The Blob

If you work at The Blob, you eventually notice:

• Many things are planned but few are completed.


• "Yes" does not always mean "yes." It often means "perhaps" or "no."


• Conflict is seldom expressed openly. That would be unseemly. Instead, people are quite cordial, even when they strongly disagree. They are always searching for an appropriate time to surface their disagreement and that is usually when the other party is not in the room.


• Authority is murky and it can be difficult to determine who is/was responsible for what.


• There is little coordination because coordination involves sharing information. Sharing information is another task that requires the ever-elusive "appropriate time."


• Unless the infraction is extreme, people are not held accountable for poor performance.


• Memos are written, as the old saying goes, not to inform but to protect.


• After a while, the best people flee.
  

The Blob, sad to say, is not hard to find.