"RoseGarden" - - - - - - - from - nscave

A few years ago when I was working as an instructor, I had just completed a powerpoint presentation, complete with handouts, introducing  a new radio system that was about to be put in place. In attendance were eight to ten front line supervisors and about six or eight upper management types.

The presentation went very well and on the table were some draft copies of a small booklet type publication that was to be printed and made available to those who would actually be using the new radio equipment.  The front line supervisors, who would be the main users of the booklet, and one upper management person who was the supervisors boss several levels up, were browsing through the booklet. Since this was a draft copy, comments and suggestions had been solicited.

All these people were gathered around the table after the presentation, looking though this booklet. All the comments from the front line supervisors were positive and most were thankful for its pocket size.

However the upper management individual flipped through it in one motion and said: "George, this has to be redone. These guys are dummies, you have to tell them everything word for word. It needs to detail every single thing." Now bear in mind he is talking about his employees, who are all gathered around practically right beside him. "So you figure all your supervisors are dummies," I reply.

"Yes dummies," he says, "they don't know anything. They have to be told everything to do." "I can't agree with that," I said. "They seem to do a pretty good job to me," I continue, "and most of the time they are on their own with little assistance."

Well the draft copy booklet was published as it was. The supervisors that used it said it was all they needed for reference. No other details were required.

So I guess we all know who the dummy was, and we didn't have to read between the lines to do it. I was amazed that a person could stand right in front of them and say that. That was the old days. There are no upper management types out there today like that - right?

-=One Day At A Time=-

This work by NSCAVE is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License