07 September 2005

Your Boss Is Not A God














And the sooner you recognize it, the better. Look, there´s many bosses in your life. It all started in the kinderkarten. Do you remember what always happening after the launch break? Yeah... Man, I didn´t want to go to sleep only because someone had ordered me to do so. I wanted to do something completely else instead--chatting with other kids, going out for a walk, or juse hanging around the playground. Anyway I swear it was nothing compared to the lunch itself! I don´t know how you guys felt when you were sitting on a small chair behind a small table, eating all this particularly "tasty" dill sauce or boiled tasteless carrot with boiled tasteless potatoes, not being allowed to stand up and walk away until you finished that god damn dish. I felt horrible and helpless, but it tought me a lesson I will never forget: you can´t eat more if you´re not that hungry, even if somebody commands you to do so. Thats right. USE YOUR BRAIN INSTEAD, and use extensively, that means BOTH PARTS OF IT. Be wise. Be realistic. And above all--try to predict. You don´t need a university to figure out what´s happening. Yet, one of the biggest paradoxes in life says you need more than a university to handle things appropriately--simply to react to what´s happening. All the bosses in our lives--from the teachers in kindergarten, our parents, partners, to superior co-workers that sometimes call themselves managers--are no Gods, albeit some of them may be great managers and even phenomenal leaders. If your boss at work sucks, you have to roll with it and behave accordingly to your personal values and character. He or she is definitely NOT the most important person in the company. Guess what--your internal and external customer IS. In fact, those people (internal and external customers) are Gods (well, very little ones, but still...). Therefore, if you are responsible for a project, the first think you should do is to keep in mind the goal of that project. If your boss is not giving you a hand, it is a best opportunity for you to navigate through the process by yourself. Remember that in the end, you are paid for the results, not for managing your own boss. He or she may not be there forever.



2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You're damn rigth,Tom!! How's it going your new career?

Tom Greg said...

Hi buddy, it´s tough, but I´ll hack it anyway :) You remember the Olga´s "never ever give up" picture (with that duck and a frog) that was hanging on the wall in the business class? Right, I´ve put it in the middle of my dashboard--right above my desk ;-)
What about you? What is your site about?