Breakfast meetings
-
All that talk of company food events below reminded me of one of my most despised business practices: The Breakfast Meeting. What complete tosser came up with those? When I worked for a largish regional company, my boss's boss was particularly fond of organising them. She was a director of something or other, and liked to ensure that the participants had to travel to reach the meeting. I went to one, and promptly decided that under no circumstances would I ever be going to another one. So the next time I received an invitation instruction to attend along the lines of "I've organised a meeting in the canteen in Brighton for 7:30", I promptly responded, Caroline, Well you can just bloody well go and un-organise it. I am NOT getting up at 5am and travelling 70 miles to sit around in the canteen drinking stewed tea at half-past bloody 7 in the morning. Yours, Martin. Funnily enough, she never organised another one after that. Breakfast Meetings - stamp them out!
-
All that talk of company food events below reminded me of one of my most despised business practices: The Breakfast Meeting. What complete tosser came up with those? When I worked for a largish regional company, my boss's boss was particularly fond of organising them. She was a director of something or other, and liked to ensure that the participants had to travel to reach the meeting. I went to one, and promptly decided that under no circumstances would I ever be going to another one. So the next time I received an invitation instruction to attend along the lines of "I've organised a meeting in the canteen in Brighton for 7:30", I promptly responded, Caroline, Well you can just bloody well go and un-organise it. I am NOT getting up at 5am and travelling 70 miles to sit around in the canteen drinking stewed tea at half-past bloody 7 in the morning. Yours, Martin. Funnily enough, she never organised another one after that. Breakfast Meetings - stamp them out!
In 2001, I worked on a project where the project manager had twice-daily meetings. The first one was at 7:30am and the second at 4:30pm. It was a pain in the south end of my anatomy! I think the first meeting of the day was to ensure that everyone was in the office (or to take attendance) and the second one was to make sure nobody left early. After nine months of hell, and thanks to the events of 9/11, myself and about 700 other contractors were cut loose on 9/14 even though the project was far from finished (no, we weren't all working the same project). I think they just used the events of the day as an excuse to do some housecleaning. Since this was a major power company, they were also mumbling something about security as the reasons for the massive cut-and-run.
-
A kind of early lunch?
Vasudevan Deepak Kumar Personal Homepage
Tech Gossips
A pessimist sees only the dark side of the clouds, and mopes; a philosopher sees both sides, and shrugs; an optimist doesn't see the clouds at all - he's walking on them. --Leonard Louis Levinson -
[At the time, I was working for a guy I hated. I'd worked for him through college, and took a full-time spot from him when I graduated.] Errr why take a job with him then!!!!!!
You've got to get your foot in the door somehow.
-
[At the time, I was working for a guy I hated. I'd worked for him through college, and took a full-time spot from him when I graduated.] Errr why take a job with him then!!!!!!
Bob1000 wrote:
[At the time, I was working for a guy I hated. I'd worked for him through college, and took a full-time spot from him when I graduated.] Errr why take a job with him then!!!!!!
A bad job is better than no job.
You know, every time I tried to win a bar-bet about being able to count to 1000 using my fingers I always got punched out when I reached 4.... -- El Corazon
-
A kind of early lunch?
Vasudevan Deepak Kumar Personal Homepage
Tech Gossips
A pessimist sees only the dark side of the clouds, and mopes; a philosopher sees both sides, and shrugs; an optimist doesn't see the clouds at all - he's walking on them. --Leonard Louis LevinsonI guess you could call it that. :) My work day usually ends at 2:00am. /ravi
My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com
-
Good Man! I hate meetings in general. Ones that involve food even more. I once was required to call into a meeting at 11:00 pm Friday Night local time when I was traveling abroad for business. I requested that I be let out of the meeting or that it be rescheduled. Since my boss refused and further insisted that I call in even though I had nothing new to report I decided to "comply exactly" with his wishes. Long story short, I called in from a loud and rowdy pub using a public pay-phone. No mute and lots of noise. Needless to say, I got to say my peace and get off the call first.
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. - -Lazarus Long
Chris Austin wrote:
Since my boss refused and further insisted that I call in even though I had nothing new to report I decided to "comply exactly" with his wishes. Long story short, I called in from a loud and rowdy pub using a public pay-phone. No mute and lots of noise. Needless to say, I got to say my peace and get off the call first.
