"When you are marching this far down the field, it is kind of silly to walk off, " said a senior administration official.

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The mighty forces driving globalisation are surely, you might think, impervious to the petty aggravation of street protesters wearing silly costumes.

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How about your business: are you using video to engage with customers and prospects, or do you still regard it as silly or unserious?

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"It's silly to think that giving up vacation is going to make your colleagues think how important you are, " says Connie Thanasoulis, a career services expert at the job search website Vault.com.

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