I used to be a professional
Got loads of stuff done
Then I met my new boss
He was a professional administrator-facilitator
Never worked in a place like ours
So I got new tasks:
Write up what you do
All you do
He didn’t understand this place
Perhaps my reports would help
Soon his requests rose
Where pens were used, paperclips unclipped
Minutes in bathrooms and before the monitor
How many people walked through in a day
These briefs stopped my work
But the boss laid down the law:
Without a report facts never happened
He couldn’t know what he didn’t know so
Demanded expansive descriptions
I also wrote the reviews;
He didn’t like writing that much
I used to live to work
Now I live to report
I thought I’d die
Before I’d retire
Then I grasped the future:
Your write accounts
Check statements
Quality instantly assessed
Goals and mission assured
The boss said it’s better to describe work
Than do it
What I did before – teaching, inspiring
Hard to quantify nebulous naff
Now I generate real records
New management arrived and snickered
Said our section “got nothing done”
We did Nothing? Our reports will test time
Rival the pyramids, astound astro-archeologists
Some day our reports will define this civilization!
Retirement is not as expected
I can do my old job if
I do it for free
My old boss is writing our company history
I plan to finish mine first