreaming about work, I spend way more than the typical 9-5 at work, I get work related calls basically 7 days of the week... I enjoy every chance I get to get away from it heh. I like the guys I work with and I definitely hit them up for happy hours sometimes, but a good company with good management like ours isn't going to discriminate against you just because you don't always hang out with your other coworkers. You should be being judged by your talent and your ability to work solo and with others in the work setting, not what you decide to do with your free time.

Not completely untrue. As somebody in a managerial position, there are certain individuals who habitually miss social functions and their comradadry is questioned (not by just management, but by team members). In no way do we expect people to be present at every event as everybody needs to have a life and maintain their unique identity. However, constantly missing social functions is an unsung rule in successful groups who embody the team mentality.

And for the record, I have never brown-nosed for my position. I have staked my own reputation by proving my merit and building productive teams. If you want to work in your own closet, be a slave to the corporate hegemon, and/or complain about your job, then it's self-deserving. I for one will never work in a job that I don't enjoy, nor work with a group that I don't fit in with. If you don't like what you do, then you should re-evaluate your career priorities unless you want to live a bitter life.

[.RJ]

Trust me, excluding yourself from extracurricular activities is a key indicator of you not being a team player. If you find yourself avoiding all social functions, then perhaps you need a new job where you work in a more fun environment. Work may be work, but you have to find some ray of enjoyment in what you do.

I like my job, and I like my coworkers, the work environment is great too. But with working 50-60 hours a week, and often on weekends, when I leave work for the day I want to be away from it and I dont want to think about it. I do go out with co workers sometimes (we've gone down to clarendon a few times) and there's occasional happy hour (i've attended half of them), and thats really enough for me.

[.RJ]

Not completely untrue. As somebody in a managerial position, there are certain individuals who habitually miss social functions and their comradadry is questioned (not by just management, but by team members)

You've got to be kidding me? I dont see how you can classify someone as not being a team player at work because they dont show up for beers after work. What if they have family (wife/kids) that they need to be at home for? What if they are taking classes, or just prefer to keep their private life separate? I guess I just dont get it.

Maybe the same people that dont go out much after work, also never try to build the same personal relationships at work as well hrug:

unless you want to live a bitter life.

Well evan's doomed! :lol:

[Mike]

did someone say NWA?

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://videoteam.com/new/index.php?VC+C27">http://videoteam.com/new/index.php?VC+C27</a><!-- m --> - not work safe in even the safest of places

[John]

You've got to be kidding me? I dont see how you can classify someone as not being a team player at work because they dont show up for beers after work. What if they have family (wife/kids) that they need to be at home for? What if they are taking classes, or just prefer to keep their private life separate? I guess I just dont get it.

I never said an individual had to be present 100% of the time - but chronic absenses from such events says a million words to the rest of the team. It again boils down to putting together a team that is going to work together. People who have "special" work schedules won't become part of our team due to our demanding schedules. And sure, family comes first, but at the same time, so does your work family. A lot of people hate the way I phrase the latter part, but that's really what happens in a successful work environment.

There are many individuals in the office that are content with their position and want to live their lives as is. Those are also the people that get promoted a much lesser rate.

Maybe the same people that dont go out much after work, also never try to build the same personal relationships at work as well hrug:

Your hypothesis is indeed correct.

[.RJ]

I never said an individual had to be present 100% of the time - but chronic absenses from such events says a million words to the rest of the team

Yeah it says "I have shit to do when I'm not spending 60 hours at work".

I just dont see how someone that is otherwise hard working and gets the job done is going to be shunned. I think I just have a complete and total failure of comprehension on this. Between my family, and the friends that I had long before I started this job, and the racecar, I just dont make it out to that many work functions.

Besides, what is "chronic"? 50%? The last job I worked, I was working with the same team of ~15 people, every day, for 8 months. We all got a long fine, some of us would all go down to the hotel bar or out to dinner together, some people didnt always come and some people never came out. I never saw anyone on the team treated differently because of their social attendance or lack thereof. Hell, the managers were the ones that showed up the least!

Your hypothesis is indeed correct.

Thats what i was getting at - the fact that they dont come out for social functions isnt really the problem - just one manifestation of it.

[John]

Hell, the managers were the ones that showed up the least!

Yeah, well it's obvious to me that you had shitty managers on your last project.

[.RJ]

Yeah, well it's obvious to me that you had shitty managers on your last project.

As incompetent as they were, I dont think it was because they didnt come get drunk with us at the hotel bar

[Evan]

My company is over the top with the touchy feely, corporate kool-aid, team-player, brainwashing crap. If any company on the planet would put team event participation into review (even unspoken or subconsciously) it would be this company. It doesnt happen. They are completely separate. And shit, "Relationships" are a company core value. (see? kool-aid...)
At Accenture, I saw more pressure to schmooze it up with the management, and hence at happy hours, etc, but it still really didnt make an impact as to if you were actually at the events or not, just the impressions you made on people.
Dont connect relationship building with happy hours and company picnics. It can happen there, but doesnt have to.

[John]

I in no point mentioned drinking as a requirement. That's something that should be held out of the equation altogether since not everybody drinks.