Lessons From The Workplace #1

A Manager (company and manager purposely unidentified) called my assistant into her office to demand that her electrical outlet be repaired. The Manager deduced that the outlet no longer worked because the electric pencil sharpener that was plugged into it no longer turned on. It wasn’t a very polite exchange, with a very “superior talking down to lowly worker” attitude. 

There was no doubt that the pencil sharpener was not working, but my assistant could not understand why only this one outlet was malfunctioning. She took the sharpener and plugged it into a different outlet in the office. No power. She took it to her area and plugged it in. It still did not work. She tried a few more outlets and discovered that the sharpener would not turn on using any of them. 

At this point, she noticed that the pencil sharpener had a shavings collection tray. It was full. She emptied the tray and then inserted a pencil into the sharpener. Voila, the sharpener was fully functional.

Lessons Learned:

1.      Problem solving doesn’t have to be difficult.  Sometimes the easiest solution is the right solution. Don’t overcomplicate things. 

2.      Effort is a valuable commodity.  It was disappointing how quickly the Manager gave up when faced with a minimal challenge. You will be surprised how you benefit when you give 100% at all times.

3.      Be polite.  This story probably never comes to light if the Manager presented the problem as a request for help rather than a demand for servitude.