Title:   How To Goof Off At Your Next Meeting   Summary:     With a handheld device and a well-timed nod, you can play games, e-mail your pals--and still look as if you care. During the weekly staff meeting at Handango, a Texas software startup, marketing exec Wendy Gibson was typing an urgent message to the company intern on her two-way pager: her lunch order --BLT, hold the mayo. Meanwhile, James Lowe, in charge of business development, was booking hotels and checking flights for his vacation to China--on his wireless Palm. Will Pinnell, a developer, was trying to entice any Palm-wielding colleague within infrared range into a game of RaceFever. At the head of the conference table, oblivious to the silent wireless chatter, their boss continued to rattle on about the company's Website. At least we think that was the topic; the meeting participants we talked to didn't quite remember. Source:  FORTUNE Date:  10/30/2000 Price:  Free Document Size:  Short (1 or 2 pages) Document ID:  MG20001024010000339 Citation Information:  (ISSN 0015-8259) Vol. 142 No. 10 page 289+ FORTUNE Advisor/On The Job Author(s):  Cora Daniels

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How To Goof Off At Your Next Meeting

With a handheld device and a well-timed nod, you can play games, e-mail your pals--and still look as if you care.

During the weekly staff meeting at Handango, a Texas software startup, marketing exec Wendy Gibson was typing an urgent message to the company intern on her two-way pager: her lunch order --BLT, hold the mayo. Meanwhile, James Lowe, in charge of business development, was booking hotels and checking flights for his vacation to China--on his wireless Palm. Will Pinnell, a developer, was trying to entice any Palm-wielding colleague within infrared range into a game of RaceFever. At the head of the conference table, oblivious to the silent wireless chatter, their boss continued to rattle on about the company's Website. At least we think that was the topic; the meeting participants we talked to didn't quite remember.

Wireless devices make it possible to work anytime, anywhere. They also make it possible to play anytime, anywhere, including the conference room. It used to be that the only way to escape interminable meetings was snoozing. Now that handheld devices equipped with games, Internet access, e-mail, and instant messaging have become indispensable work accessories, there are more easily disguised distractions. While companies have begun cracking down on personal Web surfing on office PCs, goofing off has gone mobile. "There's not a meeting I go to where I'm not reading my e-mail or playing a game," says Gibson, the marketing executive. "It's the only way to stay awake sometimes."

She is not alone. In a recent survey 72% of more than 1,700 executives admitted that their wireless devices had not actually increased their productivity. "Wireless devices are still somewhat of a toy at this point," says David Thor, director of ResearchPortal.com, the online market research firm that conducted the survey. David Harris, the consultant who coined the term "futz factor" to refer to the amount of time office workers wasted playing with their computers (supposedly 2% of the GNP annually), warns that this latest productivity drain will be harder for managers to control. Unlike PCs, wireless devices are often personal property, which makes restricting their use much more difficult. Says Harris: "The futz factor grows legs."

Not that some companies haven't tried to curtail flagrant note zapping and game playing in meetings. At eTour.com, an Atlanta dot-com that matches Websites to personal interests, executives sometimes start staff meetings by asking everyone in the room to put their gadgets in plain sight on the table, much like the teacher who confiscates comic books before class. The request doesn't stop playful messaging outside staff meetings, however. In fact, eTour employees at the highest levels admit their addiction to the BlackBerry, a handheld e-mail device, and frequently egg each other on. "I'm the best two-thumb typer on the planet," boasts Donna Lachance, eTour's COO, about her skill on the device's tiny keyboard. "This is how we talk around the office." FORTUNE can attest. When we sent a photographer to shoot the message junkies at eTour, we received constant e-mail updates about camera angles. No place, it seems, is safe from messaging. One eTour executive was nicknamed "Flush" after he dropped his BlackBerry in the office toilet. When the wife of Brad Ferris, one of eTour's vice presidents, went into labor, his colleagues competed to see who could message him first to find out the sex of the baby. The new father continued to return messages while in the delivery room, although, he says sheepishly, it was "only during the downtime."

Many workplaces abhor the type of open-messaging culture that prevails at eTour. At these dinosaurs, where people are actually expected to pay attention during meetings, handheld offenders often take pride in exercising their covert gamesmanship. One Austin, Texas, high-tech marketing exec (we withhold his name to protect the guilty) plays Tetris on his Newton during meetings. "The best thing is that no one thinks you are goofing off--it looks like you are taking lots of notes," he says. "You do have to master the art of the well-timed nod, though." Others run errands. Bob, a quality-assurance agent for an Atlanta software company, says that in one meeting "the guy next to me bought a car on his Webphone for his wife."

Of course, just like the kids passing love notes in class, the goof-offs sometimes get caught. In one department meeting at an advertising agency in Atlanta, two interactive-paging enthusiasts were reminiscing about a business trip to Las Vegas that, one assures us, "potentially violated a handful of Ten Commandments." Their conversation was cut short when a message was inadvertently sent to their boss.

Wireless time wasting does serve a useful purpose: It has brought at least a few long-winded meetings to an early end. At Barokas Public Relations in Seattle, they've coined a term for wireless distraction: the BPR Prayer--head down, hands cupped over a wireless device to send secret e-mail. "Occasionally we need to stop the meeting because too many people are praying," says Howard Barokas, CEO, who has engaged in this pious behavior himself.

The worst gadget abusers say that they are now better at leading meetings themselves. Conscious that a dull moment invites goofing off, gadget freaks try to keep meetings focused. "I keep meetings short and sweet," says Crystal Isaacs, head of rap promotions at Atlantic Records, who admits to having used her two-way pager to message friends about such pressing topics as a co-worker's bad breath. These folks understand that the gadgets provide what all workers crave--honest, objective instant feedback about their performance. Says Isaacs: "If no one pulls out a two-way, then I know I did well."

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BUILDING ON FAULT LINES | EKGS IN THE OFFICE | ASK ANNIE ON LETTER ETIQUETTE

Signs Your Workers Are Toying Around



1. Guilty looks (the kind any parent could recognize)

2. Inappropriate laughter in meetings

3. Jumpiness--they are easily startled

4. Gadget fumbling whenever a supervisor passes by

5. Trancelike states

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