Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

I ache for the people who say “herding cats.” I really ache for the people who work with the people who say “heading cats.”

Almost every week, I hear someone say:

Managing fill-in-the-blank is like herding cats.

Deep sigh and groan.

I ache. How can a person refer to their colleagues as cats? Cats are cute but basically simple animals. Do you really consider your colleagues to be simple, misbehaving animals?

I know, “It’s just a figure of speech. You know what I mean. They know what I mean. It’s all in good fun.”

If you are a manager, you shouldn’t use figures of speech or cliches to describe the people who work with you. They deserve better, and you are responsible to provide better. Such cliches come from lack of thought and lack of care. If you don’t think and you don’t care, get another job.