Category: Compliance

In a nutshell

My son (10) received homework for the holidays from school: he needs to investigate what his parents do for a living.

He: ‘Mama, what are you doing e.g. right now?’
Me: ‘At this moment I am drafting the meeting minutes of a committee.’
He: ‘What is a ‘committee’?’
Me: ‘When colleagues regularly meet to discuss issues they find important.’
He: ‘Let’s imagine that me and my best friend are superheroes who discuss every week who to rescue next time – are we a committee then?’
Me: ‘Absolutely.’
He: ‘Are you & your colleagues also in the superhero business?’
Me: ‘Kind of.’

KPIs

A few days ago, after finding solution to a problem, I received the below feedback from a nice colleague working abroad:

‘…Piros, you are a SAINT – someone we can always turn to at the HQ!’

I am still trying to figure out how exactly being a saint can be matched up with my KPIs for 2019.

That’s the way the cookie crumbles

Our son (10): ‘Let’s organize a cookie race!’
Me: ‘OK, but we did it already at the weekend..’
He: ‘It didn’t count – out of several reasons.’
Me: ‘Like what..?’
He:
‘First of all it was not the 2 of us. It was only me making cookies, and you – tasting them. We cannot call me a winner if in the competition it’s only me entering..
So, all of us in the family need to participate – apart from you.’
Me: ‘Why is it so?’
He: ‘The jury is not allowed to participate in the competition, that wouldn’t be fair to the others.’
Aha, so we still know these things, when we are 10..

Prudence

Today I had a lot of work and did not have the time to go for a coffee.

So I decided to grab one from our cafeteria during late afternoon.

I know the cafeteria closes at 5PM, however the Coffee Lady closes the coffee machines a few minutes earlier in order to be able to leave at 5PM sharp.

Last week I experienced she closed already at 4.55PM, so today I decided to appear in the cafeteria earlier: at 4.48PM.

Me: ‘A coffee latte, please.’

She: ‘Sorry, I have already closed the coffee machines.’

Me: ‘When do you actually close??’

She: ‘At 5PM. But I close the coffee machines already 10 minutes before.’

Me: ‘It’s great news as it is exactly 4.48PM.

So, a coffee latte, please..’

She (giving a sad smile): ‘Unfortunately I cannot, because in order to be able to close the coffee machines at 4.50, it’s more careful if I stop selling coffee already a few minutes before..’

Me: ‘Did you still sell coffee at 3PM today?’

She: ‘Yes, of course!’

Me: ‘I am not sure it was sufficiently careful as it was only 1 hour 48 minutes before you need to stop selling coffee, in order to close the coffee machines 10 minutes before, in order to close the cafeteria at 5PM..’

Moral: There IS such a level of prudence when even Compliance says it is overdone..