Reindeer Games

My good friend (and dance-partner, but that's another story), Glenda Watson-Hyatt, just wrote a magnificent post on her blog about Rudolph The Rednose Reindeer.  Her point was on valuing diversity, and she poignantly demonstrated how important it is to recognize and embrace those who are different from us, because you never know when there's going to be a foggy Christmas Eve and their unique skills will be needed... and no, you can't outsource reindeer to India... doesn't work that way.  Glenda speaks from the heart, and her own story glows so brightly that it could pull Santa's sleigh single-handedly.

I want to take Glenda's post one step further to a critical situation I see happening all too often.  No, it's not about the value of finding a good dentist, although Herbie the Elf plays a critical role in this issue.  And no, it's not that "bumbles bounce," despite Yukon Cornelius' role in saving the day.  The key point that I wish more people would take from this story is that if you're going to dare to be different, it really helps to have other allies watching your back.

Think about it... how many of your office politics situations have gotten out of hand because you've been the "lone voice crying in the wilderness"?  As office politicians (and we're ALL office politicians if we regularly work with at least one other individual), it is imperitive that we do adequate stakeholder analysis of our situation.  How do people feel about us personally?  How do they feel about the plans and goals we're trying to elevate?  Do you have adequate support against the Abominable Snowmen of your office?  What about other snooty reindeer?

If you're standing alone, bright nose or not, maybe it's time to think about building some alliances in the office to keep your backside covered.  Who knows?  Maybe you'll go down in history (in a good way, we hope).