Do you know dumb people who pretend they're smart?

[masraum]

Originally Posted by dhoward

Proactive is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me.

Yes, "we need to be proactive instead of reactive"

At my company they just issues a company wide, global, "One Team" initiative where everyone in the company is trained to follow "PACT"

We want people who are

Passionate
Accountable
Courageous
Transparent -- meaning your actions and intentions are clear and obvious not that you are invisible or never in your office.

Yeah, we even have "training" for it. I think I'm going to be drinking heavily soon.

The other thing that seems to be contagious in my company is poor analogies like "dropped the ball", "in the game" and "flag it up". I even have heard "fail faster" meaning that if you can't figure it out fast enough then get it to someone who can instead of holding on to it too long.

[holtjv]

Steve, that is officially nauseating and I feel for you. Reminds me of the old "core values" days. My take on stuff like that is that if you have to state it, you don't have it.

[DARISC]

Originally Posted by masraum

Yes, "we need to be proactive instead of reactive"

At my company they just issues a company wide, global, "One Team" initiative where everyone in the company is trained to follow "PACT"

We want people who are

Passionate
Accountable
Courageous
Transparent -- meaning your actions and intentions are clear and obvious not that you are invisible or never in your office.

Yeah, we even have "training" for it. I think I'm going to be drinking heavily soon.

The other thing that seems to be contagious in my company is poor analogies like "dropped the ball", "in the game" and "flag it up". I even have heard "fail faster" meaning that if you can't figure it out fast enough then get it to someone who can instead of holding on to it too long.

Well! It seems that you've made it completely clear that you are NOT a team player!

I hope that you are being PACT about your "attitude" at the office!

[72doug2,2S]

Originally Posted by masraum

Yes, "we need to be proactive instead of reactive"

At my company they just issues a company wide, global, "One Team" initiative where everyone in the company is trained to follow "PACT"

We want people who are

Passionate
Accountable
Courageous
Transparent -- meaning your actions and intentions are clear and obvious not that you are invisible or never in your office.

Yeah, we even have "training" for it. I think I'm going to be drinking heavily soon.

The other thing that seems to be contagious in my company is poor analogies like "dropped the ball", "in the game" and "flag it up". I even have heard "fail faster" meaning that if you can't figure it out fast enough then get it to someone who can instead of holding on to it too long.

I know Dilbert has special meaning for you. -Been there.

[scottmandue]

Someone here at work (not me) noted that one of the PhD's dropped his drawers at the urinal... we thus presumed that PhD stood for
Pees hauled Down.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

Someone here at work (not me) noted that one of the PhD's dropped his drawers at the urinal... we thus presumed that PhD stood for
Pees hauled Down.

You mean goes pee like my 3 year old son? That's hilarious, I don't think I could see that in person without laughing my ass off.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by masraum

We want people who are

Passionate
Accountable
Courageous
Transparent -- meaning your actions and intentions are clear and obvious not that you are invisible or never in your office.

Hah, that's funny. Use a word that describes clear and obvious but is obviously not clear enough that it needs to be explained.

[legion]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

You mean goes pee like my 3 year old son? That's hilarious, I don't think I could see that in person without laughing my ass off.

The boyfriend of my next-door neighbor (coed dorm) used to do that in college. Of course...he was a redneck (spittin' his chaw in the urinal while peeing) and didn't wear underwear. I remember the first time I walked into the bathroom to be confronted by a set of pasty white cheeks... *shivers*

[Rick Lee]

My dad has a co-worker who brags, yes brags, that he has never read a book! At least he doesn't pretend to be smart.

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

You mean goes pee like my 3 year old son? That's hilarious, I don't think I could see that in person without laughing my ass off.

Yep, needless to say I always made a point not to share a public restroom with him (not that there is anything wrong with that )

BTW he was an extremely intelligent man otherwise just a little quirky... as sometime brainy types can be.

Unfortunately he died of brain cancer a few years ago RIP

[livi]

Having a particular talent or skill generates a level of self confidence that makes it less painful to accept and admit minor knowledge/ignorance in other fields.

Lacking any particular talent or skill creates a need for pretending/acting generally smart.

I have been pretending all my grown life. I can also testify to the old saying that it is better to keep quite and be suspected of ignorance than to open once mouth and remove all doubts.

[tabs]

"FAIL FASTER" How bout everytime they give U an assignment that you just pass it on...and say, "I am just following corporate directives and I know I can do better next time, or was I failing fast enough for you."

[masraum]

OK, reviving this one from the dead just to post this video. It's fantastic.

[Holger]

Originally Posted by masraum

Yes, "we need to be proactive instead of reactive"

At my company they just issues a company wide, global, "One Team" initiative where everyone in the company is trained to follow "PACT"

We want people who are

Passionate
Accountable
Courageous
Transparent -- meaning your actions and intentions are clear and obvious not that you are invisible or never in your office.

Yeah, we even have "training" for it. I think I'm going to be drinking heavily soon.

The other thing that seems to be contagious in my company is poor analogies like "dropped the ball", "in the game" and "flag it up". I even have heard "fail faster" meaning that if you can't figure it out fast enough then get it to someone who can instead of holding on to it too long.

LOL! We seem to work at the same company!




And this is great fun during meetings:
http://www.bull****bingo.net/cards/bull****/

[Chocaholic]

If you can't explain it to a 6 year old, you don't understand it.

-Albert Einstein

[widgeon13]

The real question is, "are they actually smart people pretending they are dumb"?

[GH85Carrera]

Many years ago in my single days I worked with a chick that I could tell was interested in me. I was her manager. She was not the sharpest knife in the drawer. I had to work twice as long to teach her to run an old Kodak color photo printer. I will admit it was not a easiest machine to figure out. I had taught many people before and after her the same basics so it was not overly complex.

I had a simple rule of never dating co-workers so she was off limits to me in my mind. Case closed.

I just ignored flirting and stuck to business and general chatting. I am sure this chick was math impaired somehow. Even with a calculator she struggled with basic arithmetic needed to set up the color balance on that printer. She could not understand the concept of adding a negative number to another negative number at all.

One day out of the blue she said she had checked out a book from the library on Quantum Physics. I almost choked trying to suppress a big laugh.

[Rick Lee]

I've been fortunate since starting this thread. I can't recall any real dummies I've worked with. I've had a few customers who made me really wonder how they got to their positions. But I can't think of any dummy co-workers in a long time. One mgr. used to say "irregardless" a lot, but that's really it. The woman who inspired me to start this thread has since finished journalism school at Columbia and become a wildly successful VP at a national magazine. She's definitely done better than I have. I guess being smart isn't all it's cracked up to be.

[pcardude]

Yeah. I know people like that and I get emails full of BS like that as well. My eyes glaze over and I just push the delete key. I do not have the energy to care.

[Z-man]