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There is a difference between working independently to achieve a goal
and picking and choosing the rules you want to follow.
Andrew, here's the deliverable I want from you and here's when I want
it. Go away, do it, do it well, and bring it back on time. I won't
micromanage you. I'll bet you like that system just fine. Works for me,
too.
However, there are other people in this organization; and we all need to
get along and work cooperatively to maintain a fun, safe, productive
working environment. So here are the rules: wash your own damn dishes;
lock the door if you're the last one out; place your supplies orders at
least one day in advance through Marge; don't download porn at work; and
copy me on all task-related correspondence.
Now you may not like those rules. You may not understand the reasons
behind them. You may feel that you're mature and professional enough
that you don't have to follow them. Fine. Ask why those rules are in
place and why you should follow them. But if you just decide
unilaterally that you don't want to follow them, I'm not going to think
you are professional and mature; I'm going to think you are petulant and
childish.
If you feel a rule is cramping your style, challenge the rule. Transform
the opponent. Disarm me with your charm. Tell me we need to revisit the
rule and make your case. Persuade me if you can. Don't like my answer?
Okay, persuade my boss. If you cannot, though, suck it up or find work
elsewhere.
Dick
Andrew Plato wrote:
>
> Just because a rule exists does not mean you follow it blindly. I never said
> disobey *all* rules, just the petty pointless ones like the original
> predicament that spawned this entire thread. I think professionals have a right
> to decide when they think a rule/procedure is necessary to getting a job done
> correctly.
>
> To me, that is the utmost respect you can give a professional. Let them chart
> their own course to success and keep the procedures to a minimum.
IPCC 01, the IEEE International Professional Communication Conference,
October 24-27, 2001 at historic La Fonda in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA.
CALL FOR PAPERS OPEN UNTIL MARCH 15. http://ieeepcs.org/2001/
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