Will this ever happen at work?

ROWE stands for "Results Only Working Environment". It seems like every time I read a business book I hear about a successful, forward-thinking company who has abolished all meetings, attendance and schedules.

Employees can show up whenever they want and leave when ever they want. As long as they get the work done. "Results-only".

This sounds too good to be true. But the business books proclaim that this new management style makes companies more efficient, stronger, happier and their employees love it.

I'm sure they do - if it exists. I'm skeptical. First, I don't think many companies can go this route. They need schedules and meetings and managers and timetables. Most of these kind of companies profiled in business books are software development companies.

Second, the vast vast majority of managers or leaders or executives within a company believe in top-down management. They don't want their employees to have free will. They themselves worked their way up the ranks and are successful in the top-down system.

They're not going to suddenly say, "You know, as a leader, I'm not really needed even though I worked my way up into this position for 15 years. I'll let my employees have all the power."

Third, if ROWE makes companies so much more successful, why aren't all companies doing it?

Sorry, it won't happen. I'll mark this down as "a nice-sounding but totally impractical idea."

The hardest thing about my job.

Cin and I were talking last night about the hardest parts of our jobs. For her it's not being overwhelmed by work - meeting deadlines and conducting investigations as fast as possible.

I couldn't really think of anything because my job is super easy. It's mostly paperwork. Then it hit me: the hardest part of my job is dealing with my boss's mistakes.

He's very good with people - very persuasive and personable and friendly. But he's a piss poor administrator. Disorganized, really bad memory, hasty and, most of all, he makes poor decisions.

So at my work there is a constant cleaning up of messes. I'm often the one who gets the job of cleaning up the pile of crap.

Example 1.

We're moving offices. My boss was in charge of organizing the phones. Instead of making a phone call to the cable company, going to VOIP and keeping our numbers. He decides to transfer our account over with Telus, who tells we get different phone numbers and says we can't use our $1500 phones they sold us a few months ago because they don't have digital lines where we're going. For 2 weeks he proceeds to email and talk to 3 different Telus people, including a guy from India, before giving up and dumping it on my lap the day before we move. His instructions to me: "Just make sure it's all working by Monday!" I spend a morning making phone calls and figuring it all out. I get everything working in the end.

Example 2.

He tells our future landlord we need 2 rooms because we have so much junk. The landlord tells us a week before that we only get one room. I suggest to the boss that since we don't have enough space, we continue to keep off site storage. The boss disagrees. A week later I see the single room and again tell the boss it's too small. We should keep our storage space. The boss dismisses the idea and says, "We'll just have to fit it in."

Here are pictures of the move. The extra stuff is in the hallway. My boss goes on vacation and leaves me in charge of cleaning up the mess. Literally. That is all.