‘Operation Pamba’ kicks off in earnest as job losses loom

The project for ‘right sizing the company has begun in earnest and I find myself very deeply involved and busy. In the interest of confidentiality, the project has been given the name, ‘Operation Pamba.’

I could not help but ask the HR manager, “What kind of name is Operation Pamba?” She said, “It is a pretty harmless name. Since Pamba is soft we are talking about how we are going to make the company soft and future ready.”

This logic did not make sense to me, but I decided not to debate it further with her because it seems that the name had already been settled on.  The CEO addressed our first meeting and provided what he called, “the bird’s eye view”. He talked for about half an hour about things in “the external world.”

He spoke at great length about how tough things are and how the “board feels that we need to make a huge change if we want to maintain operations.”

Sometimes I do not understand why CEOs cannot just go out and take ownership for tough decisions instead of blaming the board.

After his speech he said, “so guys I need you to work on this and make it a priority because I would like to present something to the board in two weeks.” 

One of the team members raised his hand and asked, “Sir, two weeks might be a bit of a stretch since we are also working on some quarter end documents. Can you at least give us another week?”

The boss responded: “I know that this is a tough time but delivering on this project on time is how you set yourself apart. This is how you will get that huge bonus next year.” 

Hope of making some bonus

I noticed a subtle shift in the body language of my team members. Suddenly, they all seemed to sit up and I think the hope of making some bonus spurred them to action. The CEO wrapped up his speech and said, “Now I look forward to hearing from you soon.”

He then pointed at Charlie, the guy who had asked the question, and said, “Charlie since you know so much about timelines,  you will be the project manager for Operation Pamba.” Everyone clapped as Charlie looked rather pleased with this announcement. I think he had actually stage managed the question so he could get appointed.

As soon as the CEO left the office, Charlie took the centre stage and gave his own speech about “his expectations and the deliverables.” The HR manager had to intervene and tell him, “Charlie, I think it is a bit too premature to talk about the expectations and deliverables. We need to set a framework and set a charter and manage this project properly.”

So we started working on those as Charlie sat in the corner looking rather petulant and upset with the turn of events.  

It has been one week since this initial meeting and to be honest, I have come close to wanting to choke Charlie for his irritating tendencies. To begin with, he seems to have no appreciation of time and likes to send emails very early in the day and also late into the night.

He also likes for calling for meetings, especially in the afternoon which I totally dislike.  What  irks me is that he thinks we are his  hirelings  and often sends us emails saying, “I need this ASAP”, never mind the other things that we have to do. I decided to use the skills acquired about having tough conversations on him.

I went to his office and told him, “Charlie, we need to talk!” He said, “Well I have a few minutes because as you know I am working on this project.’’

I chuckled and told him “that is what I am here to discuss.” At the end of the conversation, he looked quite subdued. I pointed out to him that he was “behaving as if this is his project, yet it is a team project and we all need to win.” I told him that he needed to “respect boundaries and peoples’ time.”

As I walked out of his office, I felt very pleased with myself.