Today I had one of those moments when one could say
that I was buttering up my boss. Even
though I realize any compliment to your boss can look this way, I am one of
those who think we should say good things about people to their face, and not
just behind their back or at their funeral.
After all we are mortal, and if we don’t say what we have to say today,
then tomorrow may never come for them, or as is more likely, for me.
My boss Mark made one of his suggestions this
afternoon that once spoken made obvious sense and made me ask myself “Why didn’t
I think of that?” That was when I gave
him my first compliment today. I told
him that he has technical knowledge, but it is based upon a foundation of practical
common sense. Here, I am referring to lightning
insight into problems that lays bare the most efficient and effective way to address
them. He seems to always know which tool
is most appropriate, or put more abstractly which approach to an issue is most
powerful and direct. This is one of
those traits that is hard to train to achieve.
It is really a talent, a natural gift that no doubt flows from deep
within the configuration of the mind.
The
second compliment followed my observing him address an issue—over what many would find intractable—with intense
concentration and patience like I have
observed him do so often in the past. I
told him that he is a good boss because he is most demanding of himself. Who wouldn’t want to serve a boss like that—one
who asks sacrifice and effort foremost of himself? Such an approach reveals integrity at the
core and solid ethical character. I am
indeed fortunate to be on Mark’s team.
And to top it all off, he has a great sense of humor, asking me after my
second compliment “What do you want?”
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