SUCCESSFUL WORK AVOIDANCE TECHNIQUE NUMBER 43

Open e-mail from boss, which has attachment from his counterparts, about a meeting that starts at 10:30. Remember to get legal pad and pen in order to look interested, as well as occupied (Successful Work Avoidance Technique Number 12).

Stand outside closed doorway to conference room, read newspaper with somewhat miffed disdain in order to look perturbed that someone is hogging up all your valuable meeting time (SWAT Number 31).

After ongoing meeting breaks up at 10:45, go in and ask if the 10:30 meeting is about to start. When met with blank looks and protestations that the meeting was supposed to be at 9, point to boss and say something like, "You know, the memo you sent me that said the meeting was at 10:30."

Boss asks to see what he sent you, you walk back to your messy office (SWAT 17), open your e-mail, then the attachment, and start reading it: " 'We will be meeting with [El Jefe Grande] at 10:30am on Friday, Nov 7 in the 5th floor conference roo...' Ohhhh. Wait, Boss, this memo is for the WRONG DAY! Oops! No wonder I didn't show up."

Apologize profusely for screwing up and misreading memo in order to look like a stand-up guy willing to take one for the team (Brown-nosing Technique Number 9), and tell Boss you really didn't intend to blow the meeting off and if you had just been paying attention you would have caught it earlier (When All Else Fails, Tell the Truth). Boss understands and says he just messed up sending the wrong thing, you both share a 'whaddya gonna do' moment (Brown-nosing Technique Number 7a).

Blog about it (Successful Work Avoidance Technique Number 1).
posted by Terry at 11:29:00 AM