How Hockey is Ruining My Career

I'm a hockey fan. I watch games when they're on (I'm a sucker for HD games no matter who's playing). I read articles and blogs about hockey. I co-edit a hockey blog. I believe that everything you read, see, and hear has some effect on you. I think that's fair to say. It might be so infinitesimal that you can't even remember it, but you are your history and everything that happens in it is a part of it. So everything that happens is part of you.

The reason I bring this up is because I constantly hear me discrediting myself at work and taking the blame for things that weren't necessarily my fault. Who do I think I am? God damned Kimmo Timonen?

"Good work on the TPS Report, Ryan."

"Ok, thanks. It was mostly Rich and Cheryl. They got all the data together."

Then I see and hear about people all over the place taking credit for things they didn't do. And I'm like "Am I missing something?" Everyone says you have to be ruthless in Corporate America. They think I'm naive, but I just won't play that game.

"You need to pick it up a bit, Ryan. That TPS report was really underdeveloped."

"Yeah, it just didn't come together the way I had hoped. It won't happen again."

You want to know what really happened? Rich and Cheryl were BF -ing in the GD MF -ing stairwell or some shit and they didn't get me any of the data I needed until it was almost too late for me to get anything together for the stupid presentation. That's what really happened!

Is taking credit for your yeoman's work vanity? Hockey players seem to think it is. No goalie ever says that he got a shutout because he's so flexible and has great reflexes. It's always because the team played good defense. And if a goalie does let in a weak goal the defense is quick to say that they need to play stronger in front of him. Or a forward is right there telling the press how he needs to capitalize on his chances so things like that aren't an issue.
And maybe that's my problem. Everyone knows those players are talking out of their asses. They write down what they're saying but they have the Rosetta Stone to translate it into bare truth. There's nothing to gain from finger pointing so they don't do it. But we know what they mean. And that's another problem - they're actually on a real team. In Corporate America you play for a team, but more importantly you are your own team. So you have to promote yourself while chopping everyone's legs out from underneath them. It's just not in my nature.

But I do think I could drop the hockey interview act and just tell things straight forward. But then everyone will find out exactly how bad ass I am at Power Point, and I don't necessarily want to have to go to our work All-star game in Des Moines. They're putting everyone up in HoJo. I wasn't aware those places existed anymore.