DOA

In Which GN Procrastinates Doing Any Real Work by Philosophizing About His Narcissistic Little World:

The Dark Lord Himself just called and wants to "touch base" with me. It could only mean one thing...he sensed a disturbance in the force.

He's going to be extremely charming and minimize all the crap that's happened over the past 6-9 months, most of it his doing. He's going to offer, if nothing tangible, then at least the hope of some greater tangible reward in the future.

I'll most likely end up being way too honest with him. I'll probably tell him that I'm getting ready to push the button that sends him into the metaphorical dunk tank in my mind. Nothing will change, but he'll want it to appear as if everything's hunky dory.

But will I have any guts? Will I have the guts to lay out for him just exactly why it is that I'm dissatisfied? He isn't used to hearing the honest truth from his minions. I'm known as someone who tells him the truth -- but only when I choose to do so. Yes, I've been guilty on many occasions of just saying nothing. And I'm not so sure I should be forthcoming here. There is such a thing as a survival instinct and it has saved my career on several occasions. Do I want to give a potential adversary foreknowledge of my actions? I don't know.

Although I try to be the kind of Christian that I should, I have to admit that I didn't get to be in my current position by being naive or stupid. I've out maneuvered people on several occasions. My all-time favorite tactic is the fait accompli - I like to have things done before the other person even finds out about it and once they do it's just easier for them to accept the situation. I'm not much of a bluffer and I'm not that great at being a suck-up but I can be fairly sneaky. I like to think of the fait accompli as a type of flanking maneuver. On several occasions my wife and I have had discussions about when manipulation of other people becomes morally wrong vs simply a part of a continuum that includes motivating others and leading them. The bottom line - I guess I'll play it by ear. I've witnessed the treachery that the Dark Lord can produce and I need to remember that his number one priority - far above anyone else is Numero Uno - himself.

It turns out that one of the guys who knows a lot about my duties quit yesterday leaving only me at the leadership level and a relatively low level Slacker-type employee walking around with some pretty valuable knowledge. Not that I'm indispenable. No one is that important. But navigating through my knowledge base without me would definitely take more money in the form of consultants or vendors.

In a few weeks he will have had time to hire a new person or two and a few weeks after that the new hires will have the bare necessities needed to plug the gaps. At that point, my value declines dramatically.

So if you happen upon this blog sometime before 3:30 cst and you're the praying type, keep me in mind. It should be interesting.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 03, 2005 at 11:09 AM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.