Deciphering data for mechanical minds Deciphering data for mechanical minds

[austin_dern]

[ Sorry to be late; was celebrating bunny_hugger's birthday in the happiest of ways. ]

Just because I'm basically content now with my schedule doesn't mean I'm happy with everything at work. We had had a client demonstration scheduled, which had been bounced around a couple times as they weren't able to get everyone who needed to be there together. My stuff was to be shown off. This happens and is part of nature's great cycle. But it had finally settled to a fixed date that I even learned about ahead of time, when the day before one of the other people presenting asked if I was ready. Glurk? Well, no problem. I'm good improvising.

When I got in the next morning, ready to hop in the van and ride up to the client, I saw everyone else who'd be in the party standing around generally irritated. Not with me. With the boss, who'd decided --- at about 3:30 am --- to cancel. Not just to cancel his appearance; we'd have been fine going up without him despite his considerable talents in talking up people. He wanted us to stay instead, and ask the client for a rescheduling. Note that while he gave us five and a half hours' warning, theoretically, people like me learned about it the minute we should've been going up. The client would get our request to reschedule when they opened about 9:00, or, a half-hour before we were scheduled to present.

The boss's stated reason was that he wasn't feeling very needed by the client, and so this would be a simple test. If they actually wanted to do business, they'd be glad to reschedule. If they didn't, they wouldn't. No sense going to all this bother of actually meeting the appointment if it wasn't going to lead anywhere, right?

Yeah.

Trivia: In fall 1973 banana-producing companies set up their own cartel, UPED, the union of banana-exporting countries. Source: Bananas: How The United Fruit Company Shaped The World, Peter Chapman.

Currently Reading: Blondie: The Bumstead Family History, Dean Young, Melena Ryzik.

Comments

[orv.livejournal.com]

Wow. Just...wow.

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

His 3:30 am e-mails about what the code isn't doing right are quite the trip, too. Some of them attain the highest ranks of business poetry.

I should probably reemphasize that he does do many important things very well. He just needs to have a grown-up to modulate him.

[c-eagle.livejournal.com]

Happy Birthday to BunnyHugger ^v^

[bunny-hugger.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[chefmongoose.livejournal.com]

There's interesting potential psychology behind the notion of making people wait, or reschedule themselves, to emphasize your importance or test their devotion.

..this, however, casts no good light on your company to flake out on a scheduled meeting.

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

Yeah. It's ... Well, I can see the psychology of it, and I can see how a movie or tv show would use this to demonstrate something about the negotiator, but in person, it doesn't say anything good about us.