On Being Indispensable

[Leonidas]

Government and military organizations are used to regular turnover, and when it's the big boss they all hunker down until he/she makes it clear what is important to the new regime. And everybody re-aligns a little and keeps on keeping on.

Having been just one of nearly 1,000 people who left my organization within a two year period (20% turnover) it is humorous to watch the newly promoted work with the other newly promoted as they all try to reinvent the wheel. Everything is new under the sun for them but they come up with "new ideas" that were tried twenty or more years ago.

 

[astromeria]

I hear more often from those who were laid off at my former company than those who are still there. No, not coz they have more time (they almost all got new jobs). In some cases they're wondering if I'd like to do some editing for their new place. Nice compliment, but...AS IF!!

hmmm...1am...why am I here so late? I'm waiting up...My son is at my daughter's fiance's bachelor party--pub crawl in Charleston followed by poker at Wild Dunes resort where the groomsmen are staying, followied by retching walking on the beach under the full moon. My daughter is at her bachelorette(?) party at Wild Dunes (where bridemaids are staying) followed by a romp at the beach. She actually came home aolmost an hour ago to get something and left again. They both told me not to worry if they didn;t come home till the wee hours or even till 5am(!). Yikes! The Mommy business never ends, it seems. My "kids" are 30 and almost 27. I raelly have to go to sleep--need to be at my cousin's at 8am to make the flower arrangements. nighty-night.

 

[Tadpole]

So much for being indispensable. 
setab

A man that I consider indispensable recently retired. The first thing that happened: Someone blamed him for a mistake they had made.

When I stepped down from management back to worker bee, the director said that he thought everyone would lose because I was indispensable. I told him that if I were to drop dead that day, no one would notice. I have observed this to usually be true.

 

[donheff]

it is humorous to watch the newly promoted work with the other newly promoted as they all try to reinvent the wheel. Everything is new under the sun for them but they come up with "new ideas" that were tried twenty or more years ago.

That is an accurate assessment of government agencies and, probably, any large organization. I new I needed to go when I found myself tempted to quash enthusiasm with "we tried that 20 years ago and it didn't work." I guess that was about when the BS bucket got to heavy to hold.

 

[youbet]

During the time I was struggling to become comfortable with leaving my career and beginning ER, the final chain I broke free from was the need to feel that I was "indispensable."  I'm not.  You're not.  Nobody is. 

Letting go is tough!  But when you do, you can feel the stress leave your body like a fresh breeze replacing stagnant air.

Leave the negative feelings behind in your cube.  Hanging onto the personal and professional struggles of your working life hoping for some kind of belated revenge or feeling of having been right all along will eat at you like a cancer.

Let it go.  Get on with life!  Enjoy!

 

[setab]

Youbet, you bet. That is where I was going. There is no point using the "I'm indispensable" excuse, because it simply isn't true.

setab

 

[Nords]

A man that I consider indispensable recently retired. The first thing that happened: Someone blamed him for a mistake they had made.

That seems to prove that indeed, he is indispensable. Who else would take the blame?

This is why ex-Presidents receive both a pension and a Secret-Service escort for the rest of their lives...

 

[JWV]

Zen Moment:

Always remember you're unique. Just like everyone else.


Judy

 

[VoyT]

it is humorous to watch the newly promoted work with the other newly promoted as they all try to reinvent the wheel.  Everything is new under the sun for them but they come up with "new ideas" that were tried twenty or more years ago.

  Yep ... and they don't work this time either 

 

[Michael Moore]

Always remember you're unique. Just like everyone else.

<life of Brian>
Brian: 'Look, you've got it all wrong! You don't NEED to follow ME, you don't NEED to follow ANYBODY! You've got to think for yourselves! You're ALL individuals!'
The Crowd: 'Yes! We're all individuals!'
Brian: 'You're all different!'
The Crowd: 'Yes, we ARE all different!'
Man in crowd: 'I'm not...'
The Crowd: 'Shhhh!'
</life of Brian>

cheers,
Michael

 

[free4now]

A while back one very bright and capable guy decided he was leaving our group at work. The VP seemed to really want him to stay, so he gave a 15 minute sickly sweet talk to the whole group about how great Barry was and how we should all try to be more like Barry. He was laying it in really thick... "When you are confronted with a difficult issue, you should ask yourself 'What would Barry do?' to find the right solution".

