Even the best so-called team-building exercises are often nothing but embarrassing wastes of time to be suffered through. I remember in my first job a group of about 20 local reporters were all asked to all name the animal we thought we most closely resembled. I think I copied someone who picked an eagle, latching onto the flight theme -- get me out of here. There it went on the white board: Amey = sea gull.

Not surprisingly, layoffs at that small newspaper ensued soon after all that high-priced consulting talent had left. Or maybe our team leader was really there to identify all the sloths and bears and mules that should be shown the exits? It's hard to tell sometimes what these silly episodes are really all about.

But of the many anecdotes I've heard, nothing matches the humiliations apparently endured by employees of Alarm One. Apparently they had to do things like eat baby food, wear diapers or be hit with a competitor's signage. One smart employee saw fit to quit and sue. She was awarded $1.7 million by a jury.

And if Alarm One wasn't punished enough? The company just made it onto Business 2.0's list for of the dumbest moments in business.

Look what happens when team-building exercises go awry... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 25 Jan 2007 05:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.