How To Benefit Playing Company Politics

By Gloria Hansen

At one time or another, we have been warned to stay out of office politics-it can be the ruin of a promising career! It is an old warning with a lot of tradition to support it.

Company politics has seen its evil days, but the day when close-knit groups resented each other in general and all ambitious newcomers in particular is drawing to a close. Most people are recognizing that such intramural skirmishing for prestige and influence did the groups no good while greatly impairing the productivity of the company.

"Company" in this context is a generic term that applies to any working situation. It does not matter whether it is private industry, government agency, educational institution or some other kind of organized work situation.

When people get along together, production rises; when they do not, it falls. Politics-good or bad-is inescapable. If people are not talking about their work at the drinking fountain, during a coffee break, or at lunch, they just do not care, and that is bad.

Company politics is here to stay. To close your ears to it is not to remove yourself from politics but from the company. How else are you going to know what is going on? And if you do not know what is going on in the company, how are you to know where you are going?

If you follow three simple rules, playing good company politics will be easy, informative and rewarding.

(1). Say something interesting or constructive about your work.
(2). Say something good about your boss, supervisor, or company policy-with sincerity.

If you cannot do those three things after a month or two on the job, if your work is so dull and the company so uninteresting, you are in the wrong job. Start looking for a different one now!

Private life and work are both parts of you as a whole human being. They cannot be completely separate incarnations. You are probably spending your most productive hours in each day at work-five days a week! Friendships do count in the business world.

Bad politics is based on greed, selfishness, power-seeking, and often prejudice. More often than not, the leaders are insisting that some outside influence is the cause of all their problems. They are unwilling to admit that their own actions might be at fault.

I once worked in an office where the goal seemed to be finding something nasty to say about the boss. It was almost a "can you top this" kind of daily conversational game.

The two most vocal individuals had worked for the longest time in the department. They must have been getting some kind of emotional payback from their actions in order to justify working for such an individual. Possibly: "You have the title but I am better than you in every way!"

Actually company politics is not the name for it, for the company will suffer irreparable damage in the long run. It is personal or factional, or clique politics, played for the advancement of the few, and let the company go hang, as it frequently does. Yet it cannot be ignored.

If bad office politics is to be counteracted intelligently, it must be recognized for what it is, from the lowest man subjected to its pressures to the president of the firm. If one is in no position to combat it, then one must know what it is all about for his own protection.

Personal success is not to be found where partisanship and bias have more influence than merit. Always remember that recognizing the talents and achievements of your staff and co-workers is a valuable asset. If you fail to give credit where and when it is deserved, there should be no complaints when the same thing is done to you.

Hard work and attention to detail does not automatically bring a promotion. Your skill working with others is an essential ingredient. It is almost tragic to overlook the constructive side of office politics. If you do not know what is going on around you, no one is going to know you are around.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gloria_Hansen

Educate Kids Can Be Fun By Playing With Them

By Anyer Long

No parents want their kids to be weaker or less active then their peers. Every child should develop his own talent. However, it is a mistake to count on school discipline alone to mold your kids. Good characters are growing from the combinations of school discipline and parenting.

Due to the daily working load, many parents find weary or losing patience in educating kids. And persistent preaching is generally considered not effective and tedious both by parents and children. An effective and easy way is introducing the element of playing into familial parenting.

Playing, the nature of kids and should not be deprived form a kid's childhood. Also, knowledge and skills are faster learned in the process of playing. For parents, playing with their children is a pleasure, most people enjoy it, which serves a rest to their heart and soul.

Outdoor activities like go camping on weekends, go fishing, holding a private football match within families and friends, or simply go park. Such occasions all are the perfect opportunities to teach kids abilities, discipline and skills. In a camping, kids knows better about the speaking "no free lunch", every thing come from efforts. In a competing match, kids should be taught the spirit of team working, in order to win. Fly your imaginations, and every thing can do outdoor.

The best indoor play with kids are assembly 3D puzzles, which are made of high quality plywood and are suitable for people of all ages. Children like playing puzzles, especially the color and shape-riching 3D puzzles. It's quite a challenge for them without help though. Playing with them to build the puzzle and when it is accomplished, confidence and self proud are formed within them.

Puzzles also enhance the accordance of their hands and minds. The brain uses both sides (right and left) when it sees and thinks. This helps children to better unconsciously take in the content of shapes and colors contained in the puzzles, resulting in improved thinking and reacting ability. Unlike usual puzzle, a 3D puzzle helps kids better understand the space and shape, which will give them an upper hand in dealing with geometry.

