Jack Durish 
  • Home
  • Books...
    • The Accidental Spy >
      • Excerpt from The Accidental Spy
    • Rebels on the Mountain >
      • Excerpt from Rebels on the Mountain
      • Writing Rebels on the Mountain
    • Combat Training >
      • Except from Combat Training
    • A Soldier's Journal >
      • Excerpt from A Soldier's Journal
  • Short Stories
  • Jack's BLOG
  • Contact the author

Let me tell you a story...

Short stories, long stories. True stories, fictional stories. I love a good story. If you love them too, this is the place for you.

Meet the author

Do you have a Dilbert comic strip on display at work? Does your boss laugh at it?

1/21/2014

2 Comments

 

Today's Chuckle

I've worked for more people than most, probably because I was fired more often than most. Government bureaucracies. Small businesses. Large ones. Multinational corporations. And, a few enterprises of my own. Almost everywhere I went, I found Dilbert comic strips hanging on bulletin boards and in employee cubicles. Invariably, bosses shared the laugh. Why? Didn't they see that they're the butt of the joke?
Dilbert cartoon panel
Click for more Dilbert
Inasmuch as I have worked for so many employers, I am often asked, "Which is the best managed organization for which you have ever worked?"

I never hesitate to respond, The United States Army.

I suppose that you are chuckling about now. How can that be? Haven't we all heard "the stories"? About the food? About the paperwork? About the mind-numbing drudgery? Of course we have, but the same things can be said of almost any organization.

During the late 1960s and into the 1970s, Phillips Petroleum was touted as the best managed corporation in the world. ABC produced a television special describing the secrets of their success. I ordered the enlisted men under my command to view it. We assembled in the company day room to be enlightened. 

Generally, most junior ranking personnel put their lives on hold while they were in the Army, until they returned to "the real world". I was hoping to encourage them to see that the Army was a part of the real world.

I wasn't disappointed in my decision. These young men sat open-mouthed as the show described the dress code (uniform) required of executives. How executives' spouses were expected to attend classes to lose their regional accents and thus present a better corporate image. How they were expected to socialize among the right people, in the right places. How employees were trained to follow standard operating procedures.

Ultimately, in these later years when people react with shock to my opinion that the Army is the best managed organization, I respond with a question of my own: "Can you imagine," I asked, "your organization picking up and moving operations on an instant's notice, half-way around the world? And, not only must it continue operations in this distant land, but also shelter, feed, and clothe its employees as well as provide medical care? Oh, and by the way, when you get there, someone is going to be shooting at you."

How well could your organization handle that? I don't think Dilbert's boss could, do you?
2 Comments
Caleb Pirtle link
1/22/2014 02:03:09 am

No one understands the business world like Dilbert does. God bless him every time.

Reply
http://instagramcaptions.info link
1/8/2018 11:48:33 am

His methodology in business was impressive, I liked his approach.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Jack Durish
    Click to meet Jack Durish

    Blogs written at Oh-Dark-Thirty

    ...or whenever the spirit moves me. Enjoy.

    Past postings: More than 500 postings have accumulated since 2011. Some categories (listed below) are self explanatory, others require some explanation:
    • Blogging: Commentary on the art and science of maintaining a successful website/weblog
    • Cuba: History of the island and its people gathered while writing my novel, Rebels on the Mountain
    • Good Reads: Book reviews and interviews with current authors
    • Infantry School: A journal of my experiences in Basic Combat Training, Advanced Infantry Training, and Infantry Officer Candidate School in preparation to going to war in Vietnam.
    • Oh-dark-thirty: Random thoughts that wake me up in the middle of the night
    • Opinion: I am not a member of any organized (or disorganized) political party. My views tend to be libertarian. 
    • Sea Scouts: A journal of my experiences as man and boy with this branch of Boy Scouting (probably not what you'd expect)
    • Today's Chuckle: Comics and jokes "borrowed" from other sources with links and thanks to the owners of the originals
    • Vietnam: A journal of my experiences and observations of the Vietnam War while assigned to the 9th Infantry Division, 1967 to 1968
    • Writing: Personal observations on the craft of writing and the current condition of the publishing industry
    Choose a category from the list below.

    Guest postings are welcome: Use the Contact Form to request more information.

    Categories

    All
    America
    Army Life
    Blogging
    Cuba
    Election 2012
    Election 2014
    Election 2016
    Entrepreneurs
    Good Reads
    History
    Humor
    Infantry School
    In The News
    Korea
    Middle East
    Oh Dark Thrity
    Oh-dark-thrity
    Opinion
    Sea Scouts
    Short Story
    Sponsored
    Survey
    Television
    Terrorism
    Today's Chuckle
    Veterans
    Vietnam
    Writing

    Archives

    February 2018
    January 2018
    October 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011


    RSS Feed


    Copyright © 2013, Jack Durish All rights reserved

    Tweets by @jackdrsm

Settings

X

Contact list

X

Send professional emails to your contacts with Constant Contact Email Marketing

I've read and agreed to the Terms & Conditions and Mail Terms of Service.
X
Loading...
Instagram
Check Page Rank
Banner photo and portrait by
  Mark Jordan Photography
Picture
Popularity Media


Tweet
,Copyright © 2015, Jack Durish All rights reserved
Picture
Click for Mobile Website
Web Hosting by iPage
✕