Some bosses suck all the energy and life out of their team -- or the whole project. If this is your boss, don't get mad, get sarcastic. Buy your boss a Demotivator calendar or poster from the company Despair.
The company emblazons calendars, posters, mugs and other items with humorous, demotivating phrases. For example, one of their best-selling posters depicts people rowing a boat with a headline that says: "Get To Work," which is followed by the caption: "You aren't being paid to believe in the power of your dreams."
Justin Sewell, his twin brother Jef and Lawrence Kersten, the owners of the Austin, Texas-based company, know all too well what it's like to deal with a horrible boss. In 1998, all three worked for an internet service company with a work environment so toxic that they bonded by making posters that replaced motivational messages with sarcastic and witty sayings.
Most of the employees got "screwed," when the bosses cut them out of the company's IPO, said Justin. Shortly after, the three started Despair.
Initially, customers were few and far between until one of their posters went viral. Today, the company has annual sales of $3 million to $5 million. Despair's biggest sellers are calendars, which can be customized and cost as much as $30. Posters are $15.95.
"It sucks to have a horrible boss," said Justin. "Our products provide amusement. But we won't accept liability if someone gets fired for giving them to a boss," he said laughing.
Firing an employee is never easy. But these horror stories teach the following: Always be polite and professional when giving an employee the boot. And if the person getting fired starts to lose it, duck.