Parents will get better results if they mix in telling some stories as well for the kids. Each puzzle should be specially chosen in themes that have either special history or legend. Depicting the stories while teaching them how to build the puzzle, which will make the interesting activity more pleasant. And you may find your kids gaining interests in history or other aspects after that. That is it, to help your kids build a wide interests and hobbies, which will explore the maximum potentials out of them.

Educate kids should be put in the first place of parents' life. Try to playing with them, however, make the process happy and easy. Happy parenting.

Anyer is proud of being farther of two children. Also he wants to help other parents enjoy parenting more by 3D puzzles

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Anyer_Long

Playing Competitive Checkers in Texas

By Patt Carpenter

Youths in Austin, Dallas, Houston and other locations in Texas play checkers more often than chess. If you’re an individual who’s a serious checker player, you sometimes have to defend your position that checkers is better than chess! Of course, both games have merit, but here are some of checkers finer points.

Checkers has been played in Europe since the 16th century. A similar game was played in ancient times. The British Museum has specimens of ancient Egyptian checkerboards in their collection. Checkers is called by different names in different parts of the globe. In the U.S., Canada, Australia, Ireland and a few other countries the game is called checkers (or in the U.S. it is sometimes called Polish Checkers). In Great Britain, checkers is played on an 8x8 board where it is called draughts. The most popular version of checkers, however, is played on a 10x10 board in Eastern Europe. In other places, it is called International Draughts.

Now both styles, checkers and draughts - are gaining popularity on both sides of the ocean. The Eastern Europeans are starting to play the U.S. game, and U.S. players are starting to play the Eastern European game. This is due to the efforts of the International Checkers Hall of Fame. In addition, there are additional 8x8 varieties of the game being played in Spain, Italy and other countries.

There is an incredibly widespread fallacy about checkers. Many individuals believe that it is a dead game because it is "solved." Another fallacy is that a super-computer can play perfect checkers the way modern computers play chess. It has been proven by computer experts that every chess move can not be completely played out by any computer. Avid checker players who are also computer experts believe that the same is true of checkers, although it is more limited than chess.

When it comes to checker competition levels, there are two main styles played in tournaments, Go-As-You-Please (which is also called Freestyle or Unrestricted) and 3-Move Restriction. In Go-As-You-Please style, you can make any opening moves you want. In 3-Move, the first three moves, Red-White-Red, are chosen at random from a list of accepted three-move openings. The list has no openings that are known losses.

3-Move checkers is more popular in serious tournaments and matches, because it decreases the number of draws. After playing a game with one of the 3-Move openings, you play a second game with the same opening, but from the other side of the board to even out the disadvantage of having to play a weak opening.

Under international sanctions, there are World Championship Matches in both Freestyle and 3-Move styles. The 3-move World Championship is the more prestigious. Furthermore, there are a number of National Championship Tournaments, District Tournaments, State Tournaments, local and mail tournaments, mail ladders, International Team Matches (which include both over-the-board and mail), as well as other checker-related events.

Checkers is a great strategic game that can help keep your mind healthy into your later years. Keeping your mind and body competitive with a variety of games can certainly impact your health

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Fantasy Role Playing Builds--The Guardian

By Dustin Schwerman

What separates a guardian from other defensive builds is that it isn't really a defender at all, at least not in the sense that it has significant ability to avoid or absorb attacks. Rather, a guardian is a character designed to make attacking their charges too great a threat. A typical fantasy guardian would be a pikeman or town guard. Although their defenses may not be exceptional (they may even be lacking!) they use reach to make their position too dangerous to attack.

Not all game systems will necessarily support guardian builds. To make an effective guardian, you need abilities that allow you to attack in response to enemy actions. Some guardians, such as the aforementioned pikemen, might use reach to strike foes as they close. Other guardians are more close-range warriors, relying on abilities that allow them to counter-attack their enemies.
Magically inclined guardians may be able to deflect enemy attacks back upon them, backlash the damage they sustain, or even absorb enemy attacks to empower their own actions.

A guardian build rarely stands alone, unless it has abilities to redirect the attacks of enemies.
Otherwise, a guardian will need to have an offensive presence capable of dropping enemies before they get to make their attacks, or potent defenses that will negate enemy assaults and allow the character to reciprocate. The guardian build is paired well with either the protector or crusher builds; the former creates a foe that is not only difficult to attack but also likely to strike back, making such assaults a foolish proposition. The latter may not counter as many attacks, but enemies know that to strike at such an opponent is to invite its powerful offenses.

