The Skeptic Game

Let's play The Skeptic Game.

You know the rules because you've probably encountered some world-class players, but I'll repeat them anyway and in fact, there's only one: A negative spin is put on any action, no matter how noble, innocent or selfless.

For example:

A boss treats all of the employees to lunch.

And the skeptic says:
"Just trying to buy their affection."
"It's too bad the rest of us can't afford such tabs."
"That means something bad is coming next week."

With that attitude in mind, consider how a skeptic can quickly spin the following:

1. An intern is talking about something that was mentioned in a management class.
2. A young woman is promoted to head the IT Department.
3. The boss passes out copies of a leadership book to the entire team.
4. Fred and Mary volunteer to go to the computer conference in Cleveland.

Then estimate how much damage a resident skeptic can do to a work unit.