The Cruiser

The Cruiser

Of course, when starting any new job you want to know who’s the boss and how to please her or him. My buddies and I were seated at desks all in a row, while supervisors had their own private offices (not much bigger than a cubicle.)

Our boss was a guy named Joe. He had maneuvered a transfer to this new agency, probably because his former agency was about to throw him out. Part of our job was to answer correspondence, referred from the higher-ups. After all, faceless bureaucrats do not get mail directly.

Some came from citizens asking questions about our programs. Others came from different offices asking us to perform some task.

Joe would walk by our desks, plop the missive on somebody’s desk, and walk on. We would glance at the letter and holler at Joe as he disappeared into his office, “Hey Joe, What do you want us to do with this?”

His response every time was “fellas, let’s not agonize.” So we were left on our own as neophytes in bureaucracy to discover the hard way…by life’s only teacher: experience.

We came to call Joe “The Cruiser.” And we figured out a way to work around him, i.e., seek guidance from his boss. Of course, he eventually moved on.

If you have a boss like this, remember, leadership in organizations is always changing. So keep saying, “this too shall pass.”