Friday, January 30, 2009

blogging about business, for once

Today my employer benefited through me, but almost despite me.

We're facing an exhausting slog through yet another incarnation of the Air Force's process for getting permission to continue to operate an IT system. My (Air Force) boss had heard somehow that Mark, one of my fellow employees at Intellitech, was shepherding some projects through this process, and asked if he'd be willing to give some advice. Mark came and spent a couple hours giving some desperately needed information, despite being warned that my boss has no prospects of funding to take on additional contracting help.

Everyone there was enormously grateful, because living, breathing survivors of the process are almost unheard of, and the available training material is of very little use. What's more, my boss had made a last-minute impromptu invitation to a friend whose project is also facing the process; she was just as happy to attend, and just might have the funding for some help. And everybody there is going to spread the word that they now know a source of much-needed information on this process.

The problem? I was passive. I hadn't thought to suggest to my boss to tap Mark's experience; good thing he knew about it and thought to ask. I hadn't thought to suggest inviting others to the meeting, either; again, credit to my boss. I really need to be more alert to this sort of thing.

The other problem? If Intellitech does end up with more work thanks to today, it's the kind of hellishly bureaucratic work that makes you want to chew your leg off to escape. Great for the company bottom line, but a blasphemous waste of a living human soul.

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