\u201cIt\u2019s five o\u2019clock somewhere\u201d is long-standing happy hour wisdom on Saipan. It\u2019s probably wisdom in a lot of places. The phrase was also the title of a song performed by tropical-good-times icon Jimmy Buffett in a duet with country singer Alan Jackson. <\/p>\n
If we\u2019re going to enjoy happy hour wisdom, we should balance it out with some work wisdom. After all, without work, you won\u2019t be able to afford happy hour. So here\u2019s a management tip: It\u2019s 12 o\u2019clock somewhere.<\/p>\n
And here\u2019s the story that goes with it: <\/p>\n
I knew a guy who took a management job in a venue he didn\u2019t know much about. The day after he settled into his new office he walked into the general working space. He thought he\u2019d spend a few moments getting acquainted with the clerks in the administrative department. <\/p>\n
He couldn\u2019t get acquainted with the clerks, though, because the clerks had vanished. <\/p>\n
The switchboard started ringing from an incoming call. Twenty seconds later, the ringing stopped. After that, the only sound was the faint hum of computers. <\/p>\n
The new manager\u2019s first reaction was that some disaster was in the works and that everybody had fled.<\/p>\n
So was this the apocalypse?<\/p>\n
Nope. It was lunch.<\/p>\n
In that particular area, and there are many like it, noon means \u201clunch.\u201d As soon as the clock strikes 12 the pencils are dropped. The chairs are wheeled back. Work ceases. It doesn\u2019t taper off, mind you. It doesn\u2019t limp along at some reduced rate. No, it just stops. <\/p>\n
An hour and a quarter later (the exact timing being a function of the specific venue in question), the chairs will be rolled back to the desks. The pencils will be picked up again. Work will restart just as abruptly as it had stopped. <\/p>\n
To the new manager, who had spent a career arranging meals (and everything else) around work, instead of the other way around, having an entire department drop dead every day seemed crazy. Wouldn\u2019t it make more sense to keep the department staffed at some minimal level, so that, for example, phone calls could be answered? <\/p>\n
This was the question presented to my pals and I, since we all had hands-on management experience in that particular locale. <\/p>\n
In fact, I\u2019ll pose that same question to you. You can come up with your own response. I\u2019ll pipe in some toe-tapping music from a TV game show so you\u2019ve got a little time to think it through. <\/p>\n
Got your answer? OK, let\u2019s proceed.<\/p>\n
My pals and I were unanimous on this one: Don\u2019t mess with the 12 o\u2019clock factor. The discontent you\u2019d sow when changing this deeply-ensconced routine would be more costly than any minor gains you\u2019d hope to achieve. In the great fabric of life, there are some loose strands that aren\u2019t worth pulling. <\/p>\n
Of course, we\u2019re talking an administration department, not a sales department. If the sales line goes unanswered, that\u2019s a disenchanting thing. But if somebody selling copy paper to the supplies clerk winds up going straight to voice mail, well, the world probably won\u2019t end. Sometimes, you\u2019ve got to pick your turf and your battles. <\/p>\n
This \u201cpick your battles\u201d outlook runs contrary to some of the slogans I\u2019ve seen in management books. I have no quarrel with that stuff, though I don\u2019t use it either. There are, after all, different ways of looking at these things, and a lot of stuff depends on context. They\u2019ve got their world. I\u2019ve got mine. <\/p>\n
As for the 12 o\u2019clock factor, the bigger picture, of course, is larger than mere lunch. Lunch is the example, but lunch is not the issue. <\/p>\n
The issue is that every place has its own habits, its own customs, and its own outlooks. From my experience, the most productive way to approach things is to get a feel for them first, without trying to \u201cfix everything\u201d immediately. <\/p>\n
With every passing year, I either know directly, or I hear from, a few folks in the mainland who are heading for exotic places to try to make a run of things. I don\u2019t like to say much, but I\u2019m expected to cough up something that\u2019s useful. So I pretty much tell them what I just told you. <\/p>\n
Beyond that, well, I\u2019m sorry I can\u2019t be of further assistance; I have to be running along now. The clocks says 4 pm, so you know what to say. I\u2019m dropping my pencil and, of course, searching for my lost shaker of salt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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