Work and non-work

It is going to be a long day. A very long day indeed. As I sit here, mentally steeling myself for a five-hour ‘business event’ that is surely going to be the 21st century equivalent of one of Leni Riefenstahl’s films of a Nazi rally - only slightly less enjoyable, and with none of the shiny-buttoned uniforms - some phrases randomly pop into my head:

• Team-building.
• Networking.
• Brainstorming.
• Long-term budget forecasting.
• Five-year plan.
• Pre-meeting meeting.
• Post-meeting meeting.
• Breakout session.
• Thinking out of the box.
• 360 degree project.

And then I wonder: whatever happened to the lost art of just quietly getting on with one’s job? Anyone?

Comments: 18

    I trust you’ll be cascading afterwards? I need to know how this will impact and effect building public value in my silo.

    petemaskreplica | 12.06.07, 13:11

    Sorry. I’m too busy licking customer ass to interface internally.

    clarissa | 12.06.07, 13:52

    *scratches head*

    andre | 12.06.07, 14:11

    I can see you’re really throwing out the anchor with regards to touching base with the same hymn sheet. If only I had the bandwidth to facilitate a SWOT analysis on your massive-aggressiveness. *sigh*

    Jack | 12.06.07, 14:11

    *still has no clue as to what is going on*

    *sits at the back eating candyfloss*

    andre | 12.06.07, 15:25

    Oh deary, deary me.

    Sounds like you feel, in the box?

    Which is entirely different to being, in the zone.

    NAGA | 12.06.07, 16:53

    *settles next to andre and pinches candy floss*

    Angelalala | 12.06.07, 17:12

    you forgot the creation of state-of-the-art premier dynamic actionable plans/strategies (add half-assed adjectives at your leisure)

    kermit | 12.06.07, 18:18

    *kicks an office chair*

    Ani | 12.06.07, 19:12

    smother it!

    smother it now!

    Miles Away | 12.06.07, 20:20

    You can’t say “Brainstorming” any more as it’s insulting to people with mental health issues. Apparently. You have to say “Mind-Mapping” instead.

    andyritchieshairline | 12.06.07, 20:34

    Petemaskreplica - You just said “building public value”. Please wash your mouth out.

    Clarissa - I do hope you are not interfacing internally with your customers’ ass, though. That would be wrong.

    Jack - You do that scarily well. Are you the manager of my department, by any chance?

    Andre - Don’t worry, dear friend. I’m sure the above commenters will be only too delighted to join me in explaining what I am going on about. It’s a four letter word beginning in W and ending in K, which is far less enjoyable than the one you’re now thinking of.

    NAGA - You are very right.

    Angelalala - Don’t encourage him, please.

    Kermit - ‘Actionable’ is just a wrong word, isn’t it?

    Ani - Calm down, dear, you’ll give yourself an ulcer.

    Miles Away - I am actually kicking it. Far more satisfying.

    Andy - Welcome. No no no, believe me, I know the difference between ‘mental health issues’ and ‘mind-mapping’ all too well.

    An Unreliable Witness | 12.06.07, 20:50

    yes. so wrong that i immediately started putting in a half-assed effort at work when my boss requested that i write up a “dynamic actionable strategy”. i could have forgiven her for having trained as a lawyer until that fateful day.

    needless to say i no longer work there. there was no complementary gin/booze to make the days more palatable. and my resolve to resist photocopying my own butt was really taking up too much energy.

    kermit | 12.07.07, 00:55

    Escape is only a turn of the mind away. This doesn’t need to be a trod in the mud. Just pretend it’s all important like everyone else, but revel in the knowledge that it is absolutely meaningless. You are able to elaborate and contribute to a communal joke, which may enrich all your lives. Where’s the dread and angst? Do we not require these things in juxtaposition to add contrast in our lives? Blah?

    2ndhandsoul | 12.07.07, 03:41

    Yes I am.

    Now stop doing that thing under your desk and get back to work immediately.

    Jack | 12.07.07, 11:41

    You’re in grave danger of turning into a large Czechoslovakian cockroach…

    Gregor | 12.08.07, 17:07

    Kermit - Photocopies of one’s own backside are often preferable to official work-related documents, frankly.

    2ndhandsoul - The dread and angst will be following along shortly, as per usual in these surroundings. I do, however, find that my poor readers sometimes require a break from it.

    Jack - Doing what under my desk? I was doing nothing of the sort!

    Gregor - Me old mucker, Greg! How are you, Greg? Long time no see!

    An Unreliable Witness | 12.08.07, 18:04

    can I mention the Moth yet?

    andre | 12.08.07, 23:37

Leave a comment