Just as the method of defense can vary between guardians, so too will you want to decide how to use your abilities. Some guardians, particularly those with a protector bent, specialize in drawing attacks onto themselves by using their guardian abilities to strike back when foes attack their allies. More offensively-minded guardians are just the opposite; they use the threat of a reciprocated offense to keep foes off of themselves, or drop enemies as they approach, freeing them up to focus on their offensive duties.

Since the goal of a guardian is defense through superior offense, abilities that can weaken or neutralize opponents quickly are much favored. The combination of a guardian and neutralizer build can be very effective, allowing the character to significantly debilitate or even dispatch enemies who assault its position. This provides a greater threat, as a neutralizer's powers can leave an enemy too weak to complete its attack even if it doesn't fall.

The guardian is a more difficult build to play than a tank or protector, but can be highly effective when used well. Your goal is to make the enemy not want to attack by turning it against itself. Bear in mind, though, that when battle is joined in an RPG, the enemies will be attacking. Do not assume that the threat alone will be sufficient; focus on obtaining strong abilities that allow you to drop those enemies who test your resolve, or potent defenses that give you the edge in a battle of attrition.

Copyright © 2007 Dustin Schwerman.

Dustin Schwerman is the primary web designer and an article writer at Truly Unique--Affordable Custom Website Design. In his spare time, he enjoys fantasy role playing games, favoring those that offer extensive options for character customization.

Home Based Business - Ashamed of Playing The Fool?

By Greg Six

There is a James Taylor song with lyrics that describe the quiet desperation that many of us are living out in our careers…

“You can play the game and you can act out the part Though you know it wasn't written for you But tell me, how can you stand there with your broken heart Ashamed of playing the fool …” Although this was written with the intentions of urging people to “Shower the people you Love, with Love”, it should make you pause to consider where you are right now. Your job and career are going nowhere, and we both know it. You are just “playing the game”. How long will you continue to “act out the part, though you know it wasn’t written for you”? This isn’t the life you have always dreamed of, yet you stand there depressed and with a broken heart, feeling like a fool because you don’t know how to take control.

Your life is fading by you in a hopeless river of time. Yet you were created to accomplish great things. Keep in mind that “your maker” as well as the rest of us, are waiting for you to take action, and create a life by design. I cannot do it for you and I wouldn’t if I could. It sounds harsh, but it would not do you any good. There is a “you” inside of you, waiting to be set free.
You have the key to make this happen. You just have to make the decision to only make decisions that take you in the directions of your goals... even in regard to a home business. They may be hard decisions, or even uncomfortable. But they will propel your life down a path that was intended for you... a path where you don’t have to “act”, you will simply allow life and career to happen based on principles and decisions you made and actions you take that are congruent with a greater life plan.

I do not know the life plan that is right for you, but you will know it as you focus on it and allow it to come to fruition. It was already written for you, you simply stepped off the path when you allowed yourself to be the person you thought others expected you to be. You made decisions that were on the path of least resistance instead of on the path that was intended for you.

Humans hate pain, suffering, trials, guidance, and correction, yet these are the things that try us, and make us strong. These are the things that mold and shape our lives, and build our character. When you take the path of least resistance, you miss these lessons and the charter building fire that you were expected to pass through.

Were you afraid? Perhaps afraid of the laughing, or peer pressure, maybe it was laziness, or lack of proper financial education that kept you from attaining that life which was meant to be. And now you find yourself “acting out a part that you know wasn’t written for you”. So, are you going to stand there and be ashamed of being the fool”, or are you going to commit yourself to finding that perfect plan that is meant for you and create a career that is full of hope and future, abundance and gain, momentum and energy?

I look forward to assisting you and having a conversation if you feel it is appropriate. A Legitimate Home Business is just over the horizon, don’t give up now.

Here’s to your success and a life full of taking action to create a life and career by design.

Greg Six has been a successful entrepreneur for over 15 years. After having owned motels and rental properties, he found success using internet marketing. He now spends his time assisting others as they search through the maze of internet offers to find the piece of the puzzle that is legitimate, and will ultimately allow an individual to create longstanding, stable wealth, without sacrificing integrity and honesty. http://www.LegitimateBusinessFromHome.net/?
ashamedofplayingthefool (This article may be reprinted, distributed and published at will, if left completely intact with links in place.)