![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mamchenkov.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/aruging_with_myself.jpg?resize=500%2C288&ssl=1\" "\\"Arguing")
<\/a><\/p>\nWhile you should do most of the things you boss tells you to do, that’s far away from everything. \u00a0And there are different ways of you can avoid doing something. \u00a0Here are just a few from the top of my head.<\/p>\n
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- “Thou shall not pass!”<\/strong> shouted Gandalf, the wizard, fighting on the bridge with the Barlog of Moria (watch some “Lord of the Rings”movies). \u00a0You can do something along the same lines. When asked to do something obviously stupid, or illegal, you can tell your boss straight back that you won’t do it. \u00a0You don’t have to shout, of course. \u00a0Be polite, but insist on not doing it and provide the reason.<\/strong> There are silly bosses who would fire you for that, but most won’t. \u00a0They will either give in on your not doing it, or will find a compromise, or will pass this specific job to some other employee. \u00a0A lot of bosses will actually appreciate your honesty and will respect your opinion.<\/li>\n
- Boring routine that nobody cares about, can be skipped, sometimes, if nobody really cares about it.<\/strong> Every job has a part where employee has to perform routine functions. \u00a0Usually these are automated at some stage, but before that happens, there is some poor soul somewhere in the corner of the office doing things manually. \u00a0Often, these routine operations are performed because the procedure says they should be performed, not because they actually should be performed. \u00a0When responsible for some of such routines, you can skip them once in a while. \u00a0You should know the routine well first, and understand all the implications of you not doing it. \u00a0And you should also remember that even if it is totally unimportant and your boss finds out that you skipped it, you’ll most probably be punished for skipping it.<\/li>\n
- Cutting corners, doing things your way, the better way.<\/strong> What most bosses out there want is to have the job done. \u00a0Most of them don’t really care how it is done, as long as it is done in time and with the resources that were allocated for the job. \u00a0If you know of a better or simpler way to do the given job, you can go for it without asking the permission or explaining the details of the implementation. \u00a0The thing to be careful about here is the full picture. \u00a0Do you really have all the information about the job at hand or were you given only the few details? \u00a0Sometimes there are reasons outside of the job specification to the job in a specific way (client request, cross-team or cross-project coordination, etc). \u00a0If you are not aware of all the factors and you choose a different implementation, you might end up in the crossfire, with you butt kicked, and the “redo urgently as discussed” order upon yourself.<\/li>\n
- Silent strike or\u00a0bureaucratic\u00a0nightmare.<\/strong> This one is not usually on my menu, but once in a while things can lead to this approach. \u00a0If asked to do something you can “forget” to do it a few times, until the problem goes away. \u00a0Or you can simply ignore the request, hoping that it goes away. \u00a0Or you can bury the request in bureaucratic nightmare. \u00a0Just keep asking for more details, for answers to tricky questions, and so on and so forth, until the cost of the job to be performed becomes prohibitive and the request is cancelled or postponed. \u00a0This is one of those “last resort” methods, because every time you apply it, it greatly decreases your value as a useful employee. \u00a0You’ll probably have to work on something extra hard to counter-effect this approach. \u00a0But still, it gives you an option of not doing something that your boss told you to.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
As I said before, you should most of the times do what your boss is asking you to do. \u00a0The above are only for those times when it makes a great difference for you whether you do the job or not. \u00a0Use them with care. \u00a0And if you know of any other ways of not doing things that your boss told you, please share in the comments.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n
- Boring routine that nobody cares about, can be skipped, sometimes, if nobody really cares about it.<\/strong> Every job has a part where employee has to perform routine functions. \u00a0Usually these are automated at some stage, but before that happens, there is some poor soul somewhere in the corner of the office doing things manually. \u00a0Often, these routine operations are performed because the procedure says they should be performed, not because they actually should be performed. \u00a0When responsible for some of such routines, you can skip them once in a while. \u00a0You should know the routine well first, and understand all the implications of you not doing it. \u00a0And you should also remember that even if it is totally unimportant and your boss finds out that you skipped it, you’ll most probably be punished for skipping it.<\/li>\n