Top 10 ways to avoid going insane

I have the pleasure of spending 40-plus hours a week with an incredible team of co-workers. The men and women who make up the ONU marketing communications team are extremely talented and caring.

But even the best of the best could go crazy under the right circumstances. And believe me, with the deadlines and absurd requests we face every day, it’s not outside the realm of possibility.

Rather than succumbing to the stress, we have found multiple ways to keep ourselves sane, relatively speaking. So as a shout out to my marketing-homies, here are some of my favorite de-stressing memories and ongoing “initiatives.”

1. Rocking out as an air band. We were heading back from an outing to Olivet’s Chicago Regional Center near Schaumberg, when suddenly it was 80’s at 8 on the radio. I can’t remember whether it was Journey or VanHalen or some other wicked awesome hair band, but suddenly magic transpired in that 15-passenger mini-bus. We each picked up our respective air instruments and rocked out like no other air band has ever dreamed. From that moment forward, I’m proud to say, I have served as the marketing band’s official air keyboardist.

2. Perfecting our not-so-perfect impressions. We may not be the best impressionists, but we sure make each other laugh with our attempts. Whether it’s my Yoda, Monique’s Ron Burgundy, or Kate’s Bernie Mac (may he rest in peace), impressions are a staple of everyday marketing interactions.

3. Employee of the month program. Everyone deserves to be an employee of the month at least once in their lifetime, and so that’s why we instituted the Office of Marketing Communication EOM program — awarded alphabetically. Casey was our first recipient, since she dreamed up the concept. The award is so prestigious that a member of the A-Team, Vice President Brian Allen, has campaigned to be included. We humored him and gave him runner-up one month. 1st place, of course, went to our student worker, Liz.

4. Kudos! It’s our take on the whole “caught ya being good” concept. If you notice someone doing above and beyond, write it down and put it on the board. The notes range from the impressive (e-mails from alumni about articles that moved them) to the humorous (“Kudos to Jason for surviving the sewage leak above his desk”). At our weekly meeting, everyone who received a kudos note is entered into a drawing for a kudos granola bar. At approximately $2 for a box that provides 10 week’s worth of prizes, it’s quite possibly the most economical incentive program ever. (Although in this soft economy we’re exploring generic brands as an alternative.)

5. The best of hip hop. I brought in my “Best of Hip Hop” CD as a joke one day, and occasionally a song or two from it cuts through the quietness of the office to grab everyone’s attention. One of the funniest things I’ve ever seen was when I was meeting with Donnie, our director of graphic design, in my office. Our conversation went past the starting time of the marketing team meeting, and so one of them pressed play on the CD player, launching “Bust a Move” into the air waves. They then took turns individually interpreting the song as they danced by my doorway.

6. Lock-in/Lock-out. Sometimes we reach our limit. In those moments, we strategically plan a team “lock in” to “brainstorm marketing concepts.” In reality, we’re just locking everyone else out to regroup.

7. Gluttony. And of course at every marketing “lock in,” meeting or field trip, we eat until we’re ready to explode. As Casey would put it, that’s just “how we roll.”

8. Guard dogs. We politely asked for people to give us advance notice for meetings. People kept dropping by. We tried instituting “quiet hours.” People kept dropping by. We put in headphones and pretended we couldn’t see or hear them. People kept dropping by. So I drew a “guard dog” on our white board, and not having much artistic ability, he looked more like a cross-eyed Chihuahua than a Rottweiler. Needless to say, people keep dropping by.

9. Musical parodies. It all started with Matt’s updated rendition of a Diana Ross classic. He was fed up with a demanding co-worker and started singing “(Name)’s freaking out” in his best falsetto. That launched an ongoing contest to outdo each other with our lyricism to tunes made famous by artists like James Taylor, Michael Jackson, and even Eminem.

10. Tangents. We haven’t encountered a meeting that we can’t turn off-topic. I’ll never forget the confusion on a visitor’s face when we spontaneously began spouting truths from D.C. Talk in the midst of a brainstorming session. Nobody really understands us – and I think we like it that way.

Yeah, my co-workers are a tad nutty … but that’s why I fit in so well.

So thank you Donnie, Matt, Monique, Kate, Casey, Jason, Derek and Liz! You help keep life interesting, and make it fun for me to come to “work” every day.