A Career-Limiting Move?

On Tuesday, The Aussie held an all-staff meeting to present his plans for the future of the agency. I think a lot of the ideas were too abstract for this crowd. He kept saying things like: “we’ve got to get out of the neutral zone” and “We’ll become client-centric.” But, that said, even if some of the people didn’t understand the details, one thing is clear: big changes are afoot.

So, one could conclude that it would be a good idea to at least try to stay awake during the presentation.

Backtracking a bit: Even though the office is generally kept at a balmy 28 degrees Celsius (that’s 83 F), most of the women dress as though they are bundling up to milk the cows with Paw and Half-pint. They particularly feel that the “Presentation Room” is too cold. So, a few of them are in the habit of bringing a lap blanket and hot tea into meetings. Those of us who have ever been to market research know that this is a recipe for disaster. Cold room, dim lighting, warm drink... you get the idea.

But imagine now that you’re the Aussie, unveiling your grand plan to usher Japan into the 21st century. You’ve got powerpoint slides with clip art and builds; you have your laser pointer, you have the simultaneous translations going at full speed. And you look over to find one of your employees snuggled up with a woobie and a Curious George mug of steaming hot tea, snoring away. Actually, there were two of them, but one was sitting behind the Aussie, out of sight.