Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

A phrase I often heard from my superiors, what “no surprises” really means.

I don’t know how many times I heard it uttered in angst, “No surprises, no surprises, no surprises.” That is what my superiors constantly told me and my colleagues.

This was one of those things that everyone acted like everyone knew what it meant, but no one – especially me – had any idea what it meant.

I was too afraid to ask. Afraid that the reply would be ugly and also afraid that the superior I asked wouldn’t be able to answer and he would chew me out for embarrassing him in front of other people.

Years later I learned the meaning:

If you tell me something so late that I don’t have time to do anything, that is a surprise, and that is bad.

Aha, so that was it. The interpretation:

Monitor your project closely with a keen eye towards the future. Tell me about potential problems as soon as you have an inkling.

I could work with that. I wish those guys would learn to speak English, but that is a wish.