The Infection

Life is never a smooth road.  Life is not even a nicely paved road with a few bumpy spots here and there.  Life is a long and windy road with many forks, speed bumps, potholes, downed trees, cliffs, bridges, open draw bridges, wandering children, squirrels, parked cars, cars traveling in the wrong direction and puddles.  Just to name a few.  The very things that keep us entertained in life are the very things that turn our hair gray and shorten our life span.  It is because of this that we must pick and choose our battles.  To fight every battle would shorten our lives indefinitely.  To ignore all battles would bring unheard misery to our lives.
A recent encounter of mine became a small bump in the road and very quickly turned into a hellacious cliff on which I had no parachute.  I’ll start you off with the background and then quickly get to the story.  No good story told bypassed the setting, so sit tight and read on.

The Background.

I am brought into a large company to serve as the Technical Lead/Advisor for the internal training department.  My role is defined as one that requires me to remain in consistent contact with various members of the business and project team to ensure all training events can be executed without technical concern.  This includes but is not limited to preparing training environments, learner PC setup, and so on and so forth. 

My main “customers” will be the Instructional Designers who will be creating the training materials and delivering those materials in an online format or an Instructor Led Training (ILT) format.  If an ID has a question regarding the documentation tool they are using, they come to me.  If an ID needs access to an application, they come to me. 

The Story.

This particularly new ID has little to no experience in Adult Learning principles as their only ID experience is training entry level call center employees.  These employees rarely had a degree beyond their High School Diploma and many had only a G.E.D. (Good Enough Degree).  The new ID rolls into a currently running project and is to act as an assistant to the Project Manager until they are comfortable enough to take on their own project. 

Immediately, the new ID is making absurd suggestions and inserting their opinion where it is not needed.  Within 2 weeks, the project is delayed as it cannot meet deadlines as a result of the new ID suggestions.  Weeks upon weeks pass by and the deadlines are delayed more and more as the ID begins to acclimate themselves with the environment.  Throughout this process, the ID is failing to spend any time planning their approach and is simply reacting to comments and providing feedback off the cuff.  Most feedback is non constructive and incomprehensible as the ID struggles to blend into an Adult Learning environment using corporate buzzwords at every moment.  Simple questions become obscured in awkwardly located buzz-terminology as the ID buries the true message. At one point, the PM begins to realize that deadlines are not going to be hit and drastic measures must be taken if the project is ever going to be finished. 

The PM approaches me and asks me to assist in the documentation of some materials to speed along the process and help achieve a successful project.  I agree to assist on a one-time basis and head to the ID to find out what needs to get done.  The ID immediately begins to view me as a resource for anything and everything and commands me what to do.  I suggest that we abide by Documentation Standards so we can both create identical products without excessive rework.  My suggestion is ignored and I am receiving emails by the dozen telling me I need to change the verbiage and formatting of my text throughout numerous simulations, even though the ID has not created a single document on their own at this point.

I work extra hours and forego my own projects to get this project done and out of the way.  The entire time I’m working I’m being told by the ID to change this and that and every little thing to meet their heart’s desire.  Even when the demands they make are unnecessary and against Adult Learning principles, my voice goes unheard and I am relegated to a manufacturing role.  I complete my tasks for the project and return to my work, glad to be away from that dreadful person.

A week goes by and the schedules appear to dictate the project is to be completed by weeks-end.  I am contacted on Friday afternoon by the ID saying there is an issue with the final simulations and they may need to be redone.  On Monday, I am approached by the ID as they ask, “How much bandwidth do you have this week to help me out?”  I tell them I am very busy and will let them know when I know.  The ID tells me that a large simulation needs to be rerecorded because the ID recorded the simulation in the wrong screen resolution.  They tell me the simulation was due on Friday (of last week) and they are swamped with the other elements of the project.  They then proceed to tell me that they need my help or they won’t hit their deadlines and they’ll have to push back again.  I ask some questions to find out how much work needs to be done and how much the ID truly needs my time.  They tell me I need to rerecord the large simulation and if I have time to edit the simulation for them.  I tell them I don’t have that much time and they should look to the PM for another resource. 

The ID then comes back to me and tells me that I can be helpful if I just rerecord the simulation and they will do the updates.  The ID tells me they’ll “somehow find the time and probably end up working until 3am again.”   

AGAIN!  Are you kidding me?  This ID has never worked pass 5pm and nothing about their product looks to be worked on pass 5pm.  Their work is sloppy and inconsistent and very much sub-standard.

Anyways, the ID tells me it’ll take me about 1 hour to redo the work.  The ID then goes on to tell me, “When you record the simulation, can you go real slow so you don’t miss a step.  I don’t have time to fix the simulation and insert steps where you missed them.”  I’m baffled at what they have just said and I am on the edge of absolute explosion.

One hour.  One single hour.

This person has missed their deadline and is risking the deadline of the entire project which will cost the company more money in consultant costs because of one hour of work?  This ID had an entire weekend and had not spent a single minute ensuring the success of their project.

After finding out this unnecessary rework would only take one hour, the ID returned to their desk to field a personal phone call from their roomie.  From what I could hear, they were chatting about their new stove in their apartment.  An hour or so later, the ID is showing a group of people a website that auctions antique furniture and discussing the various parks and weekend events they participated in.  All in all, this ID spent a good 1.5 hours of actual work during the first four hours of the day.

How is it that this ID had no time to complete the task?  How is it that the ID comes to me and tells me I “need” to help them so they can reach their deadlines?  I can’t understand how this type of person has become successful, all I can imagine is they have been abusing their resources to get others to do their work for them.  I know that if I help this person, I will be viewed as “that guy” again and will get stuck being the “savior” on projects.  If I ignore their request and focus on my own work, then I am not following through on a directive given to me by a superior.  On one hand, I should realize I need to let others fail so that I can succeed.  On the other hand, I need to help out when I can.  The trying question here is who deserves the help?  Thank God some things in life are crystal clear, especially when that person is sent to Earth straight from the bowels of Hell.