Fred:

Thank you for this very insightful and humorous article on your philosophy of
life's management. I found it as great reading for the morning. Ever thought
about
giving a talk on this subject to the National Society of Histotechnology?
maria
rueggp wrote:

> Fred,
> You are a genius, you should teach "the course".
> Patsy
>
> "Monson, Frederick C." wrote:
>
> > Dear Maria,
> >         What follows is to some degree intended to be humorous.  The
> > principles of Management of One's Upline, however, are proven by a lifetime
> > of experience and should not be completely ignored when instruction is
> > provided.   Manipulated with wisdom, they are yours!!!
> >         Background and Introduction:  When we were newly married, my wife
> > and I were approached by a friend who was affiliated with AMWAY.  One of the
> > experiences of life that I learned to articulate from that group was,
> > "Edifying one's upline."  Now, I was always much more interested in the
> > reverse process, and I quickly adapted their articulation to my own, eternal
> > predicaments with supervisors.  I had developed the capacity, as so many of
> > us do, to "Manage my upline" so that I could get my work done, get
> > equipment, and get attention.  I learned this skill during my tour of duty
> > with the Marine Corps, as I rose from Private to Corporal in 15 months
> > during a peacetime contraction in the Force.
> >         The Method.  Management of one's Upline comes in three forms:  1)
> > Over-compliance; 2) Skillful, marginal compliance, and 3)  Non-compliance
> > that is NOT recognized as non-compliance (the nuclear weapon of
> > subordinates!).
> >         To accomplish the first, one must understand the motivation of
> > Administrators/Supervisors.  First, they want to get THEIR supervisors OFF
> > their backs.  Second, they DO NOT want to hear, what they consider to be
> > noise, from above or below.  Third, they will turn on the weakest of their
> > subordinates to avoid personal responsibility [This is the administrator's
> > way of doing what he/she has been told to do and for which he/she has no
> > expertise or experience.].  This last is the hardest behavior to manage
> > properly.  When this one has happened to me, I have implemented the third of
> > my management techniques.  However, in order to do this, one ordinarily
> > needs to recognize two facts.  First, the solution of any problem is too
> > expensive to the organization when that solution comes from an inexperienced
> > expert, that is why they impose it on someone who lacks the knowledge to
> > implement it and why it ultimately resides WITH an inexperienced
> > subordinate.  Second, one must recognize that in order to implement
> > unrecognizable non-compliance, one must admit one's lack of capability and
> > knowledge and COMMIT to becoming far more knowledgeable than the CEO
> > wanted/expected/hoped for in the first place.
> >         The implementation of this form of management requires the
> > subordinate to become an expert, all the while knowing that the most
> > dangerous person in any organization is the one who is an expert without
> > experience.  Then, the subordinate begins writing documents of compliance
> > that reflect the LETTER/highest level of compliance of the law/expectation.
> > These documents must be  disseminated upwards in the Administrative chain of
> > command.  By executing this management technique wisely, one can easily
> > overwhelm the Administrative hierarchy with the terrorizing necessity to
> > make a REAL decision - something that any worthwhile administrator spends a
> > lifetime avoiding.  If YOU have the assignment, then the assignment was
> > always in the hands of those who lack experience and expertise and wanted it
> > to GO AWAY!  Everything you do will be happily passed upward for a decision,
> > IF you properly manage the process.
> >         YOUR ADVANTAGE is THE most pervasive characteristic of normal
> > administrative structures; namely, that no one up there knew enough to make
> > a proper assignment.  You ARE in charge by a normal default mechanism of
> > administrative structures.  Most administrators caught in this process do
> > not recognize their mistake until it is too late.  Proper management by the
> > LEAST of those will result in a future administrative decision that goes
> > something like this.  "Let's assign this job to someone else."  On the other
> > side of this issue, at their expense, you will have become an inexperienced
> > expert in matters that increasingly require expert attention.  Go consult!
