Grin and Bear It: How to Be Happy No Matter What Reality Throws Your Way by Jenni Pulos

Author:Jenni Pulos
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2014-03-11T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

No onions, no onions, no onions!

—JEFF LEWIS

* * *

I would say that Jeff has major OCD, and has a need to be in control, even of the tiniest details. He even has instilled a strict set of rules for everyone to follow that includes no number two in his bathrooms. If you really have to go, you can count on being terrorized for many months. Bring out the lie detector, I haven’t gone number two in Jeff’s office in twelve years. There is also a limit of sixty seconds during bathroom breaks. If you exceed that limit, Jeff will scream, “What are you doing in there? You better not be going number two!” When you don’t use the full sixty seconds, you actually get rollover minutes. (I have acquired a plethora of rollover minutes over the years.)

As a reward for my respectful bathroom behavior, I am trusted by Jeff to tell employees and contractors the following: “If you sprinkle when you tinkle, be a sweetie and wipe the seatie.”

These types of exchanges happen all of the time in our office. The key to surviving at Jeff Lewis Design is to abide by his set of rules.

When you sense disapproval from your boss at work, it’s extremely important to distinguish between constructive and destructive criticism. It’s not any easier to be the boss than it is to be the employee. It would be ideal if everyone understood there are different sets of responsibilities that make each position unique and necessary. For example, there is a lot of micromanaging in the construction and renovation world. We are constantly making phone calls to ensure that the workers show up and meet deadlines. Delays will not only cause your budget to skyrocket but also add tremendous pressure to an already stressful situation. You have to be incredibly aggressive and demanding to complete a project on time and on budget.

It is easy to see someone with this mind-set as being difficult and uncompromising, but it is necessary to get the job done.

I better understood what it’s like to be the boss when Jeff was out sick for the day with food poisoning. It certainly was an eye-opening experience because I hadn’t ever put myself in his shoes before. For the first time, I had an assistant who wasn’t moving fast enough and anticipating what I needed. I found myself getting barky and short-tempered. I also realized there were other people in the office looking at me, judging how I was acting. In a single day, I’d become a total bosshole.

Oh.

Right.

This must be what Jeff feels like when I am not on my “A” game.

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