Assembly Line

An assembly line will need to have a supervisor, overseeing the whole operation. The supervisor will make decisions pertaining to any part of the assembly line. You can't expect the team leader/members of each section of the assembly line to communicate with each other to ensure that the operation is smooth.

This is what is happening in my office and its getting increasingly difficult to work in such an environment. The difference in philosophy, working style and approach of the team leaders/members sometimes make working difficult.

This was what happened this morning:
A: When is the datafile ready?
B: I think it will be ready at the end of next week earliest.

A: I thought the file is supposed to be ready in the middle of the week? We are working on a very tight timeline already and you should not be squeezing us further because you were given the file late. This might not have happened if you have chased for the file more aggressively earlier.
B: (Feeling disappointed) Ok, we will give you the file in the middle of the week.

A: Ok, thanks.

On surface, it seems to be the fault of B that the whole thing is delayed. What A noticed was that B did not seem to put in effort to get the file early. However, A is not aware why B reacted this way.

In reality, B was aware of the issue but from his conversation with the supervisor, it seems inevitable that the file will be late and its within expectation. Hence, in order to maintain the cordial relationship between B's unit and the data supplier, B was less aggressive in his approach although he was mindful of the timeline and tactfully pushing for early delivery.

B has since learnt his lesson and should not plan based on the best case scenario. As Murphy's Law states "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong". Always leave buffer and plan for contingency.

B is also grateful for his friend's kind advice: One goes to work to make a living. You are not there to make friends although it will be good to make friends to make work more enjoyable.