VELOCITY - DEE JACOB [133]
The two of them sat on a bench outside the building at noon that day, eating their lunches from paper sacks and talking about the prosaic matter of work flow.
“We’re all so much into multitasking, doing fifty things at once,” Sarah said.
“Everyone wants to look busy,” Brenda said, “especially these days with clients leaving. People are scared.”
“What, of layoffs?”
“Sure. If you have a lot of work waiting to be done, it feels more secure. On the other hand, if you don’t have much to do, maybe you’re expendable.”
Sarah picked at her bulgur wheat salad as she considered this.
“Look at Debby Henson, “ said Brenda. “She hoards her work. She obsesses about everything. She only lets go at the very last minute. And it’s always like she’s so important, because she’s got so many things going on. Like the more out of breath she is because of all this work she has to do, the more vital she is.”
“I know. She’s kind of an extreme case, but we’re all like that around here,” said Sarah. “I mean, I’m like that. I admit it. What’s frustrating is we do a little of this and a little of that, and nothing ever seems to get done.”
“Until it’s overdue and everyone is yelling for it,” said Brenda.
“Well, you know, Viktor always encouraged multitasking. It was like if you could juggle twenty or thirty balls in the air, you met with his approval. He wanted to load people up with as much as they could handle – sometimes more than what they could handle – and then spread things out.”
“It wasn’t bad for billings,” said Brenda. “I mean, if you pace your work, it’s a lot easier to fill your time sheet.”
Behind the huge lenses of her glasses, Sarah’s small brown eyes blinked as she realized something.
“So, in other words, we’re always rewarding the plodders and the slowpokes,” she said, “and penalizing the fast and the efficient.”
“Yes, you could say that,” said Brenda. “And I do think a lot of it is because of fear – fear that if you finish early, the same will be expected next time, even though the project may be more difficult. Fear that you might not have enough to do. Fear that you might not look busy enough.”
Sarah blinked again.
“You know,” she told Brenda, “when you’re juggling, you’re really only dealing with one ball at a time.”
Her tone was so serious that Brenda laughed.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked Sarah.
“The speed of your hands is what matters.”
“And not dropping the ball.”
“Right, speed and accuracy. Maybe we should be working that way. One ball at time, but transfer it fast and move on.”
Murphy Maguire had a dental appointment one morning, causing him to arrive at the Oakton plant some hours later than usual. As he entered the plant, the security guard, Suggins, flagged him down.
“The prez is here,” said Suggins.
“The who?” asked Maguire.
“Miss Amy. From downtown. And she’s got two visitors.”
“Where?”
“They’re over by Godzilla.”
Murphy hurried in that direction. As he came down the long aisle, he indeed spotted Amy Cieolara near the huge autoclave. With her were two men dressed in jacket and tie; one had a tape measure and the other was jotting down dimensions on a pad of paper.
Filled with apprehension, Murphy put on a cheerful face as he approached.
“Good morning!” he said to Amy.
“Oh, great, I’m so glad you’re here,” she said.
She introduced him to the two fellows, who were salesmen with an exhibit company located in Raleigh.
“Well, it certainly is a surprise to see you here!” Murphy said pleasantly.
“Surprise? Didn’t you read my email about the conference room from last night?” she asked.
“Uh … no. I just came from the dentist –”
“I’m moving in!” Amy said with a grin.
“Excuse me?”
“Not permanently,” she assured him. “And I won’t