A long term client – friend responded to my last BLOG, with a personal anecdote…literally, on the same day as she read the BLOG.

She is a Senior level Manager, in an R & D Firm, and offered a consultant a 3 month extension to his one year contract which was about to end. He not only refused, but countered that he only accepts contracts of minimum one year.

She was speechless, then recovered and asked that had she initially offered a 15 month contract, would that that have been acceptable. He responded that, yes, it would.
Then she inquired, but you will not accept an additional 3 months to your one year contract?? An emphatic NO.

Guess which Consultant is now unemployed!!!
Absolutely defies logic.

As you have no doubt noticed, no one is ever identified by name or establishment, those who recognize themselves inevitably respond within a couple of hours of reading the BLOG, usually accompanied by much laughter….

There is an older, aspiring pseudo socialite in Westmount, who, for some unfathomable reason, considers herself above most mere mortals. What it is she thinks is her claim to this lofty position utterly escapes me. Her big daily task is ensuring that she is home on time to prepare her husband’s sandwich at lunchtime.

SANDWICH!!!??? Seriously???

To me a sandwich is what you eat when you are utterly bereft of ideas, or simply want instant gratification. You can make something absolutely wonderful to eat in 10 minutes, from Asian noodles, Tasty Italian Pasta, incredible salads, Chinese stir fry….the list is endless….

A SANDWICH?? Ugh. Ugh.. ugh.

Over the years I have been incapable of establishing just what it is she supposes elevates her to the lofty social position she aspires to.
As you undoubtedly know, I am a student of human behaviour, I watch, listen, question, question some more, then probably some more.
Some may perceive it as cynical, actually, it is not. It is actually catching people out in lies and untruths, which, in my business, is extremely important.

If over 60% of the resumes on LInkedin are falsified, then one must allow oneself to extrapolate social behaviour…….

This same individual, when learning that someone she had seriously snubbed for years, deeming them socially inferior, was actually super successful and mega connected, she actually said, OUT LOUD, that she may have to actually consider speaking to them.
Yes, she said it OUT LOUD……

Buy why would anyone actually wish to befriend her?? She is boring beyond belief, a housewife, not particularly well travelled or well read, and incredibly cheap. Please spare your attacks on the fact I said she is a housewife. I am simply establishing that she does not work, and is not out in the world.

Then there are those who constantly carry on about their honesty and ethics, cheating on their wives endlessly. Guess you are not so honest……

Of course, one of my favourites, the individual who is introduced to someone repeatedly, only to react as though it was the first time, acts thoroughly bored, and moves on to the next person who is hopefully more important. After 20 introductions to the same person, to actually learn that the person they have been actively ignoring, was much more successful than themself, and certainly more interesting than them…..
Oh my!! How the body language changed, the instant eye contact, the physical proximity……such utter hypocrisy.

Are you kidding me??! People share this information, with much glee……

Another senior executive brought in to clean up a mess, was dealing with a consulting firm with delusions of grandeur. Nearly $2 million of invoicing , yet he could not actually ascertain what exactly they had actually delivered. He insisted upon receiving detailed time sheets for all the consultants, with time attribution to the projects on which they were billing.
One month passed, then another, lots of calls, emails, requests, and then the drama started. Finally they admitted that they were UNABLE to provide detailed timesheets.

Yes, a consulting firm. Billing hourly.
You are reading correctly.

Let me explain the problem to you.
They were actually double and triple billing their consultants.
Have the consultant sit in the chair at one client site, so he is physically in place, and visible, and actually perform work ON THE CLIENT’S COMPUTERS for other clients. YUP. Happens all the time.
There are certain unscrupulous consulting firms who invoice like this regularly. This time, they were caught.

Guess which firm lost a couple of million dollars of mandates??

They delivered very very little for the invoices they produced. No one was watching.
As soon as someone who keeps absolutely meticulous records was brought in and audited them, it was the end of them at this client.

Another Vice President of a large, publicly traded corporation does not understand why one of his Directors steadfastly refuses to meet with a couple of the vendors he has recommended. Every possible excuse, obfuscation, months go by, still no attempt at scheduling a meeting.

Unfortunately, it is the elephant in the room.

The suppliers know the reason, but can’t say it out loud.

If you return to a previous BLOG which describes why many absolutely extraordinary Sales Executives have either retired very early or no longer work in the IT industry, you will have the answer.
In a word, GRAFT.

