In the jobs that I have had it's often been hard to explain what I do
or what's done around me.
Even at work I have had positions where people would come and complain
to me and my people about things that others were doing and that we
had no control over.
Over the years I've developed some word pictures to help people
understand. One of them goes like this:
Imagine three cars rolling down the highway at high speed. It's a 2-lane highway. and the cars are all in line in the right lane. 123.
The cars come to a traffic light that's red. So they all stop, all in
a line. 123.
I'm in the third car at the back of the line. But I have a button in
my car that sometimes controls when the light turns green. So I'm
pressing my button repeatedly trying to get the light to turn green so
we can all go.
The light finally turns green. But the guy in the first car doesn't
move. Just sits there. Can't tell what he's doing or why he's not
going but he just sits there.
The guy in the second car starts yelling and gesticulating wildly. He
leans out his window and flips the guy in the first car off. Honks
his horn over and over.
Nothing changes.
Finally the guy in the second car jumps out of his car, comes running
back to me in the third car, and starts yelling at me about the guy in
the first car not going and what am I gonna do about making that guy
go.
I'm in the third car. I'm in the back of the line! I can't do
anything about what the guy in the first car is doing. All I can do
is set the stage and get the pieces in place. But it's up to that guy
to go and get out of the way so we can get rolling.
That's my job at work.
Cryptic enough?
The funniest thing is whenever I share this at work people shake their
head and say, "You know, you're right."
What a fun job!
