What you talkin' bout, FOOL?!?

I pulled a small prank on my staff today. Upon arrival, they all had the following memo on their desks:


To: All YouthLaunch Staff
From: Russell Smith, Executive Director
Date: 4/1/09
Re: Exciting News!

As many of you may remember, several months ago we had discussions with the Management Company here about the possibility of moving across the hall. It’s a bigger space (an extra 310 square feet) and is configured better for our needs. At the time, the costs were prohibitive.

That space has remained open for several months, so the Management Company came to us a few weeks back with an offer that significantly reduced the rent. Michael and I have been negotiating with them and came to an agreement that gets us that space at a monthly cost $38 less than we pay now! In addition, having a north facing office will save us up to $150 per year in electricity costs alone.

The catch is that they want us to move in by April 15th, because they have another company that will be moving in to our space May 1st. It’s a tight timeline, but it’s an opportunity we can’t pass up.

Michael will be distributing a moving plan with tasks to be completed and people responsible. For now, I wanted to let you know who was in charge of what:

Michael - Choosing moving company, technology transfer

Brian & Mike - Paint touch-up of old office space

Laura, Sarah & Jen - Painting of new space

Russell - Acquisition of new letterhead, business cards, and re-print of all collateral materials

Myra & Jaime - Creation of database of people who need to be contacted about the move, mail-out to database

Jenifer - Inventory of office supplies and small equipment

Kelly - Recording of new system-wide phone greetings, after-hours messages, and transfer messages on NEC DTerm80 system

Max - Work with Michael to determine new office assignments and new cubicle placements

Carly & Jessica - Acquire and label moving boxes, create system to minimize loss

I know that this is a quick turn-around, but this is such a “win-win-win” that I know we can do it. Let Michael know if you have any specific requests for your new office space.

I actually fooled three of them (although this could rise as two people were out today). One staff member sent out a meeting invitation to get her subcommittee rolling (it is a tight timeline, you know).

The interesting thing, one which makes complete sense, is that the three people I fooled are the newest staff members. Everyone else knew it was a joke right away. Meaning: the longer someone has worked for me, the more they know I'm full of shit. Hey, it's my management technique! Look for the book at Borders fall 2010: "Managing by Being Full of Shit" by Russell A. Smith, MBA, LMSW, FOS.