Opinions

How is it possible that someone who is an opinionated, contrarian crank outside of work can be a such a non-confrontational, complacent pushover at the office? The person I am talking about is your humble servant. At work, Person A and I maintain a certain system used by a department headed by Person B (not the same Persons A and B). Person B calls me to discuss certain changes that need to be made to the system. When I show up, Person B closes the door and complains to me about how Person A frequently does not do what Person B asks for. I mumble something non-committal in response. Eventually, the discussion gets around to its advertised purpose. When I get back to my office, I brief Person A, for whom I have a lot of respect, I should point out, on the discussion (not the personal stuff of course, only the technical). Person A rolls their eyes. Why such blustering? I’ll tell you why – strong opinions. Much has been made of the necessity to have a passion for your work as a prerequisite for career success. But I would surmise – not to inflate my ego or anything -- that the wheels of American business are frequently oiled by nameless, faceless functionaries like myself, who often just don’t care enough whether, or how, something gets done, to disagree.