DISCLAIMER: This post may not be amusing, entertaining, or interesting to anyone but myself - but it's 2:30 in the morning and I can't sleep, so I may as well get at least one of the topics on my mind off my chest (wait a minute...you know, as anatomy lessons go, this one may need a little work - what do you expect from an insomniac).
Yesterday was Exhibit One in why doing the right thing can legitimately be considered career suicide in the corporate world, and perhaps explain (as if it needs any explaining) how corporate fiascos like Enron get started, gain momentum, and finally collapse, leaving innocent victims strewn about like so much refuse, wondering what the hell happened.
I work for a large corporation. Technically, it's a nonprofit organization (the nation's largest in the healthcare field) but make no mistake, all the elements of corporate America are hard at work within its hallowed halls.
I'm what you might call middle management. Middle age. Middleweight. I've become my own worst nightmare. I'm smack dab in the middle of the road. You know what Mr. Miyagi said about getting stuck in the middle - "Squish like grape." Call me The Grape Guy.
My company is in the midst of "affordability" problems. You might have heard of this concept. It's called "we grew so big when things were going well and made so many bad decisions (including building a new medical center at EVERY ONE of our Southern California locations), that now we have to cut costs everywhere we can find them in order to keep our doors open - just before we start getting rid of everyone we hired when things were going so well." Fun times.
Since I value my paycheck (and have a certain level of integrity, let's face it), when my systems administrator (also known as The Guy Who Actually Understands the Funny Blinking Stuff that Takes Up a Small Warehouse of Space in our Office) tells me how we can save a bunch of money by going with our current systems vendor over the new, 'standardized' vendor being foisted upon our department (and the entire corporate structure), I figure, let's DO THE RIGHT THING (those of you who saw the Spike Lee movie can see what's coming - believe me, I did too, but sometimes I just can't help myself).
So I told him to put together a proposal.
We spent 4 weeks massaging it, doing the proper homework, making sure the numbers were right, that we were comparing similar functions, etc (actually this is making me sleepy - I may have found the cure to insomnia - describe work to a reading audience). Finally, Nand, my guy, has the right info lined up and ready to present to my boss - which we do.
And it goes well. In all fairness to my boss, if you present him with something that makes sense from a business perspective (and makes him look good as a result), he's pretty supportive. Which almost makes me forget our first conversation where he told me there were 3 options I could give him when he asked for a completed project - 1) the project, done the way he asked, 2) my letter of resignation, or 3) a death certificate. He also told me he wasn't joking. I love my job.
However, he was just the beginning. I'm not naive enough to believe that this proposal would get through all the layers of corporatese and political wrangling necessary to actually do something useful - and I was right. I correctly predicted the proposal would be met with mudslinging, accusations, derision, contempt, and attacks on my character, intentions, and commitment to the organization. Remember, I knew this was going to happen before it even started. Nobody can tell me I don't have courage (or a bit of a masochistic streak).
The bottom line is that for the past 3 months, as I've edged this idea closer to the point where it might stand a snowball's chance of being implemented, I've also risked virtually any hope of advancing at my new job - even though what I'm doing is in the best interest of the company, saves money (a lot of it), and costs nobody anything (except possibly the reputation of the people who chose the too-expensive vendor to begin with).
It culminated yesterday with a conference call where a Big Cheese accused me of not being a Team Player and then offered magnanimously to get me off the Hot Seat by suggesting that a Committee consider my Disturbing Proposal in order to decide whether the Organization can or should do anything with this - even though I've obviously been Out Of Line the entire time...
I did my best to bite my tongue (it's also possible that God intervened on my behalf by cutting off my cell phone reception - twice). And played the part of the dutiful employee, grateful for his assistance in moving this soon-to-be corporate boondoggle along. Of course, I rose to my own defense when necessary and prevented him from entirely assassinating my character - all the while watching in detached wonder at what happens to people who Do The Right Thing in a dog-eat-dog world.
And this was just the first level - the next level is national - the guys whose idea it was to use the Too-Expensive Vendor (I'm just going to start calling them the T.E.V.) in the first place. If I get a letter bomb in my mailbox, I won't be surprised.
And the reward for all of this abuse is...simply the next step in my Affordability Plan.
I can't wait...
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