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Football Schmootball

Now that I am an office worker again, that means I will occasionally be a meeting attender as well. Today's meeting, a marketing/sales meeting, will be held off site, as many of these larger meetings are--this one will be held at the National Football Hall of Fame. Who knew they had conference rooms and catered lunches?

I have lived in Ohio for 19 years and have never once been to the National Football Hall of Fame. I have cursed the traffic brought to town during the annual induction ceremonies, and I have mocked the football-shaped portion of the building, but I have never felt even the slightest interest in seeing the actual...um...is it a museum? Fortunately, touring the exhibits will be optional today. I'll just sit and think about lunch.

I heard an interesting report on NPR this week about how companies try all sorts of gimmicks and off-site events to build team spirit among their employees. Managers think that if their marketing team were to engage in a couple of games of laser tag (a game I only played once and became a frightening predator--I hardly knew myself), then they'll learn to work together. In reality, a couple of games of laser tag actually encourages competition within the team and vengeance on the trigger happy geek with the highest score. Having a meeting at the Football Hall of Fame will not involve actually playing the game of football, thank God, so I don't think the location will negatively effect our team spirit. But in that environment, I'm afraid I'll be fantasizing about body slamming the first person to criticize my book covers designs. And I'll be quietly folding paper into a football shape and thumping across the room at my fellow workers. Now, there's some real team spirit for ya.

Here are some great places to hold off-site company meetings:
The Zoo: it doesn't matter which one, as long as they have orangutans and pink flamingos
The It's A Small World ride at Disney World.
The set of a Ziegfeld Follies film from the 1930s
A riverboat on the Mississippi

Comments

dive said…
Now that's scary!
Robyn the frightening predator.
I'm kinda backing slowly away from your blog, looking for my chance to run like hell!

I hate the thought of office "team building" excercises. They keep trying to organise them here, but the barrage of silent hostile stares that greets them has so far succeeded in putting them off.
7:34 AM
Sassy Sundry said…
I heard that story. That kind of crap is just so stupid. I always rebel against it. If Prudence comments here, she'll remember what I said about a certain inspirational sign.
8:24 AM
Anonymous said…
Yes Sassy I remember well. We have had several "team building" Exorcisms here. Haven't seen the fruits of it but the cost is astromonical, what a game! Some have been 8 weeks with homework. Yikes.
8:39 AM
Anonymous said…
Coworkers playing laser tag...sounds like an episode of The Office waiting to be written.
9:18 AM
Neponset River Bridge Dig said…
team building exercises. hmmm not good for someone who may be an introvert would it?

The whole cooperate world has gone crazy if you ask me.

whatever happened to keeping things simple?
10:34 AM
Gina said…
Remind me to put you on my next laser-tag team, Robyn! ;)
11:07 PM
Anonymous said…
Add cooking school to your team building list, Rob. Couple places in Denver that do them, so I'm pushing for a field trip to The Passionate Palette. Sushi rolling editors... can you dig it?
12:26 PM
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