Flaking In Public

I’ve seen others do this, and now it’s happening to me. A wise man once said “Flake it until you make it.”

With two job offers on their way, I know I’ll be moving on soon. There’s minimal pressure to complete any of the expected tasks on my project, yet daily meetings about progress still require a presentation of accomplishments and a statement of near-term plans.

Consequently, every status report is a filibuster about examining and getting ready to do a task, or switching to some other new objective after wasting a bunch of days on the previous approach. There are all of these obstacles, all small and pesky, so nothing anyone needs to worry about or contribute to helping me solve.

You build up good will by historically delivering good results. You can’t take that good will with you, but can cash it in by spending it so others give you the benefit of the doubt.

Some at work might think I’m having a run of bad luck. Others might think I’m distracted or dealing with some kind of family problem. Few probably theorize that I’m on my way out and just buying a few more days negotiating work arrangements for the best deal and then selecting where I’ll bring my talents.

The weather is nice and my errands are getting completed. I’ve got a little time to catch up on things that had been neglected for a while.

It’s just a matter of days until I give my two weeks notice. Then they’ll want me to document what I’m working on, which will take a few leisurely hours over my final weeks. I’ll go into my new job fresh and relaxed.

Until then I keep everything friendly and supposedly moving forward, which for me is well assured. I will wish them the best and know they won’t be left in a lurch, as they’ve been doing swell without my contributions for the last few weeks.

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