Not Being Paid to Think

My insomnia is continuing... I finally fell asleep at 5 AM this morning and got a few hours in before heading back over to the convention center to help herd the Texans.

The Japanese have been patrolling around the conference center, all tricked out with with earpiece comms. They look ridiculous. Really, the place isn't that big. And, even though they are all wired for sound and they each have two, count 'em, two mobile phones, they still can't manage to effectively communicate with the Texans, each other, or me.

This time, it's not a language problem. All of them speak English. It's a fundamental flaw in their communication style. The Managers don't bother telling the staff what's going on beyond the next 30 minutes and it doesn't seem to occur to the staff to care. I noted this behavior earlier, and at the time I put it down to a deplorable lack of curiosity. Now I'm not so sure.

I threw a minor hissy fit this morning about this very issue. Last night I asked them what time I needed to be there today. They were vague. Eventually, we decided I'd come in time for the lunch presentation which was scheduled to begin at 12:15. Then, at 11:30 this morning, I got a frantic phone call from them wondering where I was because I was apparently late for a meeting that I never knew was scheduled.

I lost my mind. I don't remember my exact words, but it was something to the effect: "YOU PEOPLE HAVE TO LEARN HOW TO COMMUNICATE!!" Ouch.

Later, I was talking to one of the managers about it and I told him I was frustrated because they don't keep me informed, but it ends up making me look bad because I'm not doing what they need me to do.

Even though he admitted that the managers hadn't communicated well, he ultimately blamed the staff for not using common sense. He added: "At this company, there are people who are paid to think and people who are not paid to think."