The Leadership Chronicles: Brought to you by Hallmark

One of the, um, hallmarks of this course is how past participants support and encourage those taking it. The newbie is given a cartoon-themed backpack which is packed with all sorts of things one might need – snacks, gum, tissues (for all the crying one might do); throat lozenges (because all that projecting can get to you), hand cream (oh, there was so much clapping), and a boatload of greeting cards with instructions written upon the envelope as to when that particular card should be opened. So for example, the ones marked “Open at the end of your first day” were filled with sentiments like “You’ve survived the first module – congrats” or ones marked “Open at breakfast” contained notes of encouragement to enjoy the day ahead. These are my cards (about 80% of my co-workers have taken the course):

And these aren’t your two-for-a-dollar, no-name cards from the 99 cents store. These are genuine Hallmark. I received 21 cards with a retail value of over $60. That is why I am convinced the company running these courses is owned by Hallmark.

I really appreciate the support but I found it quite amusing that the cards written by those co-workers whom I like and are not back-stabbing gossips that stay in their little clique and look down on the rest of us wrote the nicest things, genuine, from-the-heart sentiments. The cards from the co-workers I do not like and who do not like me were full of canned responses; you could tell they made no effort whatsoever. Again, not an exaggeration. Look at the inside of this card, for example:

The exact same sentiment, the order just changed a little, one on top of the other. The second writer couldn’t even be bothered to come up with something new (ironically, this writer just happens to be my most despised co-worker). Sigh.