I am going to have to remember that for my next teleconference I have to sit in on :rolleyes:
"The clue train passed his station without stopping." - John Simmons / outlaw programmer "Real programmers just throw a bunch of 1s and 0s at the computer to see what sticks" - Pete O'Hanlon
-
What's even worse is a breakfast job interview I once had to endure. I am not a morning person, and it came off terribly. Turned out I was glad I did not get the job anyway, because the guy who interviewed me (the company owner) had no life outside of work, and he thought that no one who worked for him should either. He most likely wanted the breakfast interview so he would not have to take an extra 45 minutes out of his work-a-holic day. X|
WE ARE DYSLEXIC OF BORG. Refutance is systile. Your a$$ will be laminated. There are 10 kinds of people in the world: People who know binary and people who don't.
Tom Delany wrote:
What's even worse is a breakfast job interview
:omg: Who wants to eat in front of a complete stranger? I did this once for lunch and hated it.
"Love people and use things, not love things and use people." - Unknown
"To have a respect for ourselves guides our morals; to have deference for others governs our manners." - Laurence Sterne
-
All that talk of company food events below reminded me of one of my most despised business practices: The Breakfast Meeting. What complete tosser came up with those? When I worked for a largish regional company, my boss's boss was particularly fond of organising them. She was a director of something or other, and liked to ensure that the participants had to travel to reach the meeting. I went to one, and promptly decided that under no circumstances would I ever be going to another one. So the next time I received an invitation instruction to attend along the lines of "I've organised a meeting in the canteen in Brighton for 7:30", I promptly responded, Caroline, Well you can just bloody well go and un-organise it. I am NOT getting up at 5am and travelling 70 miles to sit around in the canteen drinking stewed tea at half-past bloody 7 in the morning. Yours, Martin. Funnily enough, she never organised another one after that. Breakfast Meetings - stamp them out!
martin_hughes wrote:
she never organised another one after that. Breakfast Meetings - stamp them out!
Your response sounded more kind and professional that the one I would have given :rolleyes: Mine would have been along the lines of a "flu"... ( something like: "Sorry, I am down with the Caroline-flu and won't be able to make it to the meeting" )
"The clue train passed his station without stopping." - John Simmons / outlaw programmer "Real programmers just throw a bunch of 1s and 0s at the computer to see what sticks" - Pete O'Hanlon
-
[At the time, I was working for a guy I hated. I'd worked for him through college, and took a full-time spot from him when I graduated.] Errr why take a job with him then!!!!!!
Because my next best offer was $3000 lower, and would have required I move.
Software Zen:
delete this;
Fold With Us![^] -
Because my next best offer was $3000 lower, and would have required I move.
Software Zen:
delete this;
Fold With Us![^]Gary R. Wheeler wrote:
Forum:The Lounge Subject:Re: Breakfast meetings Sender:Gary R. Wheeler Date:Tuesday, May 20, 2008 2:42 PM Because my next best offer was $3000 lower, and would have required I move.
Can't beat a bit of pragmatism over moral principles!
-
What's even worse is a breakfast job interview I once had to endure. I am not a morning person, and it came off terribly. Turned out I was glad I did not get the job anyway, because the guy who interviewed me (the company owner) had no life outside of work, and he thought that no one who worked for him should either. He most likely wanted the breakfast interview so he would not have to take an extra 45 minutes out of his work-a-holic day. X|
WE ARE DYSLEXIC OF BORG. Refutance is systile. Your a$$ will be laminated. There are 10 kinds of people in the world: People who know binary and people who don't.
Ha! The last job interview I went to was for a lunch meeting, not breakfast. I walked in and found the person, introduced myself and before he had a chance to ask anything, I asked "Now, explain to me why you think I might want to work for your company?" He couldn't, so that was the end of that. Another time I went to a lunch interview at a decent restaurant without a coat and tie. The interviewer mentioned that I would fit in better with a coat and tie. I mentioned that he might need to decide whether he wants a coat and tie or someone that can solve his problems. I then picked up the tab for his drink and left. I think it's a blast to turn the tables on an interviewer just to see how the poor souls react. But a breakfast interview? You gotta be kidding!
