Offered without comment

[rolanni]

One of my former bosses had a cartoon tacked over his desk. In it, a manager type is looking in horror at the devastation wreaked by a sledgehammer-wielding subordinate, and crying out, "Oh, no! You did exactly what I told you to do!"

Comments

[kinzel.livejournal.com]

What, again?

Just tell them to turn on their psychic powers before the event.

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

I'm beginning to figure out that the key to doing this job with the least stress on the secretarial unit is to just wait until Teh Emergency happens, and then Fix It.

Apparently, there must be an Emergency or the cake will fall. This means that advance planning is just so much wasted time and effort, and it only makes me cranky when the stuff I've done ahead comes unraveled in service of the required Emergency.

All this time, I was thinking it was my job to prevent Emergencies and to make things run smoothly.

Silly me.

[johnhawkinson.livejournal.com]

Hopefully they will not catch on that you are Staging the Emergencies...

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

No, no, I wouldn't dream of staging an Emergency. I hate the things, personally.

Since the Emergency will happen whether or not I make prior arrangements to ensure a non-Emergency, I might as well just get out of its way, let the inevitable happen, and then do clean-up, cheerfully. When I do the whole prior-arrangement thing, I wrongly feel entitled to a non-Emergency outcome, so I'm grumpy when the Emergency manifests.

And, as we all know, nobody likes a grumpy secretary.

[(Anonymous)]

"Due to budget cuts, current efforts to conserve energy, and constant reviews to ensure our course, the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been Turned Off until further notice!"

Reminds me of...

[(Anonymous)]

The problem with computers: they do what you tell them to do, not what you want them to do.

[(Anonymous)]

If you are feeling snarky you can always put a nice little sign on your desk that says, "Your inability to plan does not constitute an emergency on my part."

But that will likely ruffle more feathers then the Clan Corvus who visited just recently.

Nathan
New Orleans

[(Anonymous)]

But will she care? :)

I like the cartoon. Hopefully the fact that the boss has it means they know they are at fault. At some level.

Wonder what they'd do if you swiped it, copied it, put it back and put up your OWN copy.

:)
Lauretta

Doing What You're Told

[(Anonymous)]

I've had this problem a few times where I was just *too* efficient and did what I was told immediately, only to have my boss tell me a few days later they had changed their mind.

Now I try to be a little less prompt in getting things done, just to make sure they really mean what they say. Problem is that I have to remember to hold back, because my instinct is to get it *done*. Now. Who knew you could be too good at your job?

Barbara Karpel in Baltimore