Handling a service recipient who refuses to plan

Dear Bob …

I frequently work with a VP/Manager who only knows how to work in crisis mode.

My group provides services and support to the group that VP Chaos manages. I work hard at communicating with my customers, anticipating their needs, talking with them about their projections, learning about upcoming projects that will have an impact on the services I provide.

VP Chaos, however, will not provide any information, and when I do glean some forward looking information he never responds to any questions about scope or schedule. In the end, he comes to me or my manager looking for near immediate responsiveness on matters that 1) aren’t crises, and 2) could have been handled days or weeks earlier. We frantically adjust our schedules and postpone deliverables promised to other people just so we can keep VP Chaos happy.

I’ve documented these situations repeatedly and discussed them with my direct manager. Nothing ever comes of it. Worse, VP Chaos was recently promoted even though I see nothing that he brings to the organization. He’s convinced upper management of his excellence, obviously, even though the reality is that he’s a detriment to the organization.

Is there anything that I can do to bring this insanity to light and keep VP Chaos from upsetting our schedule?

– Coping with Chaos

Dear Coping …

I don’t see the problem. Or, rather, I don’t see the problem as the world looks from the perspective of VP Chaos. He gets what he wants, when he wants it, delivers results to the company, and doesn’t even have to undertake the drudgery of planning.

Why would he want to change?

What I don’t understand from your question is why you frantically adjust your schedules and postpone deliverables promised to others, just to make this guy happy.

If they’re his subordinates it makes sense — after all, he sets the priorities for his department. But if they’re his peers elsewhere in the company, I’d think it would make more sense to show him your production calendar, show him the next open delivery time, and let him know the standard turnaround time for the type of request he’s making. All very politely, of course.

When he complains and makes a fuss (I assume he’s the kind of guy who complains and makes a fuss; probably threatens as well), point him back to the delivery board and let him know that if he can get one of the people to whom you’ve already made commitments to agree to a delay, then you’ll be happy to substitute his job for theirs. If he can’t … well, the problem is obvious, isn’t it?

He’ll also probably insist on everyone working overtime to get his job done; that sort of thing. If your team is paid hourly this is easy: “Can I charge their overtime to your budget?” Assuming they’re salaried and that isn’t an option, this is when you have to have the more difficult conversation:

“Can you explain to me why someone would want to put in unpaid overtime to take care of a request from you that’s only a crisis because you didn’t happen to plan your needs even a week in advance?”

There is a flip side to this coin. Before you decide to have the difficult conversation, there are two steps to you need to take first.

The first: Ask VP Chaos to give you a tour and briefing so you can understand what his part of the business does better than you do right now. This will give you a chance to find out whether the issue is his lack of planning or the nature of things in his part of the world.

The second: Take a hard look at your deadlines and schedules. I’ve seen enough situations where these really are unreasonably long, and the person you’re calling VP Chaos is simply in a faster-moving business than the support departments are equipped to handle.

If that’s the case, you have a much bigger challenge in front of you than saying no to VP Chaos. You’ll have to find a way to say yes.

– Bob