The PetroNerd
Walt Fair, Jr. Comport Computing Specializing in Technical Engineering Software
-
Ha! The last job interview I went to was for a lunch meeting, not breakfast. I walked in and found the person, introduced myself and before he had a chance to ask anything, I asked "Now, explain to me why you think I might want to work for your company?" He couldn't, so that was the end of that. Another time I went to a lunch interview at a decent restaurant without a coat and tie. The interviewer mentioned that I would fit in better with a coat and tie. I mentioned that he might need to decide whether he wants a coat and tie or someone that can solve his problems. I then picked up the tab for his drink and left. I think it's a blast to turn the tables on an interviewer just to see how the poor souls react. But a breakfast interview? You gotta be kidding!
The PetroNerd
Walt Fair, Jr. Comport Computing Specializing in Technical Engineering Software
Yah. It sucked. :(
WE ARE DYSLEXIC OF BORG. Refutance is systile. Your a$$ will be laminated. There are 10 kinds of people in the world: People who know binary and people who don't.
-
What's even worse is a breakfast job interview I once had to endure. I am not a morning person, and it came off terribly. Turned out I was glad I did not get the job anyway, because the guy who interviewed me (the company owner) had no life outside of work, and he thought that no one who worked for him should either. He most likely wanted the breakfast interview so he would not have to take an extra 45 minutes out of his work-a-holic day. X|
WE ARE DYSLEXIC OF BORG. Refutance is systile. Your a$$ will be laminated. There are 10 kinds of people in the world: People who know binary and people who don't.
Tom Delany wrote:
so he would not have to take an extra 45 minutes out of his work-a-holic day.
I totally understand. I also recommend squeezing seeing your kids between your 6pm and 7pm meetings.
regards, Paul Watson Ireland & South Africa
Fernando A. Gomez F. wrote:
At least he achieved immortality for a few years.
-
Tom Delany wrote:
What's even worse is a breakfast job interview
:omg: Who wants to eat in front of a complete stranger? I did this once for lunch and hated it.
"Love people and use things, not love things and use people." - Unknown
"To have a respect for ourselves guides our morals; to have deference for others governs our manners." - Laurence Sterne
DavidCrow wrote:
Who wants to eat in front of a complete stranger
Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay, those cookery competition chaps and... well half of all television on TV seems to be about strangers eating food in front of you.
regards, Paul Watson Ireland & South Africa
Fernando A. Gomez F. wrote:
At least he achieved immortality for a few years.
-
All that talk of company food events below reminded me of one of my most despised business practices: The Breakfast Meeting. What complete tosser came up with those? When I worked for a largish regional company, my boss's boss was particularly fond of organising them. She was a director of something or other, and liked to ensure that the participants had to travel to reach the meeting. I went to one, and promptly decided that under no circumstances would I ever be going to another one. So the next time I received an invitation instruction to attend along the lines of "I've organised a meeting in the canteen in Brighton for 7:30", I promptly responded, Caroline, Well you can just bloody well go and un-organise it. I am NOT getting up at 5am and travelling 70 miles to sit around in the canteen drinking stewed tea at half-past bloody 7 in the morning. Yours, Martin. Funnily enough, she never organised another one after that. Breakfast Meetings - stamp them out!
Reminds me of the First Tuesday club my ex-boss took me along to a few times. Up at 5am, on the tube to some god forsaken bar/bistro with half asleep waiters with 50 other mumbling business people eating stale bagels and standing in a succession of "Hi, I'm Bob, I'm an alcoholic... oh wait, wrong meeting.. sorry, I'm an entrepreneur and I sell Jameson Distillery Kits..." Done right, breakfast meetings can be good. Making you travel 70 miles though is complete bollocks. My favourite breakfast meeting was an 11am brunch down at a bar on a beach in Cape Town during summer. We decided that somewhere in the world it was past noon and ordered a few beers.
regards, Paul Watson Ireland & South Africa
Fernando A. Gomez F. wrote:
At least he achieved immortality for a few years.
-
Tom Delany wrote:
so he would not have to take an extra 45 minutes out of his work-a-holic day.
I totally understand. I also recommend squeezing seeing your kids between your 6pm and 7pm meetings.
regards, Paul Watson Ireland & South Africa
Fernando A. Gomez F. wrote:
At least he achieved immortality for a few years.
;P :)
WE ARE DYSLEXIC OF BORG. Refutance is systile. Your a$$ will be laminated. There are 10 kinds of people in the world: People who know binary and people who don't.