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<blockquote data-quote="Janx" data-source="post: 4777366" data-attributes="member: 8835">let me comment on the whole &quot;corporate team-building&quot; thing.From the pro-GM story, that guy lucked out that a team in a company wasa&nbsp; bunch of gamers, and the manager was willing to shell out budget for it.I work in a big company.&nbsp; Per the latest speech by our CEO last week, we're a top Fortune X company, where X is a number I won't disclose because you really don't need to know where I work.&nbsp; We're big.&nbsp; One of the biggest.&nbsp; When the company says &quot;we change our policy to match the industry&quot; what they really mean is &quot;we found a new way to trim employee expense, and in a month, the rest of the industry will copy us.&quot;We have a few different types of team building.&nbsp; Every few years, my department will pay for the whole 100+ member group to go to some communication or team building course.&nbsp; And very quarter, every department gets $20 a person to spend on a &quot;group activity&quot;.&nbsp; Some times we do it as an entire department, sometimes we break it up by teams.These are usually &quot;go to the adult arcade&quot;, or &quot;ride the go-karts&quot; or &quot;go see a movie&quot; or &quot;go eat at a steakhouse then go home early&quot; activities.&nbsp; Hypothetically, it's these activities where an entertainment business lke lasertag can get that money, without extra credentials (other than insurance they carry as a business).Guess what got cut this year?&nbsp; Quarterly outings.&nbsp; At best, our manager has a &quot;happy hour&quot; at a nearby pub after work where HE pays for a few drinks for each of his 10 employees.Did I mention we're a top company.&nbsp; If we're cutting back, EVERYBODY else is.&nbsp; And we're still making butt-loads of money.&nbsp; But we'e also tightening the belt.If you want to start a business, the best ideas are ones where you hear a lot of people saying, &quot;man, if somebody did X, I'd pay for it!&quot;When times are tough, the smart thing to do for a young person is stay in school.&nbsp; Get a student loan.&nbsp; Go to a CHEAP school (I went to a cheap small school, and got my picked up by said top Fortune company).&nbsp; Don't argue about getting a loan, because the first thing you'll do as a college grad is get a car load for a WORSE interest rate than your student loans.&nbsp; Student loans are a great way to jump start yourself into the economy.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Janx, post: 4777366, member: 8835"] let me comment on the whole "corporate team-building" thing. From the pro-GM story, that guy lucked out that a team in a company wasa bunch of gamers, and the manager was willing to shell out budget for it. I work in a big company. Per the latest speech by our CEO last week, we're a top Fortune X company, where X is a number I won't disclose because you really don't need to know where I work. We're big. One of the biggest. When the company says "we change our policy to match the industry" what they really mean is "we found a new way to trim employee expense, and in a month, the rest of the industry will copy us." We have a few different types of team building. Every few years, my department will pay for the whole 100+ member group to go to some communication or team building course. And very quarter, every department gets $20 a person to spend on a "group activity". Some times we do it as an entire department, sometimes we break it up by teams. These are usually "go to the adult arcade", or "ride the go-karts" or "go see a movie" or "go eat at a steakhouse then go home early" activities. Hypothetically, it's these activities where an entertainment business lke lasertag can get that money, without extra credentials (other than insurance they carry as a business). Guess what got cut this year? Quarterly outings. At best, our manager has a "happy hour" at a nearby pub after work where HE pays for a few drinks for each of his 10 employees. Did I mention we're a top company. If we're cutting back, EVERYBODY else is. And we're still making butt-loads of money. But we'e also tightening the belt. If you want to start a business, the best ideas are ones where you hear a lot of people saying, "man, if somebody did X, I'd pay for it!" When times are tough, the smart thing to do for a young person is stay in school. Get a student loan. Go to a CHEAP school (I went to a cheap small school, and got my picked up by said top Fortune company). Don't argue about getting a loan, because the first thing you'll do as a college grad is get a car load for a WORSE interest rate than your student loans. Student loans are a great way to jump start yourself into the economy. [/QUOTE]

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