Executive Deadlines

I was pulled into an 8am meeting by a Senior Vice President last week to ask for an update from our first meeting the week before.



Unfortunately, I had nothing for him.

I'd had no meeting with him the week before because the SVP forgot. Because he forgot, I had 3 days, instead of the week previously planned, to come up with this update - including a project plan, stakeholders, and concrete dates.

I said no.

He was wanting me to assign something to another company, and then demand from them a  concrete date they'd be completed by. I passed on the phone number of the group in the other company that would be able to  do what he was asking as they'd already laughed at me.

As he 'forgot' and gave me a stepped up deadline, I wondered how he'd feel if the same thing happened to him.

I slipped an arbitrary checkup point for him - an update on executive communication - he was supposed to call the other company and get feedback on a possible move. I didn't connect this to any of the 'critical paths' through the project plan, and I did everything possible to obscure the due date and who it was assigned to.

I emailed him the night before and asked him to ensure he had a meeting scheduled to help drive the project. When he responded asking what I was talking about, I pointed to the project plan, and he pointed out that I was supposed to have set the call. I responded to him,

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot. Well, you had four days to make this meeting before today, so I'll set it for two days out. We'll still need your part then."

I can't say I didn't get yelled at, but I can say that he'll think twice before doing that again.


Plain Old Aggressive Office Toy Of The Week:  Get The Hint Sticky Notes

Spreadsheets

Another facet of 'managing upward' that I'm learning is spreadsheets. At my previous position, managers were really big on the original spreadsheets, or spreadsheets of their own creation.

At my new job, my manager is big on his 'weekly reporting spreadsheet' and anything requested by upper management. I had a request from my boss' boss' boss for an 'issues tracking' spreadsheet. I took everything I learned from my last job and created the most amazing spreadsheet I've ever put together. Drawing from my experience and friends from various financial analyst jobs, I used formulas that crossed tabs, I locked cell contents, changed cell types, edited formatting, set cell spacing oddly, merged cells, and did so while retaining the look over the every-day spreadsheet.

I have been asked to never again provide a spreadsheet to management or salespeople.

 Plain old aggressive office toy of the week: ink that disappears completely (with no trace) after 48 hours. I love to write memos with this one - especially those with important info

Training

I've realized that all bosses good at 'managing upward' emphasize ... training! I remember in the interview my boss asked if I would be okay with training. I remember saying yes and then chuckling that nobody but Dilbert-style managers would take certifications like those seriously.

Fast-forward three months, and my manager is again asking if I have considered training. I said I was very open to it, and floated the only moderately interesting-looking class off the website he provided. He agreed to it, and told me to sign up for the five-day course in another city and book my airfare as soon as possible. I agreed, and went about my daily business.

I waited until Tuesday of the next week when much to my chagrin the course had been filled! I emailed this disastrous news to my boss, and then went back to my work. I think if he still wants me to take a course, I'm going to book the plane tickets first, and then inform him the course is full.

Can we say 'vacation?'

Plain old aggressive office toy of the week: dictionary book safe