So, I saw something about ‘John Rocker today’ floating around online. Didn’t click it, honestly. Just seeing the name was enough to get me thinking. Remember that guy? Pitcher for the Braves, always seemed to be saying something nuts back in the day.
It kinda dragged up this old memory for me, something that happened at a place I used to work at, maybe ten years back now. We had this project manager, let’s call him Dave. Nice enough guy on the surface, but man, he had some terrible ideas sometimes. And everyone just nodded along. Always.
That One Meeting
Well, one Tuesday morning, we’re in the weekly planning meeting. Dave pitches this workflow change. Sounded good on paper, maybe, but I knew, like really knew, it would screw everything up for the folks actually doing the work downstairs. It would add hours of pointless busywork.
So, I waited for a pause. And I just laid it out. Didn’t yell, didn’t curse, wasn’t trying to be a jerk like Rocker on the 7 train or whatever. I just said, plain as day, “Dave, I get what you’re aiming for, but here’s how this is gonna mess up Steps A, B, and C. It’s gonna add delays here and here. We tried something like this three years ago, remember? Didn’t work then either.”
You could hear a pin drop. Everyone just stared. Dave got that tight little smile he did when he was mad. He said something like, “Thanks for the input, we’ll consider it,” but the tone was ice cold.
The Aftermath
And just like that, things changed for me there. It wasn’t instant, but it was like a slow freeze-out.
- Suddenly, my key projects got reassigned.
- My emails took longer to get answered.
- Got put on this dead-end ‘special assignment’ that was basically sorting old files.
I tried talking to Dave directly, tried explaining I wasn’t trying to undermine him, just trying to prevent a mess. He wasn’t having it. Said I needed to work on my ‘team synergy’. What a load of crap.
I stuck it out for another six months, but it was miserable. Felt like I was walking around with a target on my back just for speaking plainly. The stress was awful. My wife finally convinced me it wasn’t worth it. I started looking around, found something else, and put in my notice. Handing in that resignation felt so good.
Thinking about Rocker now, yeah, the dude said some offensive stuff, no doubt. Got himself canned or suspended, I forget. But seeing his name made me remember that whole mess with Dave. Sometimes speaking up, even when you’re right and trying to be professional, gets you slapped down. Sometimes maybe it’s better to just keep your head down? Nah, probably not. That felt worse, honestly, just stewing about it.
Anyway, that’s what popped into my head seeing ‘John Rocker today’. Just one of those weird connections your brain makes, I guess.
