Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Bloodless but effective

In a bout of whimsy as we finished a major project at work and sent it off for consideration by our hoped-for customer, I recommended that the team members cross their fingers, say a prayer, and sacrifice a goat to help tilt the scales in our favor.

Since that time, "one more goat!" has become the unexpected mantra of members of my department as we do our best to bring to completion a wide-ranging slate of projects that have been lingering on, sucking up our time and energy like oversized mosquitos in business casual.

Shockingly, the virtual threat of goat sacrifice appears to be working. Projects are coming together, we're making progress, and while my desk at the office is still a wreck, the "must be done ASAP" piles might be shrinking a bit.

One might attribute this to effective leadership, good morale, a team that enjoys working together, and old fashioned elbow grease but I prefer to think it's the beneficial presence of our new ruminant department mascot. Yeah, I know virtual goat sacrifice isn't something taught at the American Management Association, but it seems to be working and I'll take all the help I can get.

"Sacrifice" the Goat, department mascot extraordinaire

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