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.

Each week (usually on Saturdays), I'll bring you my list of the four best pieces from the Wall Street Journal for the past week. Did I miss an article you thought was great? Leave a comment and let everyone know.

All right, below are my picks for this past week (note that log-in is required to read the full articles):

1. Boiling Down Top Finance Books This piece lists the bestselling finance books of the past year: and two of the top three are the worst personal finance books I've read: Why We Want You to be Rich and Rich Dad, Poor Dad.
2. Can Spending a Day Stuck to a Velcro Wall Help Build a Team? I've participated in some of these team-building exercises and didn't feel like I got much out of them. But I suppose it depends on the situation. Jared Sandberg has an interesting piece on it.
3. Index Funds 30 years ago, Vanguard started the index fund revolution, Smart Money comes out with their list of the better large-cap and small-cap index funds. These are a must for passive investors and retirement funds.
4. Up for Review: 401(k) Industry With calls for Congressional hearings about collusion hurting 401(k) investors, keep up to date with the controversy.
   

The best of the Wall Street Journal: December 24-30 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 31 Dec 2006 15:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.