The first chapter starts with our main character Webster Tompkins, or Mr. Tompkins, or Mr. T, sitting on the back of an auditorium. He is about to be, as they say it, released to seek opportunity elsewhere (ReSOE). Being laid off is something real that happens often, leaving many people without jobs. There are many causes for being laid off. It isn’t really explicitly said in the text why Mr. Tompkins was a ReSOE, but I assume it was to cut costs, meaning that the company isn’t doing too good. Anyway, our main character doesn’t seem to care all that much since he just goes to sleep in the back. However, this sleep was short lived since the HR people were making too much noise for him to sleep, even in the back.
Mr. T is approached by a woman named Lahksa Hoolihan. It would be safe to assume that she was just another ReSOE, but that’s wrong, as she reveals that she is actually a spy from Morovia, an industrial spy at that. I have never really thought about the possibility of industrial spies, but it doesn’t seem like something from another world. I could actually see there being industrial spies around. Stealing confidential information could really give you an advantage over your competition. It is so beneficial that Hoolihan said that she would kidnap or even kill.
After that, Hoolihan actually gives us a bit of context about the story. It happened during the 1990s. She also mentions that 3.3 million jobs have been lost in the last nine months. That number is quite big. She also mentions that often taking out the CEO won’t really damage the business. If you really want to manage a business you need to take out the managers. This goes to show how important management is in an organization. As she said: the hard part of kidnapping is knowing who to kidnap, not kidnapping itself. Mr. T mentions that he remembers Lahksa from a management course where he learned nothing, he knew more about management than the one giving the course. He said management is all about getting the right people.
Anyway, turns out Hoolihan wants to hire Mr T and she isn’t taking a no for an answer since she gives him a weird substance that puts him to sleep. And that’s the end of the first chapter.
The second chapter is a bit weirder, but offers a lot of information on what’s important to be a good manager. As far as the story goes, the chapter starts with Webster asleep, dreaming. He was walking, riding, sitting, laying down. This seems to indicate that he is being transported to Morovia, however, the destination is not reached in this chapter. Mr. T is dreaming of various things. The first part the dream were he is being transported, he is always besides Ms. Hoolihan.
However, the second part of the dream is a lot more interesting. Mr. Tompkins was watching a movie starring him. That movie was about parts of Mr. T’s life. The scene from the management course previously mentioned starts. The lecturer mentions many topics that are going to be covered during the course, but Webster doesn’t think that the course is about management. The lecturer leaves out most of the aspects that a management needs.
A manager isn’t just someone that checks emails, does progress tracking and projects milestones. A manager is about people. Hiring is really important for a manager to learn. The lecturer also leaves out about matching people with their work. As a manager, you need to know the strengths of your team and assign them work accordingly to increase performance. Another important aspect of management is building your team and motivating said team. A manager’s job is to get a project done, from beginning to end. And that includes managing people. The following video explains it clearly.
Mr. T, frustrated with the course, calls it administrivia. Administrivia are trivial time-consuming tasks, which was what the course was covering. A manager’s job isn’t simple administrivia. The chapter ends with the lecture scene repeating over and over.
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