The latest absurdity....

The (few) readers of this blog know that I work for a large consulting firm. It shall remain nameless during this post. You also know that from time to time, I encounter absurd and incompetent behaviors that I must share with you.

So it is today. I currently work on a project where my firm actually has two teams working on different contracts supporting two clients who play different, sometimes competing, sometimes antagonistic roles on this project.

The team I am NOT on produces a list of certain information that is updated on approximately a monthly basis -- some times it's updated more frequently. Every month, the same information gets updated in the same way. Somehow, when this other team tries to update its list, it always gets the list wrong. And I mean always -- since I took over the team lead role 9 months ago, it's never, ever been right.

Late last week, the latest list update came out...and was wrong. In a number of places. In a number of ways.

The role I play on this project requires me to look out for certain government interest -- including making sure that this list is done correctly.

So, yesterday, I was approximately the third person to point out to a government manager that the list was wrong -- for the 15th time in a row.

Last night, I got an e-mail from a manager on the other consulting firm team, complaining about my actions, telling me that I'd put them "on the defensive with the client".

I called this manager and said, "No. I didn't put you on the defensive. First of all, two government personnel reported this problem and complained about it before I got around to it. Second, your own actions put you on the defensive. What put you on the defensive is the fact that your team has had nearly a year to get this process down, and its product right, and it hasn't. As a result, you and your team have created a reputational problem for yourselves and the firm. The government believes that you do not exercise quality control over your products. And judging by the result, I would have to agree with them. Please, next time, don't shoot the messenger. Look to yourself before you come after me."

I hate incompetence.