Step 1: Choose Your Buddy Targets
�Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?� � Abraham Lincoln
Look for coworkers who hate you because of one (or more) of the following reasons:
- Your positions or departments call for conflict of interest (eg. sales vs. marketing, marketing vs. technical, technical vs. customer service, customer service vs. quality, quality vs. finance, finance vs. your paycheck�)
- You compete � for budget, resources, your boss� attention, promotion�
- You are hired into different �camps� � your boss against your coworker�s
- You have had fights before (the nastier the better)
- You despise each other. Or you are jealous of each other. Which may be the same thing a lot of times.
In short, the bigger the enemy, the bigger the gain if you become buddies � or move in that direction. Even if your invitation results in no hint of camaraderie, what can they do about you? Hate you?
Look for people you admire
You may admire some coworkers for their wisdom, experience, achievement, sense of humor, contribution to the community, or their cars. To make your experience even more fun, select someone who is very different from you � in as many ways as possible. Job titles or ranks don�t matter. You don�t even have to be in the same department or office. The important thing is you know you would enjoy learning more about those coworkers while learning something from them.
Look for that new guy/gal
Sometimes the greatest joy from having buddies comes from being someone�s buddy. Find that new hire who doesn�t have any lunch buddies. If your company hasn�t hired anyone in the longest time, look for someone who seems the least engaged in your team. If you are a manager, look for team members who need a pat on the shoulder. Remember: your objective is to become a friend to someone who needs one.
Now you are ready to do something for yourself � and your coworkers!
Step 2: Send your Buddies an Office Buddies Day™ e-card
- Select from our Office Buddies Day™ greeting e-cards and send one to each of your Buddy Targets.
- Sending the e-card shows your goodwill. Especially if you don't want to take too big a step out of your boundaries or step too close to your coworkers', this is a good start. It has that "surprise" element that will create an impact on your coworkers.
- Declare you are part of the Office Buddies Day™ "movement"! Take the first step to create an open, honest, and collaborative environment at work!
What you may expect
- Your coworkers want to talk to you � because they appreciate your goodwill � or they are suspicious of your goodwill. Either way � you have created a fun conversation opener.
- They see you as a "person" � with a beating heart, and a sense of humor. They just may lower their guard and let you have a glimpse of their humane side.
- The enemies think you are crazy! Now you have them off-balance! They don�t know what to do with you…
SEND AN E-CARD NOW!
Step 3: Register now as an Office Buddies Day™ "Founder"
Complete the following form - and make your Office Buddies Day™ complete
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