Saddle Sore

High contrast on a sunny day in Halifax

I am fully back in the saddle at work now, coming off a four day week that felt like ten. 

The Three Bureaucrats You'll Meet ...
A perfect storm in the public service is when you have, together and at the same time each of these types of bureaucrat on a file

• the gatekeeper
• the sloth
• the underminer

These three are all really one type of bureaucrat, the type that prevents things from getting done. The only real difference is their modus operandi.

The gatekeeper convenes teleconferences with sixty attendees so there are many witnesses to their public shaming of your best efforts in support of the government that, ostensibly, everyone on the call works for.

The sloth agrees to help make things happen on a short time line, signs a work plan, then ignores the work plan, does nothing and refuses to return calls and e-mails the day the-thing-that-absolutely-has-to-be-ready is due.

The underminer is someone on your own team who zealously pursues other Ministries in misguided attempts to advance the file. These well-intentioned shows of moral outrage piss everyone off for no good reason and precipitate shocking delays. 

That pretty much describes my Friday afternoon.   

The Seven Stakeholders You'll Shake Hands With
I spent some or all of three of the week's four days performing a short set of jokes based on the ambitions of the current government about something called the Green Bank before turning the conversation over to four different groups of stakeholders. 

Their opinions about the Green Bank ranged from scowling scepticism to gleam-eyed excitement.

In no particular order, I shook hands with

• the impressively smart non-government organization rep
• the impressively rich corporate executive
• the impressively dressed woman who sat there and said nothing for an entire three hour session
• the impressively firm-hand-shaking guy from the geothermal industry, one of whom showed up for every single session (not the same guy; always the same handshake)
• the impressively angry construction sector economist who left the meeting in a rage because someone disagreed with him
• the impressively friendly guy who saw my cane and told me an interesting tale about his own medical adventures
• the impressively compassionate person who expressed interest in my recovery and who seemed impressed himself that I was on my feet and leading consultations eight weeks after surgery.

Thanks for reading!

Have a great week!

Karen