The first email of the day and week convinces me that my superiors simply just don’t get it. Actually, the impression I have is that though they nod a lot whenever we meet, they don’t actually understand a word I’m saying.
If I have consistently said we must prioritise accessibility, it now occurs to me that they neither understand what “prioritise” nor “accessibility” mean. Why? Because all of a sudden they want to throw non-recurring capital spend at trivial, non-essential work we could do ourselves.
As for that business case I set out, detailing what needs to be done in order to meet our actual obligations? Not a word. It’s not a priority. Though of course, this non-priority is now a priority, because it comes from on high. This is the solution, now go and work out what the problem was.
Those optimistic visions of a team, no matter how humble, have already died a death. All around me, service managers continue to tell me, “That’s unbelievable!” and “How shortsighted!” but they know as well as I do that nothing will ever change, for nobody is listening. Least of all those who should be lobbying for change.
No, we must prioritise what are not priorities, and waste our time on resource-intensive tasks which offer no measurable benefit to anyone. Indeed, now the organisation has the temerity to say, “We will not countenance funding any new post until we see a significant improvement in the service provided!”
So let’s fix that by throwing capital at a problem that does not exist. For a new lick of paint is all we need. Or a very expensive sticking plaster. That should make everything better. Well, at least until the auditors come knocking, anyway.
Last modified: 22 September 2024
