I have a friend, named Lou, who works at a big financial company. Lou doesn't really like his job, but it pays pretty well and it fills his time. Lou is a pretty smart guy, and he occasionally believes that the people around him (especially his superiors) are...well...not so much. He isn't overconfident or cocky...he just doesn't think much of the people ahead of him on the corporate ladder.
Lou's entire department is getting phased out of the US...moving to India. Lou's job is safe, but his role will significantly change once the phase-out is complete. It was supposed to take place in January, but it still hasn't happened.
Today, Lou gets a call from the computer department, and the person on the other line asks him if he's prepared to move cubicles. Lou doesn't have any idea what the man is talking about, but he arranges to move cubicles and doesn't worry about it. The same man calls one of Lou's colleagues and tells her the same thing. The colleague, who also knew nothing of the move, speaks up.
The managers look at each other and say nothing. They talk amongst themselves, saying it "wasn't time yet" and that "it should've been cancelled." They say nothing to Lou or the colleague. Later, Lou and his colleagues discuss the fact that the shift is coming...each colleague seems to know something different.
My question is...why does Lou's computer department know about Lou's move before Lou does? Why aren't Lou's managers telling Lou anything...especially when it directly relates to his job? There was no meeting planned...no talks planned...and, again, no direct discussion with Lou whatsoever.
Lou knew that it was coming, and he knew things would change. But Lou also anticpated that he'd know something before the IT department did. Is Lou crazy?
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Yes. A good thing for you, I mean Lou, to know, is that decisions are almost never made when people say they are. This is because the infrastructure that is in place in the 21st century doesn't allow it. That's why the IT guys usually know things before Lou do, because they have to set up how it will happen electronically before you can do anything. Generally, you are the last to know on things like this. I bet Lou have a friend who could clue you in on how some of this works, but Lou didn't get to play tennis with him because he was out with his fiancee. His bad.
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