CoffeeTime: “Durn Thang Won’t Cooperate!”

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The office was in its usual Monday morning subdued chaos, nothing new about the muffled exclamations, one-on-one conversations, and general hubbub. But still, there was a decidedly different element in the air.  The reason? The new chief-of-staff was beginning his first day in the office, and everyone was feeling slightly jittery with quite a few unanswered questions about him.

Micromanager or Mr. Can’t Be Bothered? Looks the other way or will examine everyone’s time card himself?  Will he want to be one of us, or just talk to us as simply underlings? If he even notices us.

A few were confident that he would be easy to work for, because after all, “He is from down South, and we all know how laid back and friendly those Southerners are!” But there were also some who had heard rumors to the contrary, that the new Big Boss expected things to be done as of yesterday, and they had better be in perfect order.

Others wisely were voicing no expectations, content to keep their head down with computers clicking until they actually could see the lay of the land.  One or two less-than-brave souls silently contemplated hiding under their desks, updating their resumes, just in case.

The first few hours rolled by, and nothing was heard from inside the glassed-in walls of the supervisor’s office. No one was called into that private sanctum, and no inner-office memos appeared on their computer screens from the new supervisor. More than a few anxious glances were thrown toward the man’s closed door, but otherwise they finally began to settle down and attempt to throw together a semblance of a normal Monday morning’s work.

Then it happened.

No one had seen the new chief of staff squeeze his head with both hands in total frustration. No one knew when he abruptly shoved his office chair away from his desk and agitatedly leaped to his feet. And his office assistant was certainly not prepared when he stomped to her office and threw the door open so violently that it thudded against the wall. As her head jerked up in surprise, she heard his angry bellow as it filled the room, “The durn thang just won’t cooperate!”

Finding her voice, she anxiously asked, “Wha—wh- what thing won’t cooperate, sir?”

“That !&(@^% stupid computer!  I can’t get it to do anything that I need done!”

Following into his office as she listened to his complaints, she quickly realized the problem. Her new boss was a Windows man, and the entire company ran Macs.

So which would be correctly identified as ‘uncooperative’ – Mr. Mac or Mr. Chief of Staff?  Who was going to have to swallow his irritation and pride, and concede to the other’s insistence that the job be done only their way? Mr. Mac just stood his ground – no change necessary, or even capable, on his part.

Sometimes you just have to own up to the problem being totally yours, and be the one who has to learn to cooperate. Or fight it out until one of you yells, “UNCLE!”

Guess who that will be.