How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love PowerPoint
Funny item from the Harvard Business Review blog:
VOICEOVER: Imagine a world much like our own, but one where time has stopped and the workday stretches to infinity. In this world, one software program, written decades ago, has become the alpha and omega of every employee’s life. Such a world exists in: the PowerPoint Zone…
INT. OFFICE — MONDAY MORNING. A NEW HIRE FRESH FROM COLLEGE AND HIS GRIZZLED MANAGER SIT IN THE BOSS’ WINDOWLESS OFFICENew Hire Fresh From College: What exactly will I be doing in this job?
Grizzled Manager: You’ll be making PowerPoint decks.
NHFC: What else will I be doing?
GM: Here’s one to get started. Change all the circles to squares.
INT. OFFICE - TUESDAY MORNING. THE GM STANDS BEHIND THE NHFC.GM: I’m ready for that updated deck.
NHFC: I’m still working on it. Do you know how many little circles there were in that deck?
GM (thinking): Yes, that’s why I gave it to you.
NHFC: Well, I thought there must be some automated way to make changes, so I spent the past day Googling for ‘PowerPoint Macros to Change Circles to Squares.’
GM: And?
NHFC: I couldn’t find anything useful, but I did find some new updates on Jon and Kate, so I’ve been reading those.
GM: I need the deck by noon.
NHFC: You’re kidding, right? I mean, I’ve got a college education. I wrote a dissertation on Wittgenstein, and from what I can tell, you’re asking me to sit here and click on circles and change them to squares, one by one. That would take hours!
GM: I need it by noon.[…]
Yet again I am reminded of the law, this time of my outrage at being retained for an entire weekend for my proofing, copying and collating services. (BTW, I was not very good at that.) If I could do it again, I would have tried to like being a lawyer; I hated and resented it so much that I didn’t appreciate how much I could have learned from it.
