Dicey decisions
These IT staffers spend after-work time on old-fashioned role-playing games. “The type where you use paper, pencil and a bunch of different-sided dice,” explains a pilot fish in the group. “One day, a manager from another department bursts in and demands to know when we would have a project done. He refused to go away until one of us rolled a 12-sided die for the month and a 30-sider for the day and told him it would be done on June 12. I then asked if he wanted to roll for the year. He stormed off in a huff. Later, our VP came down to say he was doing next year’s schedule and wanted to use the dice.”
Not so fast!
IT pilot fish sees his boss using the fax machine — not such a common occurrence. Then, a few minutes later, he’s back, faxing again. Fortunately, the boss stops by fish’s desk to share. Turns out he had a small and easily accomplished piece of a project for corporate. “Having completed his task, he sent off the signed acknowledgement form and went about his business,” says fish. “He then received an e-mail from the project manager requesting that he resubmit the status document — and this time, future-date it, please, so that the other people on the project don’t appear to be slacking.”
That would help
A consultant goes to work on some projects. “On her first day, we set her up with a new laptop, docking station and monitor,” reports IT director pilot fish. “On her second day, she is having connection problems. I went to her office, and all that was there was the docking station and monitor. I asked, ‘Where’s your laptop?’ She said, ‘At home. Oh, you mean I have to bring it back in to work in here?’”
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