It’s hard for me to hide my love for the New York Yankees. And it is also difficult to hide my disdain for most things involving the Boston Red Sox. Of course, to be unbiased about the Red Sox would probably require me to not be a Yankee fan, so if you are a Red Sox fan, do take my column this week with the knowledge that I am trying my best to be open-minded.
One of the things that frustrates me about the Red Sox is premature celebrations. In 2003, prior to game 7 of the American League Championship series, the Red Sox grounds crew painted the World Series logo on the field. The Red Sox and Yankees had yet to play that night, but for some reason the Boston Red Sox organization decided to paint the logo on the field prior to the game being played. The Yankees went on to win that evening and rendered the logo useless.
How does this apply to HR in business? Celebrating a promotion, job acceptance, or new opportunity BEFORE you have written confirmation and acceptance of a job could mean doom for your career. Be sure that until a formal announcement is made of your promotion or acceptance of a new job that you have it in writing and formally accepted the position. If you celebrate too early (or celebrate in front of others who may be interviewing for the same position), you may end up making enemies you didn’t have before.