That slogan "What would Barry do?" became kind of an in joke whenever we encountered a difficult problem at work. The answer is of course is "F#$% this S&%@ I'm out of here!"

 

[setab]

Barry and I came to the same conclusion.

setab

 

[HFWR]

I don't think I'm indispensible, and my company concurs... :

 

[JWV]

'What would Barry do?'
"F#$% this S&%@ I'm out of here!"

You need to contact http://www.despair.com/ with this one.

Judy

 

[shorttimer]

I had a dear friend who was a wonderful person, the type who would take the shirt off his back and give it to you. He was also very dedicated to work and missed a lot of time with his family giving into the demands of work.
He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died a horrible painful death at age 41 in a pretty short time.

Guess what happened at work. It went on. His cube was filled. His work was done by others. the company did not shut down. The funeral was packed, but people showed up to work the next day.

What will you leave behind?

#1, sorry I missed the soccer game/wedding anniversary/your birthday but I was busy at work. What a great guy, he really crunched the numbers and rolled out great programs and bubbled up ideas to management blah blah blah.

or

nice kids who are not perfect but know they are loved, loving relationship with your SO, making a difference in whatever charity has meaning to you, maybe a piece of art, or just others thinking wow, what a great person they are.

 

[setab]

There is no know case of anyone's last words being: "I wish I had spent more time at the office."

setab

 

[MasterBlaster]

What will you leave behind?

I would hope it would be something like...

That guy was the greatest adult film star. So many films with so many different beautiful women.

What a guy !

 

[HFWR]

I plan on leaving behind a big, steaming pile...

Of paperwork...

 

[vic]

Nobody is indispensable, especially at Megacorp. It may be annoying for some folks that you are not there no more but they get over it within a week. One of the best advice a former supervisor gave me is that nobody should ever think that the company 'owes' you either. You got your paycheck for services rendered - that is it. Hopefully they will still need you the week after. At one of my employers, I was consistently a key employee until a new manager moved in and kicked me out with most other useful people. Indispensable is all in the eye of the beholder.

Vicky

 

[youbet]

One of the best advice a former supervisor gave me is that nobody should ever think that the company 'owes' you either.

So very true Vicky! The most bitter/resentful/obcessed with hate for their former company people I have ever met are those that think they were "owed" something they didn't get before they retired.

 

[Nords]

One of the best advice a former supervisor gave me is that nobody should ever think that the company 'owes' you either. You got your paycheck for services rendered - that is it. Hopefully they will still need you the week after. Indispensable is all in the eye of the beholder.

Our concerned care & nurturing development by a large soul-less corporation?

Say, can I interest anyone in a career with the U.S. Navy?

It'll teach us all a lot about critical thinking, self-reliance, and preventive healthcare!

 

[setab]

That's one way to kill a thread, Nords. It's not a job, it's and adventure.

setab

 

[Nords]

That's one way to kill a thread, Nords.  It's not a job, it's an adventure.   

I liked "Take the sub way to work"...

 

[setab]

I liked "Take the sub way to work"...

I do too, and I've never heard it before. Thanks.

setab

 

[Nords]

I do too, and I've never heard it before.  Thanks.

Building #39 on Ford Island, where I worked for my final 4+ years, was built in the 1920s as a Navy aircraft hangar/maintenance shop. It was strafed several times on December 7th 1941.

It was remodeled extensively over the years and we never knew what we'd find when we went into a room (arsenic, lead, asbestos). Ripping out one wall produced several 1942 pennies, another wall surprised enough rodents to fill a Stephen King novel. That "sub way" poster was inside a wall that had been built in the 1970s and was featuring the (relatively new) STURGEON-class submarine.