Humor 8/23/99: Buzz Word Bingo & God's Wings

Hi everyone,

It was great to see many of you in Boston this past weekend.
Congratulations to Moses & Karen for a great wedding. One memorable
thing was the video of what they did for the bachelor party. Mo and the
rest of the guys acted out the Star Wars storyline, with Mo as Mo
Skywalker and Karen as Princess Karen. They even spliced in scenes from
the movie. It was pretty funny. Also, at the wedding banquet, a large
group of people sang a modified version of the song from Grease, "Summer
Nights". That was great.

Finally, Mo & Karen implemented the game where when people knocked on
their glasses to have them kiss, they pulled out the names of a married
couple at the banquet. However the couple kissed, Mo & Karen were to
kiss in the same way. Some of the couples' kisses were fairly
creative. But alas, Mo & Karen didn't always follow exactly. If you're
going to get married soon and would like me to describe how this idea
works, let me know.

It was also good to see some friends who I haven't seen in a while, see
some Andersen Consulting friends, and meet some new people at the
wedding and at church.

This week's thought provoking question is: "If you could have
personally witnessed one event in history, what would you want to have
seen?"

This week's humor was forwarded by John Chao, followed by an
inspirational story also forwarded by John Chao. Enjoy!

-Josh.

P.S. By the way, my permanent email address is still
joshli@post.harvard.edu. Please send all emails to this address and do
not reply to this email. Thanks!
_________________________________________

Buzzword Bingo

I've been guilty of using many of these buzz-word both in and out of
these meetings. I'll have to think outside the box and proactively
perform a gap analysis to develop best practice communication
methodologies to achieve a win-win situation! BINGO!! I've been in
consulting too long!!

---- snip snip ----

For those of you who attend a lot of meetings, this should make those
meetings go faster! If you don't attend lots of meetings, consider
yourself lucky.

How to play: Simply tick off 5 words heard in one meeting from the
following list and shout out BINGO! It's that easy!

Synergy

Proactive, not Reactive

Win-Win Situation

Think Outside the Box

Take That Offline

On the Same Page

Client-Focused

Strategic Fit

Gap Analysis

Best Practice

The Bottom Line

Core Business

Lessons Learned

Touch Base

Revisit

Game Plan

Bandwidth

Hardball

In the Loop

Out of the Loop

Go the Extra Mile

Benchmark

The Big Picture

Value-Added

Movers and Shakers

Ball Park

Fast Track

Result-Driven

A Done Deal

Empower Employees

No Blame

Stretch the Envelope

Knowledge Base

Total Quality

Mindset

Put The One to Bed

Quality-Driven

Move the Goal Posts

Peel the Onion Back

Testimonials from other players:
- "I had only been in the meeting for five minutes when I yelled BINGO."

- "My attention span at meetings has improved dramatically."
- "The facilitator was gobsmacked as we all screamed BINGO for the 3rd
time."
- "I feel that the game has enhanced the overall quality of meetings per
se on a quid pro quo basis."
- "People are even listening to mumblers, thanks to Buzzword Bingo!"
____________________________

God's Wings

An article in National Geographic several years ago provided a
penetrating picture of God's wings... After a forest fire in Yellowstone
National Park, forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to assess
the inferno's damage. One ranger found a bird literally petrified in
ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree.
Somewhat sickened by the eerie sight, he knocked over the bird with a
stick. When he struck it, three tiny chicks scurried from under their
dead mother's wings.

The loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster, had carried her
offspring to the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings,
instinctively knowing that the toxic smoke would rise. She could have
flown to safety, but had refused to abandon her babies. When the blaze
had arrived and the heat had scorched her small body, the mother had
remained steadfast. Because she had been willing to die, those under the
cover of her wings would live...

"He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find
refuge..." Psalms 91:4

Being loved this much should make a difference in your life. Remember
the One who loves you and then be different because of it.
--
_____________________________________

Joshua Li
420 James Road #1
Palo Alto CA 94306
(650)565-8674
Permanent Email: joshli@post.harvard.edu
http://personal.anderson.ucla.edu/joshua.li/