Friday, January 09, 2009
The Joy Of Unemployment
The story of how I came to lose my job (sort of) is not really an exciting one, but I did say that I would tell you about it. I guess that I will have to make this interesting enough so that you will read until the end.
OK, I get a spanking at the end.
Now that I have your interest, I can begin. Between Maribel leaving for Israel, the death of two dear pets, Luke's arrest and subsequent hospitalization followed by his moving in, I had missed several days of work. Now, I work for a computer company as what is commonly, and sometimes derisively, called a “contractor.” So I get paid by Company A, but I actually do work for the “client,” Company B (although without the boogie woogie bugle boy). I am a team leader, which means that there are a team of people who work on a large project, and I am responsible for for doing the paperwork to keep them busy. So my job is about 50% technical, 50% team leadership, and 50% paperwork and meetings. Since I refuse to work 60 hour weeks, I have developed tools on the computer to streamline the resource reports, status reports, progress reports, and all of the other reports. Further, I hand-picked the members of my team because I knew that they didn't need a lot of direction. So my team functions just fine without me.
For some reason, my superior does not seem to understand this. He thinks that when I am absent that my team's progress comes to a screeching halt. His name is Richard Head, but I call him Dick.
In any event, Dick Head called me shortly after Luke moved in, complaining that Company B was not happy with the progress of my project. I knew that this was crap because I had just spoken with my contact at Company B, and they had no complaints. This person did not even realize that I had missed so much time. Then Dick complained that my reports were not up to date. I knew this was crap, also, because the responsibility generating Dick's reports was rotated amongst the team members, so everyone on the team knew how create them. Finally, Dick told me that there were several issues that were jeopardizing my project that were not being addressed.
“Dick,” I responded, “that's crap.” Tact is not always one of my strong points. “I've read the status reports that my team sent you, and I've talked to everyone on my team. I've been monitoring my emails. I haven't seen or heard of any issues that the customer is concerned about that someone on my team has not address. If there's a problem, it's the fact that your panicking.”
“Frank,” said Dick, “there are several milestone dates that have not been met.”
“Dick,” I responded, “that's crap. Everything so far has been delivered on time. The only problem is that we are waiting on the customer to verify the results.”
“I have no way of knowing that.”
“That's crap, too. They have been clearly documented on the status reports as well as the milestone reports. The customer is aware of this and has accepted responsibility for it.”
This went on for a few more minutes. At last, I told Dick that I thought I heard my wife calling and rang off. I actually did hear Angela calling. She was calling the dentist to make an appointment for Colette, but my quota of Dick Head had been reached for the day.
Later that day, I received a call from our account manager. Ray and I have known each other for nearly twenty years. We both started with the company at about the same time. He took the management track whilst I went the technical route. One of the main reasons I took on this project was because he was the manager of the account. Ray knows that I have my own way of doing things. While they may not be his way, he knows that I get things done, they get done on time, and they get done right.
“Frank,” said Ray, “you have to stop telling Dick that he's full of crap.”
“But he is full of crap, Ray.”
“I know, but you have to stop telling him that. He's still your boss.”
“Ray,” I responded, “that's crap.” My tact hadn't improved. “The agreement we had when you asked me to lead this project was that I was free to lead the project in my way, with minimal interference. Dick has ridiculous status requirements, but I have satisfied every one of them, and yet he isn't satisfied.”
“Well, Dick has a job to do, too, and ….”
“And he does a damn poor job of it, Ray, and you know it. The only reason that I don't throttle the son-of-a-bitch is that I'm usually not there to do it.”
“Speaking of that, Dick would like you to work full time in the office for a while.”
“That's not going to happen.”
“I agree with him, Frank.”
“Why, Ray?” I asked. I was really angry now.
“Dick will feel more comfortable if you're here.”
“It's not my job to to make him comfortable. It's my job to deliver this project to the client.
“He's your boss, Frank, you need to respect him.”
That comment made me really, really angry. Then I decided on the best course of action in this situation. My anger evaporated once the solution became clear. I responded calmly.
“Okay, Ray, I'll be in the office tomorrow. And I will make sure that Dick Head is happy. And then I will clean out my desk and say my goodbyes. I quit, Ray.” And I hung up the phone.
In our next chapter, I shall describe what happened once Angela discovered what I had done.
OK, I get a spanking at the end.
