Playing the Wrong Game
Jul 3rd, 2008 by itbsuperrich
He was concerned with the direction a decision was leaning, Jon said on his voice mail. Could I meet him for lunch in the cafeteria before Friday’s meeting to talk it through?
As peer managers involved in policy implementation, our departments would be impacted by any direction taken. Friday’s meeting was with the decision makers; a discussion of pluses, minuses, timetables and resources needed for three options under consideration.
Over lunch, we discovered our alignment. Option one required mandatory overtime, organizational changes and significant resources to implement. I felt it would negatively impact the company by affecting morale, reducing productivity and impacting long-term profits. Jon concurred, expressing an even stronger viewpoint about its deficiencies and why we needed to work together to eliminate it from consideration.
By Friday, I had research, statistics and arguments against option one. Waiting in the hallway for a prior meeting to end, Jon again expressed his position and the desire to speak with one voice. What happened in that meeting took me by surprise as I heard Jon begin to debate me, advocating for the option he claimed to deplore. Yup, a flip-flop. Three weeks later, Jon was promoted to the Project Leader.
Looking back at what happened, I realize I was na
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