Ditch the politics and see people as people

Like it or not, politics is a part of most offices. The games that people play for getting a project or advancing up the career ladder are somehow part of the nature of every company with more than just a few employees.  In my opinion, the culture that this breeds is poisonous. Friends collaborate but individuals compete. The biggest problem that I see is when your co-workers and managers stop being your friends and become the competition.  This is most destructive in engineering organizations where collaboration is the real goal to building something awesome. By focusing on building friendships in a company, you can create a culture where politics are minimized and productivity is increased. It doesn't take some complicated team building exercise, just a few minutes to get to know someone and to treat them as you would like to be treated.

The challenge of new technology isn't new

a favorite theory of mine—to wit, that no occurrence is sole and solitary, but is merely a repetition of a thing which has happened before, and perhaps often.

- Mark Twain

Books, radio, and TV all share the distinction of being inventions that have changed society. Likewise, they have each been demonized as corrupting children and harming society. Today, it seems laughable that people would fear the printing press as something negative, but you try going back in time and printing a Bible in English. In many respects, the internet is the modern day printing press in its ability to change society. It also plays the role of whipping-boy for traditionalists who fear the possible outcomes. There is some aspect of our nature that always leads groups to think that this new invention will destroy the next generation, only for the naysayers to forget when their fore-bearers said the same about them. Still, they aren't completely wrong either. Change is exciting and the desire to be a part of whatever nouveau technology can be addicting and consuming. To me, the message is simple: use caution and reason in your use of technology and avoid excess.