Now that I have your interest, I can begin. Between Maribel leaving for Israel, the death of two dear pets, Luke's arrest and subsequent hospitalization followed by his moving in, I had missed several days of work. Now, I work for a computer company as what is commonly, and sometimes derisively, called a “contractor.” So I get paid by Company A, but I actually do work for the “client,” Company B (although without the boogie woogie bugle boy). I am a team leader, which means that there are a team of people who work on a large project, and I am responsible for for doing the paperwork to keep them busy. So my job is about 50% technical, 50% team leadership, and 50% paperwork and meetings. Since I refuse to work 60 hour weeks, I have developed tools on the computer to streamline the resource reports, status reports, progress reports, and all of the other reports. Further, I hand-picked the members of my team because I knew that they didn't need a lot of direction. So my team functions just fine without me.
For some reason, my superior does not seem to understand this. He thinks that when I am absent that my team's progress comes to a screeching halt. His name is Richard Head, but I call him Dick.
In any event, Dick Head called me shortly after Luke moved in, complaining that Company B was not happy with the progress of my project. I knew that this was crap because I had just spoken with my contact at Company B, and they had no complaints. This person did not even realize that I had missed so much time. Then Dick complained that my reports were not up to date. I knew this was crap, also, because the responsibility generating Dick's reports was rotated amongst the team members, so everyone on the team knew how create them. Finally, Dick told me that there were several issues that were jeopardizing my project that were not being addressed.
“Dick,” I responded, “that's crap.” Tact is not always one of my strong points. “I've read the status reports that my team sent you, and I've talked to everyone on my team. I've been monitoring my emails. I haven't seen or heard of any issues that the customer is concerned about that someone on my team has not address. If there's a problem, it's the fact that your panicking.”
“Frank,” said Dick, “there are several milestone dates that have not been met.”
“Dick,” I responded, “that's crap. Everything so far has been delivered on time. The only problem is that we are waiting on the customer to verify the results.”
“I have no way of knowing that.”
“That's crap, too. They have been clearly documented on the status reports as well as the milestone reports. The customer is aware of this and has accepted responsibility for it.”
This went on for a few more minutes. At last, I told Dick that I thought I heard my wife calling and rang off. I actually did hear Angela calling. She was calling the dentist to make an appointment for Colette, but my quota of Dick Head had been reached for the day.
Later that day, I received a call from our account manager. Ray and I have known each other for nearly twenty years. We both started with the company at about the same time. He took the management track whilst I went the technical route. One of the main reasons I took on this project was because he was the manager of the account. Ray knows that I have my own way of doing things. While they may not be his way, he knows that I get things done, they get done on time, and they get done right.
“Frank,” said Ray, “you have to stop telling Dick that he's full of crap.”
“But he is full of crap, Ray.”
“I know, but you have to stop telling him that. He's still your boss.”
“Ray,” I responded, “that's crap.” My tact hadn't improved. “The agreement we had when you asked me to lead this project was that I was free to lead the project in my way, with minimal interference. Dick has ridiculous status requirements, but I have satisfied every one of them, and yet he isn't satisfied.”
“Well, Dick has a job to do, too, and ….”
“And he does a damn poor job of it, Ray, and you know it. The only reason that I don't throttle the son-of-a-bitch is that I'm usually not there to do it.”
“Speaking of that, Dick would like you to work full time in the office for a while.”
“That's not going to happen.”
“I agree with him, Frank.”
“Why, Ray?” I asked. I was really angry now.
“Dick will feel more comfortable if you're here.”
“It's not my job to to make him comfortable. It's my job to deliver this project to the client.
“He's your boss, Frank, you need to respect him.”
That comment made me really, really angry. Then I decided on the best course of action in this situation. My anger evaporated once the solution became clear. I responded calmly.
“Okay, Ray, I'll be in the office tomorrow. And I will make sure that Dick Head is happy. And then I will clean out my desk and say my goodbyes. I quit, Ray.” And I hung up the phone.
In our next chapter, I shall describe what happened once Angela discovered what I had done.
Comments:
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Hard to respect someone who hasn't earned your respect. There are some things due to a boss, simply because he is the boss, but I don't think respect is necessarily one of them.
Looking forward to hearing the rest of the story,
Hugs,
Kallisto
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Looking forward to hearing the rest of the story,
Hugs,
Kallisto
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