> >         In the case of laboratory safety in particular, one merely has to BE
> > an inexperienced expert to succeed with the third method of upline
> > management.  Documents reflecting the letter of the law and letters - a
> > paper trail - that demonstrate over-competence (NEVER welcome in such
> > situations), and estimates, quotations from monitoring and sterilizing firms
> > with justifications replete with reasons both legal and practical that such
> > jobs must be farmed out, and, finally, at budget time, the worst stroke of
> > all, the request for a substantial amount of money to support the in-house
> > safety program (web site development, a computer, pay for computers and
> > databases of dangerous/hazardous chemicals, proper hazard control in every
> > lab, egress routes, and safety-oriented hazardous chemical acquisition
> > methods.  Recommendations for safe storage that create a hazard to
> > administrative sanity and will require the construction of isolated,
> > monitored and explosion proof storage buildings, and finally, the one that
> > ultimately knocks them dead:  an explosion-proof refrigerator in every lab.
> > The whole panoply of REASONABLE and NECESSARY safety measures can cost
> > millions, and certainly tens of thousands, and this is just in your home!
> > It is also absolutely critical to NEVER, NEVER request more salary.  This is
> > a dead giveaway that you are 'jobbing' them!   Outline the problem of safety
> > as you see it, then expand the outline to include every 'unsafe' matter that
> > you can 'see' or find defined.  Now the cool part.  Each of these items in
> > the outline - every twig and branch get attention in a document - as many as
> > you can manage without showing complete insensitivity to the local tree
> > population.  Volume and frequency of upward migrating information are the
> > cornerstone of this approach.  You must appear to be working yourself to
> > death on their assignment.  Build a record of excellence that will literally
> > bury them.  Teach them and keep a record of what you are doing.  Give safety
> > lectures and structure them according to the letter of the law, which YOU
> > must obey in this job with such AWESOME responsibility.  [When I was in the
> > Marine Corps, I was assigned the task of giving lectures to the 'troops'
> > about "personal hygiene" when on leave, because I had college microbiology.
> > After the STD film was done, I taught them about the encystment of
> > gonococcus and antibiotic resistance.  Through my diligence and attention to
> > detail, I was quickly replaced by another college man who had no courses in
> > biology.  Again, management of my upline had worked like a charm.  I was
> > back playing bridge after only one "lecture".  In this instance, I think I
> > used a combination of methods 1 and 3.
> >         I know of no better way than this to enable your rapid return to
> > that for which you were trained and hired.  At the first sign of
> > over-competence in an area that administrators want to see disappear your
> > reassignment becomes practically assured.  If THEY are serious, on the other
> > hand, the third strategy backfires, but then they can neither afford to take
> > your recommendations or to see you leave for the job you were just offered
> > by that head hunter.
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > Fred Monson
> >
> > Frederick C. Monson, PhD
> > The best research
> > Center for Advanced Scientific Imaging
> > occurs before work
> > West Chester University
> > at the bench.
> > West Chester, Pennsylvania, USA, 19383
> > 610-738-0437
> > fmonson@wcupa.edu
> >
> >
> >
> > > ----------
> > > From:         Maria Mejia
> > > Sent:         Tuesday, January 22, 2002 2:49 PM
> > > To:   histonet@pathology.swmed.edu
> > > Subject:      laboratory safety issues
> > >
> > > Hello Everyone!
> > >
> > > I need some advise and assistance regarding laboratory safety issues and
> > > including
> > > the role of the Safety Officer. I'm a neurohistologist that works 75%.
> > > For several
> > > months, I've been working on a detail chemical hygiene plan for our
> > > institute in
> > > addition to my histology work. I even started a library of various
> > > safety books and
> > > safety videotapes for everyone to use at the institute. In addition to
> > > my histology
> > > duties (which currently dip and peak depending on the research project &
> > > PI), I've
> > > also been assigned the safety duties for the institute, that includes
> > > providing safety
> > > training sessions for EVERYONE at the institute.
> > >
> > > I was told by administration that all this is all part of my job as a
> > > histologist. I say it's
> > > above and beyond and my salary should be adjusted to reflect this. Am I
> > > wrong?
> > > Please any assistance or suggestions you can provide will be greatly
> > > appreciated.
> > > Now, I've gone through all my safety literature and no one talks about
> > > salary for the
> > > Safety Officer they only list and it's a long list of duties.
> > >
> > > regards
> > > Maria Mejia
> > > Smith-Kettlewell Eye Res. Inst
> > > S.F.CA
> > >
> > >
> > >