Workarounds That Work: How to Conquer Anything That Stands in Your Way at Work

11Are You a Corporate Firefighter?

Some organizations pride themselves on being exceptional at crisis management, aka firefighting. If you work for a fire department or some other kind of first-responder team, it certainly behooves you to be good at managing crises and putting out fires. Otherwise, that should not be the most important part of your job.

An IT manager for an investment bank told me recently that her department is forever being hit with calls from internal customers about matters requiring immediate response. Each call is the equivalent of someone’s pulling the fire alarm and becomes an immediate call to action. The IT employees have become so good at responding to cries for help that two things are taking place, neither of which ...