I can’t count how many times I have felt like this frustrated ‘expert’.
“The task his organization is being set is to create seven red lines.
One slight kink is that these lines must be perpendicular. Moreover, some must be drawn with green ink and some with transparent ink.
Of course, this is nonsense. But Anderson’s project manager doesn’t mind if it’s nonsense. He says yes to everything. That’s his job.
You know you’re in trouble with an engineer when he says: “I’ll simplify.” Translation: “I’ll try to get you complete dunderheads to understand why you’re such complete dunderheads.”
These dunderheads, however, are so dunderheadish that they won’t take sense for an answer. They believe red lines can be transparent and that seven lines can all be perpendicular to each other.
Anderson tries so hard. He begins with patience. He resorts to his days at high school. Nothing works.
He gets accused of not seeing the overall picture. He gets spoken to as if it is he, in fact, who is the complete idiot.
So many businesses truly run like this. So many times co-workers or clients will come to you and call you the expert. This is shortly before they tell you they know better.
“Why are you asking me then?” you shriek inside.
That is the kind of “why” that bedeviled Socrates until the very end.
