It's All In The Delivery
I am, by nature, a quiet and shy person. Only those who know me well are subjected to the drama. But generally, I try to be nice to everyone that I meet. I think I'm a decent boss, maybe not as professional as I should be, but that's okay in my profession because people expect the artsy-types to be flaky.
What I am NOT is a hard-ass bitch. So what amazes me is that I have that reputation among my sales staff. I was quite taken aback when my boss approached me and let me know that some comments I made were misconstrued as "smart ass." Now, I do have that tendency occasionally, but only with people that I know pretty well who aren't (or don't appear to be) easily offended. And NEVER when it comes to business. Business is business. If you ask me a question, I will give you an answer, blunt, straight to the point, no nonsense. So recently, a co-worker emailed me with a simple question.
"Will you let me know when this project is done?"
To which I replied quite simply, "Yes, I will tell you when it is done." Send.
How is that being a smart ass???
I spend a great deal of my life tiptoeing around other people's feelings. As I get older, I guess I expected people to be more, well, grown-up. When you're playing in the schoolyard and a group of girls in the corner are talking about you, Mom shouldn't sugar-coat it and say they're just mean, ignore them. This is LIFE, sweetheart. It does not change with age. The boys will still be dumb, the girls will still be catty, some friends will still backstab you and others will stay true for life. And if you want to succeed, you better learn to master this game.
I wish I had paid more attention in the schoolyard. I wish I had kicked a few more guys in the balls. I wish Mom hadn't taught me the values of respect, conscience, and work ethic. Now I have to live with it.
Damn it, Mom.
What I am NOT is a hard-ass bitch. So what amazes me is that I have that reputation among my sales staff. I was quite taken aback when my boss approached me and let me know that some comments I made were misconstrued as "smart ass." Now, I do have that tendency occasionally, but only with people that I know pretty well who aren't (or don't appear to be) easily offended. And NEVER when it comes to business. Business is business. If you ask me a question, I will give you an answer, blunt, straight to the point, no nonsense. So recently, a co-worker emailed me with a simple question.
"Will you let me know when this project is done?"
To which I replied quite simply, "Yes, I will tell you when it is done." Send.
How is that being a smart ass???
I spend a great deal of my life tiptoeing around other people's feelings. As I get older, I guess I expected people to be more, well, grown-up. When you're playing in the schoolyard and a group of girls in the corner are talking about you, Mom shouldn't sugar-coat it and say they're just mean, ignore them. This is LIFE, sweetheart. It does not change with age. The boys will still be dumb, the girls will still be catty, some friends will still backstab you and others will stay true for life. And if you want to succeed, you better learn to master this game.
I wish I had paid more attention in the schoolyard. I wish I had kicked a few more guys in the balls. I wish Mom hadn't taught me the values of respect, conscience, and work ethic. Now I have to live with it.
Damn it, Mom.
posted by Kristie at 6:27 AM
1 Comments:
I've found that any time I speak my mind directly without sugar-coating it I get that same rep. No, I am not being a bitch, I am just telling the straight truth.
Everyone says they appreciate straight talk but I've found that's not really true.
Erg. I hate politics!
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