Anything is possible if you don't know what you’re talking about. Law of Logical Argument
I’ve said many times that I don’t have many pet peeves, but the few I have are intense. I was reminded of one the other day when I was assaulted by what I not-so-affectionately call a Drive By Shooting.
A Drive By Shooting is when someone of influence, a boss/partner/spouse, etc, cruises in to a situation where they have spent no time, expressed no prior interest, have no relevant background and no intent on ongoing involvement and within 5 minutes turns everything you’ve worked on for the past umpteen days/weeks/months into a smoldering trash pit.
I’ve talked around things like this before Make it Harder where people who have no intent to dig in and shovel alongside you throw extra dirt on the pile. It’s frustrating, irritating, demoralizing and, in my case, inflammatory.
So, what does one do about it?
Well, if you’re the Shooter…STOP!! Yeah, I know you’re more intelligent, have more insight, have a clearer vision, can instantly grasp any situation because you are, after all, Joe (or Josette) Cool. But remember the adage about the monkeys in the tree. When the monkey on top looks down it sees smiling faces, whereas when the monkeys below look up all they see is an asshole.
If you’re a lower limb monkey, well that’s more problematic. It depends on lots of factors.
How ADD is the Shooter? If they’re someone who chases every shiny object then your chances are good that they either won’t come back around until everything’s done and the paint is dry, or if they do they won’t remember what sage advice they gave the last time. So stay on course.
Is the Shooter really a person of power or do you (and your team) have more corporate collateral? If so then endure the whizzing bullets, take just enough from the experience to point out that you heeded (some of) the advice, and charge on.
If the Shooter truly is Master and Commander, isn’t ADD, will dutifully check in later and remember what sage advice was given. Well, it’s time to make lemonade and hand it up to the monkey you’re smiling up at.
I’ve said many times that I don’t have many pet peeves, but the few I have are intense. I was reminded of one the other day when I was assaulted by what I not-so-affectionately call a Drive By Shooting.
A Drive By Shooting is when someone of influence, a boss/partner/spouse, etc, cruises in to a situation where they have spent no time, expressed no prior interest, have no relevant background and no intent on ongoing involvement and within 5 minutes turns everything you’ve worked on for the past umpteen days/weeks/months into a smoldering trash pit.
I’ve talked around things like this before Make it Harder where people who have no intent to dig in and shovel alongside you throw extra dirt on the pile. It’s frustrating, irritating, demoralizing and, in my case, inflammatory.
So, what does one do about it?
Well, if you’re the Shooter…STOP!! Yeah, I know you’re more intelligent, have more insight, have a clearer vision, can instantly grasp any situation because you are, after all, Joe (or Josette) Cool. But remember the adage about the monkeys in the tree. When the monkey on top looks down it sees smiling faces, whereas when the monkeys below look up all they see is an asshole.
If you’re a lower limb monkey, well that’s more problematic. It depends on lots of factors.
How ADD is the Shooter? If they’re someone who chases every shiny object then your chances are good that they either won’t come back around until everything’s done and the paint is dry, or if they do they won’t remember what sage advice they gave the last time. So stay on course.
Is the Shooter really a person of power or do you (and your team) have more corporate collateral? If so then endure the whizzing bullets, take just enough from the experience to point out that you heeded (some of) the advice, and charge on.
If the Shooter truly is Master and Commander, isn’t ADD, will dutifully check in later and remember what sage advice was given. Well, it’s time to make lemonade and hand it up to the monkey you’re smiling up at.
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1 comment:
Moving on to a better job is like moving the family to better neighborhood. Drive by shootings may be far less likely - but they can happen anywhere. I enjoyed your breakdown of how to handle each scenario.
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