On Respect and Guidelines

I was given a formidable task to be the lead staff for a poster competition. Since I work in a company full of scientists and people who are mistakenly taken as hermits or ivory tower residents, I am not in the position to set the rules and regulations. They were the ones who set the guidelines, including formats. The guidelines also include the end time for submission. So I reset all my clock to be fair with everybody.

And then the deadline came like a flashing light. Everybody rushed to get in. And I could not understand why people do the submission minutes or an hour before the deadline. With almost a year as the lead time, people do not care submitting or preparing for it. This is not an ordinary event as the posters will be put under competition.

One day, after an official event, my Boss told me that I am not doing well. though she understands where I am coming from, it is not good to be very strict with deadlines. She added, “I want to be respected when I get old. So I try to be as flexible as possible.” She even used the word “obnoxious” for people she dislikes.

And I started to think about what she said. Can respect be earned from postponing schedules? A big NO! You are going to be respected if you stick with the rules. The posters are intended to compete with each other. Time is an important element of the competition because a deadline was set by the Committee who will man the screening and evaluation. And I just followed the rules. Does that make me undeserving for respect? I think, I deserve more respect!

So what will happen to the late submissions? I can still accept them, not for the competition, but for display. Of course, I will not suggest that to the committee, I might be tagged as “all-knowing.” I do not like that to happen because proving it might take my whole life. I would rather go to the mall and contemplate why people are dumb sometimes.

PHOTO CREDIT