“Jim barely went home for the last two weeks. He saved the Membership Project. Our customer was screaming because of the implementation problems. We are giving Jim a bonus and a week of vacation for his efforts.”
Jim is a firefighter and an arsonist. He led a project down the path of failure. When his inept leadership nearly sank the whole division, the manager two levels above him stepped in and salvaged the project at implementation. Jim worked like crazy. His whole team did. It really bothers me when guys like that get praised and rewarded. In some companies that is the culture.
I may not agree with what you say, but I’ll fight to the death for your right to die in a fire of suspicious origin. (unkn)
One man’s job arson causes a whole team to burn.
Has an emergency caused you to work nights and weekends? Did a job you were the finalist for disappear because of a disaster? Was it filled by a firefighter who is an arsonist? Do your bosses know the arson root of a lot of job fires?
Root causes of job arson are going to be a continuing subject for a few days. Career building and job hunting both have firefighters who are also arsonists. Don’t think you are safe because you are job hunting. It’s amazing how many job hunters destroy their own chances of success.
Something To Do Today
Make a list of the times you have had to work late and on weekends due to unforeseen problems or disasters. There is probably an arsonist somewhere. Who is it? Make a list of arsonists.
The list you are making may help your career and your job hunting. It can help you see how you aid and abet arsonists. That tendency may be why you have missed more than one job or career opportunity.
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Job arson examples: The Mythical Man Month
Doctor No
Dead fish
Poisons
Liars
And later: How to work a convention