Asleep At The Desk

If you get caught sleeping on the job, here's some quick excuses

• It's okay...I'm still billing the client.
• "They told me at the blood bank this might happen."
• This is just a 15 minute power-nap like they raved about in the last time-management course you sent me to.
• I was working smarter, not harder.
• "Whew! Guess I left the top off the liquid paper"
• "I wasn't sleeping! I was meditating on the mission statement and envisioning a new paradigm!"
• This is one of the seven habits of highly effective people!
• I was testing the keyboard for drool resistance
• I'm in the management training program actually doing a "Stress Level Elimination Exercise Plan" (SLEEP)
• You learned at the last mandatory seminar your boss made you attend.
• "This is in exchange for the six hours last night when I dreamt about work!"
• I was doing a highly specific yoga exercise to relieve work-related stress. Are you discriminatory towards people who practice Yoga?
• "Damn! Why did you interrupt me? I had almost figured out a solution to our biggest problem.
• The coffee machine is broken
• Someone must've put decaf in the wrong pot.
• Boy, that cold medicine I took last night just won't wear off!
• It worked well for Reagan, didn't it?
• I was cross-training for telecommuting.
• Ah, the unique and unpredictable circadian rhythms of the workaholic!
• Wasn't sleeping. Was trying to pick up contact lens without hands.
• The mailman flipped out and took out a gun so I was playing dead to avoid getting shot.
• I thought you(boss) were gone for the day.

Three envelopes

A fellow had just been hired as the new CEO of a large high tech corporation. The CEO who was stepping down met with him privately and presented him with three numbered envelopes. "Open these if you run up against a problem you don't think you can solve," he said.
Well, things went along pretty smoothly, but six months later, sales took a downturn and he was really catching a lot of heat. About at his wits's end, he remembered the envelopes. He went to his drawer and took out the first envelope. The message read, "Blame your predecessor." The new CEO called a press conference and tactfully laid the blame at the feet of the previous CEO. Satisfied with his comments, the press -- and Wall Street -- responded positively, sales began to pick up and the problem was soon behind him. About a year later, the company was again experiencing a slight dip in sales, combined with serious product problems. Having learned from his previous experience, the CEO quickly opened the second envelope. The message read, "Reorganize." This he did, and the company quickly rebounded. After several consecutive profitable quarters, the company once again fell on difficult times. The CEO went to his office, closed the door and opened the third envelope. The message said, "Prepare three envelopes."

Old Local Blacksmith

An old blacksmith realized he was soon going to quit working so hard. He picked out a strong young man to become his apprentice. The old fellow was crabby and exacting. "Don't ask me a lot of questions," he told the boy. "Just do whatever I tell you to do." One day the old blacksmith took an iron out of the forge and laid it on the anvil. "Get the hammer over there," he said. "When I nod my head, hit it real good and hard." Now the town is looking for a new blacksmith.