| I know this anecdotal and related but directly on-point, but here I go anyway... About 12 years ago, I consulted, on-site, for about a year with a Japanese company with a very very very untrusting corporate culture. (I was consulting on electronics and firmware.) Every USB port on every computer was super-glued shut (yes, I know...) And literally 100% of the internet traffic went over a T1 (for those of you just out of diapers, that is a 1.5 Mbps line) to Tokyo and back. Corporate saw every bit of internet activity. This company, when I talked with the VP of engineering, told me "we have flexible work hours; you can take lunch 12:00-12:30, or 12:30-1:00pm. As long as you're back at your desk within 5 minutes of lunch end, we will not be required to make note of it" Man that was a horrible gig. But I made enough $$$ to overcome the agony. I have so many consulting stories... my daughters keep telling me I need to write a book. "When Bill and Michelle ruined a conference room table" "When Jayanthi [no I'm not changing her name] had a meltdown and threw a sharp object at the head of a subordinate" "When Tom impregnated his secretary during his divorce, and was basically forced to marry her the day after his divorce was finalized" "When I put a choke hold on a corporate security guard who incorrectly identified a computer peripheral in my backpack as confidential company property" I think the 100 people who bought the book would really enjoy it |