shouldhavetowashbikes?”
“A c t u a l l y,I don’tunderstandwhy
we’vecontinuedtoemployyou.Let’s
see:Sinclair,Allen,Leech,Blackbourn,
Wootten– you’vebeenoverlooked
fortheEditor’spositionfivetimesin
succession.”
Hehasa point.I usedtothinkit
wasbecausethecompanyhadhigh
standardsbuthowdoyouexplain
Leech?Thepublishingmanagerhasn’t
finished.
“There’sa billhereforcleaningthe
roomyoustayedinatthelastawards
night.It includesa $300surcharge
becausetheycouldn’tfindtheTV
remotecontrol.”
Hegoeson– 20minutesof
managementspeakaboutwin-win
situations,information‘cascading’
throughtheorganisation,thecorporate
cultureofexcellence,qualityand
controlsystems,customer-focused
outcomesandsoon,andhowI’vefailed
tomeetanykeyperformanceindicators.
It’sstrangelysoothingandI fightthe
urgetodriftoff.Hemisinterpretsmy
rapideyemovementforregretand
suffersa rushofpity.
“Look,Gordon,I knowsituationslike
thiscanbea bitemotional,butallthis
is ultimatelyforyourowngood.We’re
onthesameteam.
“Ican’tofferyoua drink– company
policyandallthat– butif you’dlikea
breakwecouldstepoutonthebalcony
andperhapshavea cigar.”
“A h a ...Nothanks.”
Thenhegetstoquestion 20 onthe
MBAlistassociatedwithemployee
interviews.
b
on
you
takeh
havet
“Doyo
“ Ye s,it
I haveto
question.
“Haveyou
He’soffende
“No,butthat
publisha motor
playgolf,either,
is oneofourmore
Doctorsdon’thave
totreatit.Youneedt
thatpublishingis a bu
yourlifestyletoworkg
productivityandtheso
this,thebetteroffwe’llal
Later,manyfloorsbelow,I
throughtheMTarea.It’squi
is limpingaroundonthefoot
a 24-hourendurancetrialand
elseis gettingonwiththejobof
out 135 pagesa monthofred-hotb
I workedundergroundina coalm
onceandallworkwouldstopif bos
enteredtheworkplace.Tothisdaypi
managersdon’tgoundergrounddurin
shifts.Lifestyledoesn’tgetinthewayo
productivity– managementdoes.
C he e r i n g ly,it’snow 12 monthsuntil
mynextperformancereview.I celebrate
witha counterlunchthatdriftslong
intotheafternoon...I gargle some handcleaner in the toilets on the
way to freshen my breath and arrive just as
he’s about to ring and find out why I’m lateMOTORCYCLE TRADER 119