Feet on the desk

It was the end of the day when a VP came down to check out the new area our team had moved into. Although I liked my window cube I had before the move. It was important that I "locate with the others." It shows "team spirit." So I moved. But I didn't get a window cube. I'm sitting so far toward the center of the building, I don't know what the weather is like until I leave for lunch.

Anyway, it was the end of a busy day. I put my feet up on the desk and was anxious to get caught up on some email I hadn't read because of all the meetings that day. I usually put the laptop (my current computer) on my lap. I settled in and got comfortable with a cup of Joe. It was then that the VP came through checking out the cubes.

"Ah you look comfortable." he said to me as he passed and tapped my shoes with some papers as he passed.

"It's been a long day." I explained.

I'm thinking of going beyond this. What if I clear out my cube of the Enterprise issued desk and put in a wood floor, leather couch and coffee table? It would feel so much more like home. I could even get one of those ventless fireplaces and put it in the corner of the cube. Crank up the jazz music for all to enjoy. Think of what a creative space that would make for us.

But somehow I don't think this current regime is into "creative space." Not even sure if they know what it means. I'm living in a top down, left brain, draconian dictatorship.

My boss likes to remind me that the Enterprise is not a democracy, "It's a dictatorship!" he tells me.

"Yes sir, sir, sir!" I repeat to show my Enterprise loyalty. But he just smiles.

Frankly, any American Corporation IS a democracy because people can still vote with their feet. Many do. Twenty-five percent have left IT in the first half of this year! That's a huge number. That's over half of the standard attrition rate for most Enterprises.

I wonder if I should vote with my feet too.

Let me put my feet up and think about it for a while.

...dave
Stephen Wright to Job Interviewer: "If you were going the speed of light and you turned on your headlights, would they do anything?"
Interviewer: "Well, I don't know."
"Forget it then. I don't want to work for you."