They Can Behave Like Kids

There is a child in every grown-up. And therefore, grown-ups can behave like kids when it suits them.

It's no different with very senior managers in the corporate world. They too can and do act like kids.

This story is about the two such grown-up and very senior managers of a large corporation; both vying for the top slot in the yet to be commissioned new manufacturing facility. For its own reasons, the company had appointed two top managers; one project manager to commission the project and the other, a manufacturing manager to set up the systems and then to run the facility on a regular basis (perhaps with the idea that the project manager would shift to another expansion site after commissioning this one, though it was not made very clear by the corporate office). The project completion time was estimated at around two years. The story relates to the early days of the project.

The reporting relationship was quite hazy and both these managers reported in parallel to the chief boss in the corporate office. Corporate office was situated geographically in a far away distant city from the one where the new manufacturing unit was being set up. Therefore, on a day-to-day basis, the project manager and manufacturing manager would run the local setup as they pleased. Both were very overzealous to prove their superiority in the organization's hierarchy in their own ways.

Slowly, they built up their own followers in the organization to show their power position. These two managers would try to avoid each other as much as possible. They would communicate through their respective subordinates most of the time.

The manufacturing manager had a habit of reaching the factory site earlier than the project manager. He would then park his car in the first slot of parking and that happened to be right in front of the project manager's cabin. The project manager did not like it at all. As per his thinking, he was number one in the organization and the number one parking slot where the manufacturing manager was in habit of parking the car was supposed to be his parking slot. On top of it, it was also right in front of his cabin and had more parking space. And with these sets of logic, he should be parking his car there and the manufacturing manager should park his car in other parking slots.

On the other hand, as per manufacturing manager's thinking, he was number one in the organization and he had a right over the parking slot number one. Parking slot number one was bigger in space and it being number one parking slot, had to go to the person who was number one in the organization.

It is to be noted that the parking slots were not allotted to any one specifically till then.

Both used to discuss these things with their respective subordinates and the subordinates of one camp used to discuss with the subordinates of the other camp. In a way, both the managers and both the camps knew all.

Yet, the stalemate continued. The manufacturing manager would reach the factory earlier than the project manager and park his car in the parking slot which the project manager thought belonged to him rightfully.

So finally, project manager being in-charge of everything that goes with the project construction and commissioning, asked his subordinates to formally allot the parking slots by painting the name and designation of the people on the floor space of each parking slot. On parking slot number one which was also in front of his office, he got his name and designation painted on its floor space. Parking slot number two was allotted to the manufacturing manager. The gossip about this allotment reached the ears of the manufacturing manager too.

The next morning he drove to the factory an hour before his usual time and deliberately parked his car in parking slot number one. He was in no mood to be dictated by the project manager. He went first to the factory and he was number one and he had all the rights to park his car in the bigger parking slot number one. The project manager also started from his home earlier than the normal time to press his claim on the parking slot number one which was now legitimately allotted to him. But he was shocked to find that manufacturing manager had already reached the factory site and had parked his car disregarding the official allotment.

He was furious. He went to his cabin and ordered his administrative manager to puncture the tyres of the the manufacturing manager's car. He instructed him to do it secretly so that nobody would know about it.

Then everyone at the factory site was busy throughout the day. As usual, the entire staff went home by the buses at the close of the working hours in the evening. Only project manager and his administrative manager were waiting in the cabin and watching the parking slots. As soon as the manufacturing manager walked towards his car and started inspecting the flat tyres, the project manager along with his administrative manager walked past him, got into the car, looked meaningfully in the eyes of the manufacturing manager and drove away.

The manufacturing manager was left alone in the evening at the factory site inspecting his car's flat tyres.

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