Is this the worst corporate photo ever?

As an employee communication consultant, seminar leader, and trainer, I see lots of bad corporate visuals. The latest trend is “hostage videos,” where an executive stares into the camera and reads a script, like someone captured by the Taliban.

And of course there’s the old standbys: The “Execution at Dawn” photos, where you line up a bunch of people against a wall and “shoot” them; and the ever-present “Grip and Grin,” where the photographer manages to take the shot at that precise, magical moment when both people have their hands on the prop—be it a plaque, a trophy, or a check.

But I may have recently come across the worst corporate photo of all time. A communicator friend sent it to me, after she pulled it from her company’s archives. Here it is:

Oh, my. Where does one begin?

Well, I guess we have to begin with the fact that they decided to take a groundbreaking photo indoors! That’s right . . . if the picture is to be believed, these yahoos are about to start driving their shovels into the floor of their office!