Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

No matter what is in a document, believe what you observe in the here and now. Believe reality.

While writing this, we are in the middle of having the carpet replaced at work. The big room where I work is filled with cubicles (one of the great torture chambers invented by man). Those hard-working folks replacing the carpet have to lift the cubicles, move them a wee bit, and replace the carpet squares. This is all hard work.

There is a schedule for all this hard work of replacing carpet. The schedule was created by hard working folks in meetings with Microsoft Project and Calendar and all the high-tech office tools we have. That schedule was distributed via Outlook and distribution lists and more of the high-tech office tools we have.

Then the carpet workers showed up one day a week earlier than what the schedule indicated. “Please move out of the way, we have to replace the carpet,” requested the carpet workers.

“But, no. This is not possible, this is not per the schedule,” protested some of my colleagues.

The carpet workers were present and they started replacing carpet. That was reality.

It has been said many times in many ways over many centuries. The saying is something like, “If the terrain disagrees with the map, believe the terrain.”

Reality is in front of us. Schedules, maps, plans, procedures, etc. Those are nice, but reality is in front of us. Believe reality. Accept reality. Do the best we can. We can do better.