Dueling Coworkers

There are three types of people working in my company right now: those that fly under the radar, those that fly on the radar, and those who would like to think they are in charge of the radar even though they work at the airport beverage cart.

Now that I am in charge of the company blog I am getting a chance to deal with that third type of employee-and I am finding it really hard not to hit them.

Take for example, Coworker E. E is an ambitious lad who seems to exist in a state of constant corporate panic. As a result, I try to keep our interactions brief, and have thus far been successful in my efforts. That was, of course, until yesterday when out of nowhere he decided that he should get approval over everything I post on the blog.

See below for an abbreviated version of our e-mail exchange:

Westchester(Abbreviated): E, I am working very closely with PR Vice President X and Director of Marketing names here) to ensure the quality and accuracy of the posts. Also, before absolutely anything is posted Director of Marketing X reviews the pictures and text to make sure everything is on message. That being said, if you still would like to look over each entry before I post, I will send you the text and pictures with a 2-hour response time. If we don't hear from you within that period, we will use my best judgment at what to post. That being said, if at any time you see something that does not work, we can easily remove it from the site.

Coworker E (And I am quoting him exactly here): Westchester, I think we might be wasting time emailing on this. I’ll stop by your desk tomorrow in the earlier part of the day and we can discuss this with your supervisor.

If your direction is to turn around pictures on the blog within two hours then we need to review this and make sure our information has some type of filter . This turnaround time has not been part of any executive meeting I’ve been in regarding the promotion of the company.

My direction from President X, Vice President R, and Senior Vice President S was to make sure the information was correct and presented the “true” destination in a positive manner that resulted in the increase of customer confidence.

So I can be prepared when we discuss this in person?

Westchester: Well E, that might be ok; but instead, might I suggest we solve this the old-fashioned way with a duel to the death. Meet me after work behind the dumpsters, and bring your favorite saber and duff-gloves.