Our contractor orientation video at work is overseen by three departments (yes, a camel is a horse designed by a committee). One department wanted some changes made, so they were supposed to head up the project. Over six months went by. When someone finally asked about the status, the manager said she was "too busy" to do it. In my company that's code for "I don't want to to do it". Somehow it then became my department's project for reasons I still do not understand. Well,of course, the project is now nearly complete with only a little time invested. Today was our final meeting to review the content before it went live. I scheduled the meeting for 2 PM, invited the 2 other involved departments plus our IT person. The consultant arrived at 1:45, and she and I discussed life in general for a bit (she's a former employee). At 2 o'clock I said to start. My meetings start on time, even if no one else is there. My department was present as was IT. The 2nd involved department showed up 10 minutes late or so (and no, we didn't start over). The 3rd department, the one who wanted all the changes, never showed. As we left the meeting at 2:40, the 3rd department was walking toward the conference room. I told them "we're done". She got indignant and said "I thought the meeting was at 2:30. No one called me." Here's some of what I was thinking:
1. Can you not read an Outlook Calendar appointment like everyone else?
2. No, no one called you. You're a manager. We expect you to show up when the meeting started.
3. If you thought the meeting started at 2:30, why are you just now strolling in at 2:40?
And what did I say to her? NOTHING. I just kept walking to my desk. Everything I was thinking was true, but there was no win in it for me if I said it. I did tell my boss about it, and she said "no, we aren't calling her". Hehe. Silence is sometimes the best answer.
No comments:
Post a Comment