The past few weeks have been quite interesting to say the least,
providing me a lot of time (probably too much) to be introspective,
uncertain, hopeful, and angry, though not all at once thankfully. I've
had a lot of time to wonder if the decisions I've made in recent months
have been the right ones, and I've hopped back and forth across that
fence a few times, and tripped over it a couple as well. At the end of
the day, I still think that parting ways with corporate America was in
the end a good decision. Life in the public sector is cut-throat,
political, and to truly succeed and exceed one must "know and be" more
than they must "do." By that, I mean, who you know and how you can be
the image they look for plays heavier at the table than what you
actually do for the company. It seems that out there, being the person
who likes to ask the Emperor why they're not wearing any clothes (in
lieu of complimenting their new outfit) creates a virtual concrete
ceiling that is impenetrable.
So, where have the days of the honest broker gone? When has our
society, and subsequently our workplace, gone to such a sensitive state
that telling the truth (good, bad, and ugly) alienates one to a point of
not being a good fit for success? There was a time when your boss asked
for your opinion regarding a matter that you told them the un-biased,
respectful, unfiltered, unpasteurized, 100% USDA Organic Certified
truth. Now it seems that one must be the spend day in and day out
tip-toeing on eggshells and ensuring that every professional opinion is
laced with rainbows, butterflies, smoke, mirrors, and sunshine. Before
I go further, let me say I'm not advocating a workplace where one's
daily routine is flooded with sarcasm, disrespect, and condescension.
Productivity and cohesion cannot thrive in such an environment. What I
am advocating, is an office or environment where no one is afraid to
tell their boss, their boss's boss, or even their boss's boss's boss
that the pile of rotten apples on their desk actually smells like rotten
apples. To me, when we get back to a place where such candor and
professional vigor is embraced, rather than squashed, we will once again
be in a professional society that I feel comfortable living and working
in. It worked to a fault for Peter Gibbons in "Office Space," as he
ended up the "Straight shooter with upper management written all over
him." Now, that's probably not the best example. I'll close with a
quote from "Heartbreak Ridge," a great movie that embraces an extreme
look at the candor needed in America's workplace:
Col. Meyers: [during a readiness exercise]: What's your assessment of
this situation, Gunny?
Highway: It's a cluster f*ck, sir.
Col. Meyers: Say again?
Highway: Marines are fighting men. They shouldn't be sitting around on
their sorry asses filling out request forms for equipment they should
already have, sir.
Even if the profanity is left out, he gave his honest assessment of how
things were going. That's how it should be. I won't piss on your leg
and then tell you it's raining, and you should thank me for that. It'll
keep your socks dry if anything...
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