Posts from — July 2008

Girlfriend’s Day is the perfect time to hang out with your female brigade! It can’t get more gossipy or more chatty than this! Catch up on loads of fun and harmless exchange of information this Girlfriend’s Day. Go shopping, pamper yourselves, or stay at home and talk about the days gone by. And if you can’t meet up, here are some cool new cards from 123Greetings so you can keep in touch with all your gal pals. They will give voice to what you want to say…

Send this Ecard!	Send this Ecard!
Send this Ecard!	Send this Ecard!

Steve’s gesture on Intern Appreciation Day surprised me. There is no doubt that there’s a strong bond of friendship between him and his interns. They’ve just started to work in 123Greetings for a couple of months but they’ve gotten along so well together. You can’t tell that from the outside. If you see Steve and his posse hanging out at a bar or in a diner, you’d think they’re Old Pals. But they’re not. Steve is very professional in his dealings with them and they really do good work. The first pat on the back always came from Steve when they solved problems.

Are you friends with your co-workers and your boss? Or even former bosses? There’s a difference between being just colleagues and being friends, your relationship extends beyond the confines of the office. Some people might say that’s not professional and make it a big deal. But for some it’s normal–like I hang out with Donna and Steve outside office. And it’s not always true that a friendship between a staff and his or her boss have to begin from the boss. Friendships aside, if you do your work and you kick butt at it, your boss will always be impressed. You’ll always stand out. At the same time, if you’re the boss, it’s always a pleasant experience when someone higher up extends the hand of friendship to you–like how Donna did with me. You spend more than 9 to 5 in the office, you need to have friends to hang out with, go to lunch, talk, and shoot crap and so on…

Personally, I think having friends in the office lifts up the morale. It’s really important, especially now, when we hear everyday about the recession, the economy, and the layoffs. It really keeps the team spirit alive. There are also dark linings on silver clouds. Don’t take your friend/co-worker for granted. You can’t take liberties with your work just because you had drinks with your boss the other night. (Donna would kill me if I didn’t meet my deadlines! Sometimes I think she’s harder on me because she knows she can push me, and because we are friends.) At the same time, if you’re in the ‘boss’s shoes’ you can’t make your subordinates do your personal errands. I mean, I know a lot of bosses abuse their power and have their interns fetch everything. This is what I really admire about Steve–he never lets them fetch even his coffee. We take turns in the office for that kinda stuff, fetching coffee, picking up lunch or breakfast, and getting the catering done for office parties. There’s no mention of fetching dry cleaning either! Never forget to keep personal things personal and keep your professional nose clean. That way you can always have a great professional work atmosphere and enjoy nights out with friends. We spend most of our time at work, having friends around makes working fun, and more productive.

Are you friends with your boss or employee? How’s that like for you? Let me know and share your friendships through comments below!

Hey folks!

Thanks for all your replies on what the ground rules of friendship should be. There were comments and mails, in which people had jotted down their thoughts and what they feel should be the ground rules of friendship. The replies were varied, as I had anticipated in my first post on this topic.

The responses had to be different, but there are certain points on which the verdict has been unanimous. Respect for each other’s personal space is one. Another would be to understand your friend without explanations. Let me explain.

Your friend must know you, your feelings, your likes, dislikes, hobbies, passions, tastes, choices and everything in between. That is when the need to explain why you did something doesn’t remain valid. There is a sort of telepathic bonding that tells you what your friend’s next step would be and what is expected of you. Some may say that it might make the friendship predictable, but that is only apparent. Knowing a person is a satisfaction in itself and makes your friendship all the more special.

By the way, I am expecting comments from your end this time, too! And stay tuned for my favorite Friendship Day cards. They will be published on this space soon!

While I was writing the newsletter the other week, I wrote about the ‘ground rules of friendship’. I wanted to write more but there wasn’t much room or time, so the blog is an excellent place to have the discussion continue!

There were a lot of ideas floating in my mind about friendships. I mean, each person approaches friendship in a different way. There are people we call ‘acquaintances’, and then there are people we call ‘friends’, and there are the select few who are confidants and are our ‘best friends’. What defines your friendship? What are the ground rules of your friendships? Or should there be any rule at all?

Human relationships can never be dictated or limited by a set of rules. No relationship is an imitation of the other and no fixed law can claim to envelope all the aspects of even one relationship. However, there are principles that we follow to make a friendship flourish. What are your principles? Let me know what you think by leaving comments below in the section!

Hey people, I’m going to be off for the July Fourth weekend. But don’t worry the newsletter will still be coming to your inbox! 123Greetings just unleashed brand new Fourth of July ecards and here are my favorites! If you have a minute why don’t you leave me a comment below and let me know what you think of them. And don’t forget to have a great July Fourth!

Send this Ecard!	Send this Ecard!
Send this Ecard!	Send this Ecard!
Send this Ecard!	Send this Ecard!
Send this Ecard!	Send this Ecard!
Send this Ecard!	Send this Ecard!