Although his stated intentions are to get his office “with the program” and “finally operate like it’s supposed to,” David West instead just comes off as a complete asshole.
West contends that he just wants the team to “realize its organizational potential” and that he needs to play devil’s advocate according to a book he finally got around to reading called Reengineering the Corporation, a Christmas gift he received from his mother in 1994.
West: "I'm just tellin' it likes it is"
“I like to rock the boat,” said West, a brand manager for a Chicago-area coffee distribution company. And regarding his near constant badgering of co-workers and criticism of their efforts, West said, “it just keeps everyone on their toes.”
However, his co-workers at Pacific Islands Coffee Company draw different conclusions and instead see him as a “self important jerk” and “such a tool.”
Despite being told that his observations are upsetting to some, West is convinced that his daily contributions are being made out of mutual respect and conducted in an open environment where feedback should be appreciated.
“I like to think that I make everyone better. You know, because I’m a straight shooter,” West said. “I tells it likes it is and don’t sugar-coat the feedback I give people when I think they are doing it wrong,”
“David’s the worst,” countered Cynthia Reynolds, a brand manager who has to spend an hour with West every week. “If he tells me that I just need to ‘think outside the box’ or ‘push the envelope’ one more time, I’m going to stick a pencil through his tongue.”
West is at his best/worst during staff meetings according to Russell Taylor, who works in corporate accounts and had recently requested his cubicle be moved outside of earshot of West’s desk.
“Every time we are just about to wrap up our quarterly business review, he interrupts and asks why we don’t just scrap our entire product line and start all over again,” Taylor said.
“Our brand managers were ready to jump across the table and knock that smug grin off his face,” Taylor said. “Scrap the whole line?! He’s not even being serious, is he? Ugh, I hate that guy.”
West is convinced he is considered a valuable member of the team and says he doesn’t mind ruffling a few feathers if it means everyone will raise their game.
While he admitted he has begun to sense a rising hostility to his unsolicited and what he believes is constructive criticism, West thinks that people are just resistant to change and says that they “just need a paradigm shift if this business is going to get to the next level.”
“He says ‘paradigm’ all the time. I mean, all the time,” Taylor said. “I don’t need a new paradigm. My paradigm is doing just fine. He needs to step off and get out of my face.”
The office is bracing for the day when West takes notice of the Harvard Business Review journals sitting outside the boss’s office.
“We keep trying to hide them and swapping them with fishing magazines but they keep getting replaced,” said Reynolds. “The moment that vile bible of consultant-speak falls into his hands and replenishes his hack ideas, this place is going to go all apocalyptical.”
Some fear that the devastation will surpass that which was seen when West became fascinated with Peter Drucker during the entire third quarter of 2004.
Image: Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
JB Goodbody frequently has thoughts in his head that makes him smile. Were they made public at the moment they poofed into existence, without some form of structured outlet such as satire, these thoughts would cause significant distress among his friends, family and coworkers. This is why he is here. 
