The Watcher

As mentioned in one of my earlier posts, now is a pretty exciting time because there are many changes afoot.  while i am only a minion and not a very smart one which means i dont contribute much to the process, i still have a pretty good vantage point and if i every have to write my memoirs, this time period would definitely be inside.

anyway, this isnt about the exciting changes, but more to a standalone project that nevertheless got got quite crazy recently.  Our partner agency had contracted a consultant to carry out a project, and we somehow ended up in a meeting between our agency and the consultant, to discuss how to sort out some problems the project had encountered.  The main person from the consultant was S, who introduced himself as a black belt.  i guess its meant to intimidate or show that he is smart.  anyway its not the normal kind of karate black belt we are used to (the size of his tummy is testament to that), but it is more related to 6-sigma, to show that he is supposed to be good at making processes more efficient, and at problem solving.

note that i used "supposed", because the meeting ended up like this-

Agency rep: To solve the problem, we should do A
S: Cannot, because A will cause our staff to do B, which will lead to bad results
Rep: Thats not really a technical problem, more of a management problem
S: A will not solve the problem.  You need to come up with new solution to solve this
Rep: In the first place, we only face this problem because your company policy doesnt allow C, which would have solved the problem
S: Yes, thats why you need to come up with a new solution.  When can we expect you to send us your proposal?

repeat for 1.5 hours, and no tangible outcome from the meeting

looking at this, i didnt know whether to laugh or to cry.  just nice a baby cockroach appeared on the table and i killed it, imagining S's face on it.  In what world does a consultant, who touts himself as a black belt, is paid tons of money to carry out the project, end up asking his paymaster for a solution?  i thought that was why the consultant was hired in the first place.

gosh