Tag Drinking While Working

Is the Drinkin’ Doing Your Thinkin’?

Steve Keating 6 Comments

This is the kind of post that shouldn’t even need to be written anymore but sadly there are still some people who just don’t “get it.” I also don’t want to sound like I’m “preaching” here so please understand I’m not using a “holier than thou” voice while I’m writing this. 

 

We can best sum up the post like this: Getting hammered at company and industry events just ain’t what it used to be. Actually, getting hammered anywhere and any time isn’t too cool anymore. 

 

Drinking to excess over long periods of time wrecks lives. It just does. If you have convinced yourself otherwise then you may need some help because it’s likely that your drinking is doing at least some of your thinking. 

 

While drinking over a long period of time wrecks lives it takes only a single night of slamming back shots to destroy a career. In fact professionally speaking almost nothing can ruin a career faster. 

 

I’m not looking to be a killjoy. It is possible to keep the good times rolling AND minimize the chance of becoming company or industry folklore for years to come.

     

If you have a work/social situation coming up where you’d prefer not to avoid alcohol altogether then consider slowing your pace of drinking. Alternate your drinks with soda or water throughout the event or eat more food and consume drinks or beer with less alcohol.  

 

Here’s a couple of alcohol quick facts to consider:

  • Generally… one 12-ounce beer = one 5-ounce glass of wine = 1.5 ounces of liquor (80 proof)
  • Wine usually has an alcohol content of 12 – 16%
  • Beer in most cases, has an alcohol content of 3.2 – 7%
  • As little as 1 – 2 drinks in one hour can impair an individual’s ability to drive and think clearly (depending on weight and alcohol content)
  • Only time can sober up someone

If you’re thinking “you can handle” your liquor “better” than the next person that’s the drinkin’ doing your thinkin’. 

 

If you think you “can make it home” without the cops stopping you that’s the drinkin’ doing your thinkin’. (Besides the cops are the least of your problems, killing someone else or yourself is where your concern should be)

 

If you think no one will notice your altered behavior then that’s your drinkin’ doing your thinkin’. Maybe you should ask to see the videos….yes, everyone has a video camera these days. 

 

If you think your colleagues or coworkers won’t be talking behind your back the next day that is your drinkin’ doing your thinkin’ BIG TIME! 


Your character is always on display. Think about that and try to remember, if there’s too much drinkin’ then there is almost certainly too little thinkin’. 

How Much is Your Credibility Worth?

Steve Keating 4 Comments

What’s your most prized possession? When you ask that question to a group of people you get some very interesting answers. You also get a lot of different answers, some very personal answers. 

You also discover that very few people say credibility. It’s not that they don’t value credibility, it’s just that most of us don’t think of credibility in terms of something we possess. Credibility is just something that exists, it’s just sort of there. We know it’s important, we want to be seen as credible, we want the people around us to be credible, we simply value credibility.

So we say.

But then we go out and do things that destroy our credibility. We say one thing and do another. We criticize someone for doing something as we’re doing the exact same thing. We behave or speak in a manner that we know is wrong, at least we know it’s wrong when somebody else does it. 

We say credibility matters but often act as if it doesn’t. 

There are literally a million ways for us to negatively impact our credibility but I’m going to focus on one because it’s so pervasive, maybe not as much as it used to be but I’d still bet it’s the number one destroyer of credibility today, especially in business circles.

It’s drinking while working. (DWW) Let me define drinking while “working.” If you’re with customers, co-workers, at an “after-hours”  work function, or just somewhere people you work with or for might be, you’re working. If you’re out in public wearing a shirt or jacket with your company’s logo on it, you’re working. If you’re sitting in an airport with your backpack next to you and your backpack has your business card attached to it, you’re working. I could go on but I think you get the idea, “working” goes way beyond sitting behind your desk at 3:00 in the afternoon.

If you believe for a minute that you can go out and get completely wasted with a group of your business associates or customers and not damage your credibility with them you are completely and totally wrong.

Credibility does not just exist, it is built and re-built everyday. The things, all things, that we say and do matter, they all count. Every single thing you say and do either adds to or subtracts from your credibility. I wish that wasn’t true but it is.

We can’t live 100% of the time being “careful” with what we say and do to protect our credibility. We are human beings, prone to doing and saying dumb stuff from time to time. Those dumb things will sometimes harm our credibility and no matter how hard we try to avoid them, they will happen.

Which makes DWW all the worse, it is a choice, at least it is for the vast majority of people. If the waiter came over at asked “what would you like to destroy your credibility tonight?” we might think twice before ordering. Unfortunately, they say, “what would you like to drink?”

Just how much is your credibility worth? One beer? Two or three? Maybe you’re a very credible person and yours is worth 10 or 12…. oh wait, it doesn’t work that way.

The more you drink while working the less credible you will be, if you want to argue that point go ahead and order another, it’s only your credibility.