why work does not get done at work

When I was in the business world, as marketing manger and creative director, I was often asked why I did not have a cell phone so other corporate people could get in touch with me. I told them it was because there is no such thing as an art emergency.

One of the things I did well for the company was to budget the cost of a project because I always factored in think time and unnecessarily interruption time. The later was always created by the higher-ups since they don't actually do the work but feel the need to feel that they do. Higher-ups need to assign the work and then walk away. If they can't do that they are are either bad managers or hired the wrong people which means they are bad mangers.

The problem that faces all creative directors is that since everyone knows which end of the pencil makes the mark they think they are all artists. Or they think the artist eats lead and drinks ink then poops art - "so what's taking so long?!"

This of course is not just a problem for the creative types but any one working in an office trying to get something done. As a mathematical formula the higher the number of vice presidents a company has the less work gets done.

"It is perfectly obvious that in any decent occupation (such as bricklaying or writing books) there are only two ways (in any special sense) of succeeding. One is by doing very good work, the other is by cheating. Both are much too simple to require any literary explanation. If you are in for the high jump, either jump higher than any one else, or manage somehow to pretend that you have done so." -GKC

Many companies have managers willing to cheat surrounded by those who don't want to.

This guy has got it right. but will 'they' listen