Cindy: I recently found a very effective work hack – breaking the printer. Most of the time being able to print things as you want to is a benefit, but sometimes removing this capability can be handy. I recently needed to get my boss’ feedback on something and he refused to read my email about it, insisting I print images first. A little jiggling to the ink cartridge and I was “unable” to give him useless images, requiring that he actually consider the information I was sending him. Viola!

Erik: I run eLearning for one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies. eLearning is changing so fast, that it’s rare that the more established vendors will be able to deliver what we need. But corporate purchasing policies require me to go to them — at least at first. Yet doing so would be a big waste of time for all involved. So I write the RFP [Request for Proposal] in a way that pretty much guarantees that the approved vendors will bow out, opening the door for me to use the right ones for the job.

Guy Kawasaki’s 11 Rules for Entrepreneurs include:
• Build What You Use (Tools)
• Pay $0 for Tools
• Don’t Let the Bozos Grind You Down
That sure sounds a lot like the rules of hacking to us!

Maria: I put an email filter onto the firewall to automatically bcc: me any mail with my name in it, but did not include me in the address list. This meant that any email that was about me, but not to me, was also sent to me without anyone knowing. This way I was able to head off two HR issues by knowing about them before HR came to talk to me. With that inside-intelligence, I prevented one staff reduction and turned around one business unit’s concerns by presenting the solution before anyone had a chance to inform me that there was a problem.

Raveena: I’m a corporate trainer. I tell my trainees that, due to budget constraints, much of what I provides “sucks.” So I send my trainees to free online sources outside of the company. Then, after testing them on what they learned, I validate their certificates in required courses they never attended. Result: They consistently learn more this way.

Ajit: My company has Microsoft Exchange server for email which only supports Outlook, except for Blackberries — which is a huge pain in the ass. Blackberries don’t have the built-in tools I need for my job. No iPhones or Sidekicks either, which is how most of us get our work done. So I run scripts to check the Exchange server for mail and then have it forwarded to my real email account.