A certain Engineering firm is constantly in the papers for this problem, yet there is never any mention of this issue within the IT industry, and it is absolutely enormous. No wants to discuss it, and it is getting worse and more grotesque than ever .The sums exchanging hands are astronomical, and it is cross industry.

My telephone rings, and I am recounted endless anecdotes, unfortunately it is increasingly difficult to be amusing about this, so hopefully we will stick to informative.

Then, one must ask, exactly WHY is it that some of the most awful people constantly refer to themselves as AUTHENTIC?
They actually believe they are nice. Just using the words does not a nice person make. As ever, actions speak louder than words.

Why is it that some grown women spend their entire lives spewing vitriol and trying to ruin the lives of others, who are more successful, and about which they actually know absolutely NOTHING.
The arrogance is astounding. If anyone looked at their daughters askew, life would not be worth living, they would loudly proclaim their horror of the perceived actions, yet think nothing of behaving like schoolyard bullies. Wasn’t this behaviour supposed to stop at 15??

…and cyberbullying, well it is even worse, insulting utter strangers. To me this is inconceivable.

I recently ran into an acquaintance on the street who had just lost his spouse. They had been together for 15 years.
Within one week his employer fired him for inappropriate behaviour at work, but worse, send him a LEGAL notice to avoid walking on the street in front of her shop.
Admittedly he is somewhat of a drama queen, but he had been employed by her for over 7 years, so if he was so awful, why didn’t she remove him years ago??

He was in tears on the street and his hands were trembling uncontrollably as he recounted his horror of receiving this threatening legal document.
I suggested that when dealing with someone so utterly heartless, that he have his lawyer respond in kind.

She could have suggested that he take a couple of months off to deal with his grief, but firing outright, then threatening him??

She had the arrogance and the audacity to put in writing that he is prohibited from walking on the street in front of her store.
Something is seriously WRONG with this picture.
I for one, will never either shop or recommend her business to anyone.

By noon on any given day, I may have conversed with 6 Company Presidents & Vice Presidents, a Judge and a Doctor. The basis for such an address book and the fact that these individuals always take my call is courtesy. People speak with those who make them feel appreciated, laughter also figures largely into that equation.

This week was an endless one ripe with stories of rude female millenials in the IT industry…..

I was actually screamed at over punctuation!!! Those 3 preceeding exclamation marks were the culprits!!

I constantly pepper my writing with exclamation marks and question marks, often interspersed; to add humour, questions, and often disbelief. Admittedly, this individual behaving like a petulant 12 year old over my punctuation was a first.

In the space of a week, this rude snowflake booked a telephone appointment then stood me up, sent me an email interrogating me questioning my relationship with the President of the company where she is employed, then totally lost it over punctuation…..what boggles the mind is that she is actually employed and being paid money for this behaviour.

In a previous BLOG I suggested that having an unknown female call your company to ascertain how callers are treated would be an excellent idea, this incident is the perfect example of that need. This young woman would not dream of ever speaking to a man like that, so what would possess her to think she has the right to verbally assault a woman??

The next day, I was meeting a friend for breakfast downtown in a trendy restaurant. I asked my girlfriend, as well as our 3 lovely millenial waitresses just exactly what 3 exclamation marks in an email mean to them. The responses follow….

   Excitement
   Playfullness
     Anticipation
     Extreme Interest.

What is telling, is these responses perfectly explain my usage. So how is it that I was accused of being rude and aggressive by the use of punctuation??? NO ONE understood.

The mere idea that this young woman allowed herself the right to shriek at another woman puts her judgement seriously at risk. How many other people has she insulted??

A client had another story. He is the CIO. He hired a young woman as a programmer. On paper she appeared to be qualified, educated and have the appropriate experience. Miraculously she passed the interview process and was hired. One week into her employment however, everything changed. She announced that the work hours were far too demanding of her personal time and that she would like to work from home due to the inconvenience of commuting. Her constant complaints worked their way up the organization culminating in the CIO meeting with her to hear her grievances. He was shocked, but listened quietly and explained that perhaps she should learn the technical and business environment as well as the business before making such demands, and suggested she work on integrating herself into the environment. It was not to be. Slightly over one month later she was terminated. Her endless complaints over her salary, working conditions and title were endless, but unfortunately she was also extremely disruptive.
One has to question both her resume and her intentions.

People need to work, some more than others.

There must be sunshine, joy and laughter in any business relationship, as well as fairness.

How can one possibly trust the judgement of someone who is so thin skinned that they are offended by punctuation???!!