The Common Denominator of Management

It is not a proven statistic, but I am convinced that 99% of all upper management, are not competent to do what their title suggests...manage. From personal experience I can agree with the above statement. I have had an endless parade of ill-mannered, discriminatory, unprofessional, and down right dumb managers in my seemingly endless work history. Why were they ever hired or promoted in the first place is always my question. I am always amazed at the sheer ridiculousness of the system in which we hire these buffoons to manage the masses. Firstly, managers seem to be the hardest to fire...even though as the age old saying goes "a few bad apples spoil the bunch" - bad management moves through the work team like a plague, creating one disgruntled employee after another until the company either fails or goes under new and equally terrible management....this is one of the main lessons that I have learned in my professional life. Such a sad state of affairs.

Performance reviews are just one of the many nauseating facets to the management system. I love feedback as much as the next person and think that it is an essential tool for improvement...but when you feel as if you are on trial for committing war crimes, the point is lost. Managers love to dish out feedback (especially negative, because God forbid we pat anyone on the back because then their performance will clearly decline) but they can never point the mirror in their own direction and see their own deficits that may be causing their employees to rip their hair out. Training for this type of self-discovery is of course absent. What a shock.

All this talk of management makes me angsty....especially because I have to see my manager tomorrow for a painstaking hour of non-stop talking with complete refusal to listen or attempt to understand my point of view. I will order something crunchy that takes a long time to chew for our "working lunch" (or as I like to call it, fake lunch hour that is really misery and not a break as OSHA requires).

Plans are overrated. As the saying goes "Even the best laid plans....yada yada yada" - I prefer "All plans go to waste". After a lifetime of disappointment and failed plans, I have decided to stop making long term plans, especially since the time and energy worrying on these plans is wasted in the end, with almost everything being out of my control. I am going to plan: meals, the week - no the day, and leave the rest up to fate, because that is what is going to happen anyway.

Pessimism must be balanced with a good healthy dose of cheesecake (the savior of the night). Nothing like winding down the day over: salad, three loaves of bread, mashed potatoes, and cheesecake (its a good thing I went to the gym alot this week).