Craig still had a job. This was the problem on his mind as he sat down in his cubicle chair late in the afternoon. He had just returned from a team meeting that hadn't gone as he had hoped. The meeting was last-minute, having been announced with an email from the boss at 3:29 titled URGENT--meeting at 3:30
. Upon reading the email Craig had hoped the meeting would somehow be about himself getting fired, but in fact it turned out to be near the opposite.
I just finished meeting with my bosses,
Craig's boss said to start off the meeting. They told me we have to get the next generation of the product out the door by the end of the year. If we don't, then, well, we probably won't have jobs anymore.
At that, Craig's spirits lifted, his mind calculating the likelihood of failure. In general it's a good bet any software project will be late. And it's well known the company Craig worked for was heading toward a financial cliff and getting desperate. Maybe this was it—Craig's big break.
But then the boss began laying out a plan and schedule. And as much as Craig didn't want to admit it, the goal to have everything finished by the end of the year was all too possible. There were risks, as all projects have, but not enough. Is our incompetent subcontractor involved? No. Are we doing both the residential and commercial software? No, just the residential. What about hardware problems? The hardware guys will fix the problems as we find them. But how long does it take to produce a new board? Two to three weeks. Isn't that too much time? No, we'll just solder quick fixes as needed. In all, too many answers and not enough questions.
Alas, the project wasn't doomed from the start as so many more worthwhile projects are. And the news got worse. The hardware guys,
the boss said, have the hardest jobs. They have to get everything UL-verified in December. But you guys—you have to get your jobs done, too. If that means working 10 or 12 hours a day, then that's what you do.
Craig still had a job—maybe 25% or 50% more of a job than when he had started the day. And that's what was on his mind as he returned to his cubicle. He considered his options for a few minutes and then made a decision.
If you choose Craig to walk into his bosses office and give his two weeks notice, then turn to page 3, or, er, say so in a comment below and stay tuned.
If you choose Craig to stick with his job while maybe kinda looking for something better in the meantime, then say so in a comment below and stay tuned.
