Sometimes it pays to CYA

[CO-guy]

On a recent consulting project, the pair of folks I've been teamed up with have come up with many excuses, but have fallen short on deliverables in the past few weeks.

About a week ago I gave up on getting anything more from them and just integrated whatever notes they had into a final report I put together. When I didn't get a response last week from either of them, I sent my manager the report I had been developing along with a message (paraphrasing), "Still waiting for feedback but I'm attaching a draft by EOD as requested."

This afternoon at a meeting with our project manager (and her manager), one of the two other people on my little team characterized our progress on the report as "ongoing" and said that delays have been due to "highly collaborative efforts" among the three of us related to the "complexity of the project." My manager asked me if I agreed with his assessment and my response was to unmute and respond, "yep!" while smiling and giving a thumbs up.

Whatever excuses these two continue to give, my manager already has a draft of the final report she requested. That's all she cares about. Plus, having supported her on many other projects previously, I know she appreciates both discretion and knowing who on a team is dead weight. For her, it's easy enough to thank people for their help and not ask them back in the future. Thankfully, it's not a common issue, but it definitely pays to CYA sometimes.

 

[Stormy Kromer]

FIRE as soon as you can.

 

[mydogwantsmetoretire]

Isn’t this a Fire blog?

 

[2HOTinPHX]

Isn’t this a Fire blog?

Its in the "other topics" section of the forum. You will find this site covers a lot of non-fire topics. Its a great place to share and discuss almost anything. That's what makes it such a cool place to hang out.

As far as original post good story and reminder to CYA!!!

 

[skyking1]

In my business it involves taking a lot of pictures and notes. If something really stupid is going down I put the pictures and notes in an email. Viola! Arse covered.

 

[Koolau]

Isn’t this a Fire blog?

I have to echo 2HOTinPHX's response. Our discussions run quite a gamut as shown by the various forum topics such as travel, health, money, investing, technology, etc. We often "thread drift" and the Mods will eventually rein us in if we wander too far afield. But pretty much the only topics we (usually) try to avoid are politics and religion. Not because they aren't worthy topics in their own right. It's just that they rarely end well.

I do hope you find plenty of topics which meet your needs. Please also feel free to begin your own topics of interest. We're very accepting of questions and have an amazing depth of expertise here on many topics.

Join the fun and help us to get to know you.

Aloha

 

[Dalton]

Not to mention the CYA is as important in dealing with people after you retire, as much if not more, because it's probably not the company's money at stake.

 

[Golden Mean]

Isn’t this a Fire blog?

Blog? This is a forum, not a weblog, which is more like someone's personal thoughts posted online.

Its in the "other topics" section of the forum. You will find this site covers a lot of non-fire topics. Its a great place to share and discuss almost anything. That's what makes it such a cool place to hang out.

As far as original post good story and reminder to CYA!!!

I'd also add, there is an entire "Young Dreamers" topic section. So clearly this site is for pre and post RE people, alike.

Finally, posts like these are great for us FIRE types; it reminds us of why we retired.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Isn’t this a Fire blog?

CO-Guy was FIRED but decided to come back as a consultant.

See:

Returning to the Dumpster Fire (Virtually)?

I'm rolling up on 2-years post-resignation / post-FIRE. After I resigned, my former employer offered to keep me on for an additional year at half-time with benefits, which I was grateful to receive. Unfortunately, the relationship soured near the end of that year when I declined their "curious"...

www.early-retirement.org

 

[SnowballCamper]

On a recent consulting project, the pair of folks I've been teamed up with have come up with many excuses, but have fallen short on deliverables in the past few weeks.

About a week ago I gave up on getting anything more from them and just integrated whatever notes they had into a final report I put together. When I didn't get a response last week from either of them, I sent my manager the report I had been developing along with a message (paraphrasing), "Still waiting for feedback but I'm attaching a draft by EOD as requested."

This afternoon at a meeting with our project manager (and her manager), one of the two other people on my little team characterized our progress on the report as "ongoing" and said that delays have been due to "highly collaborative efforts" among the three of us related to the "complexity of the project." My manager asked me if I agreed with his assessment and my response was to unmute and respond, "yep!" while smiling and giving a thumbs up.

Whatever excuses these two continue to give, my manager already has a draft of the final report she requested. That's all she cares about. Plus, having supported her on many other projects previously, I know she appreciates both discretion and knowing who on a team is dead weight. For her, it's easy enough to thank people for their help and not ask them back in the future. Thankfully, it's not a common issue, but it definitely pays to CYA sometimes.

Kudos to you for playing the game. After a couple decades in the Army, I just don't tolerate that stuff...and let it be known. That's probably part of why I'm completely retired.

 

[TickTock]

Yah. CO-Guy is FI and chooses to w*rk for money to support a cause he values. No problem with that!

And I think the OP is valuable, to both those FIREd and those still w*rking.

 

[freedomatlast]

You took the high road and kudos for that.

I probably would have asked them to expand upon and explain a part of the project that they were supposed to work on but did not. The stuttering and floundering in their response would have been job satisfaction for me. Been there, done that.

I've found that this little lesson usually teaches them to participate when asked the next time they find themselves on my team..

 

[CO-guy]

Thanks all. Yes, I'm FI and I'd describe consulting as part of my RE glide path. It also gives me something to do while I wait for my better-half to wrap up her career and allows me to better support causes I'm passionate about.

For most of what I do on projects, I'm basically a solo operator. However, I'm always a solid team player when called upon in terms of overdelivering on expectations, providing clear communication, and, overall, being a positive presence on projects.

Thankfully, I'm usually on teams with familiar faces, and professional relationships going back years, even though we've often never met in person. New faces are always worrisome for this very reason, and why it pays to CYA.

FYI, this wasn't even at the "dumpster fire." Just another random project and I drew the short straw on flakes.

 

[Aerides]

Sounds more like you covered the slackers's butts

 

[COcheesehead]

That all sounds like w*rk. Yuck.

 

[CO-guy]

Sounds more like you covered the slackers's butts

Yup. With what they pay me, I don't mind if I do it all.

However, those slackers are easily replaced, while the project timeline was based around my availability, so it's their loss.

 

[CO-guy]

That all sounds like w*rk. Yuck.

It is. Just a little bit of it here and there. I find it rewarding and I'm well compensated. Usually it's more fun, but not always.

 

[catii]

I'm almost 79, & happily FIREd for a decade+, but consulting is a good way to keep from getting bored/stagnant/complacent, while bringing some serious play money. DW & I both take on a few projects each year, & after 47 happy years, we're a great team! We just don't include anyone else in our work these days, & don't take on j*bs that require others, although we do occasionally do projects that only require one of us. Finger-pointing is only in the mirror!

 

[hesperus]

I ended up pulling together what notes we had and sent a draft to our manager so she’s got something to work with.

 

[CO-guy]

I'm almost 79, & happily FIREd for a decade+, but consulting is a good way to keep from getting bored/stagnant/complacent, while bringing some serious play money. DW & I both take on a few projects each year, & after 47 happy years, we're a great team! We just don't include anyone else in our work these days, & don't take on j*bs that require others, although we do occasionally do projects that only require one of us. Finger-pointing is only in the mirror!

I do prefer projects where i'm a solo operator. Makes it easy to schedule meetings.

This project has wrapped, or at least this phase of it. Not sure about the other folks on my team, but I'll be moving on to the next phase later this summer.