As I write this, the newspaper carries two stories, seemingly unrelated. One has to do with a man who strangled a woman because she went to sleep while he was talking to her; the other has to do with a 15 year old boy who, with two other companions, robbed a service station. The 15 year-old was afflicted with buck-teeth and admitted that he had not wanted to rob, but all his life other boys had poked fun at him and he merely wanted to prove to them that he was a "man."

Both of these stories point out the extremes to which people will go to defend a wounded ego. You can damage a man physically, you can steal his goods, and you can damage him in all sorts of ways and get away with it. But, the one unforgivable sin, as far as human relations are concerned, is to trample on another person's ego. The minute you detract from another's dignity as a human being, you are in for trouble.

Strategic Business Communications would like to award 1-800-Anytyme's Nate McClellan and David Peralta with the Strategic Business Communications OOZE Award for April 2010. The OOZE Award is our way of showing our appreciation for the outstanding service from 1-800-Anytyme's Nate McClellan and David Peralta.