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I was therefore rather surprised not to find the papers I needed for the PX-3 meeting in the Meetings tray on the left edge of the desk. I went over to the filing cabinet and looked in the PX-3 file, but they weren't there either. I concluded that my secretary, Jill, must have misfiled them. I had made it perfectly clear to her that papers concerning the PX-3 project in general should be placed in the PX-3 file in the filing cabinet, while those pertaining to the PX-3 team meetings in particular should be kept in the Meetings tray on the left edge of the desk. I liked Jill and was willing to believe that she tried her best, but she was not the kind of secretary I had been used to up at Corporate. She seemed to have difficulty keeping her mind focused on the job. I resolved to go out to her desk and have a word with her about her concentration span and the need to remain focused, when I happened to notice that the plant on top of the filing cabinet seemed to be wilting a little. I picked up my coffee cup and set off for the Executive Rest Room to get some water. When I returned, Jill was standing at the door to my office.
"Ah Jill," I said. "I want to talk to you about something."
"Yes, T. J."
"I believe I have explained quite clearly several times where the papers for the PX-3 meetings should be filed, have I not?"
"Yes, T. J."
"And where should they be filed, Jill?"
"In the Meetings tray."
"Exactly. Well they're not in the Meetings tray."
"I know. They're here." She held out a pile of papers. "You left them in Rich's office. Debbie just dropped them by a couple of minutes ago."
I looked at the papers. They appeared to be in order. I handed them back to Jill.
"Well you know where to put them Jill."
"Oh yes, T. J. I know exactly where to put them."
"Excellent."
One of the first things I had done since coming down from Boston to take on the Marketing Manager's position at SuperPumps was to institute a proper procedure for reserving the two meeting rooms, known at the time as the "Fishbowl" and "The Blue Meeting Room." Of course I had changed the names to Meeting Room A and Meeting Room B. This was easier for everyone, when it came to filling out the forms. These forms were then handed to Jill, who entered the reservation in the book. I had a few minutes to spare before my meeting, so I took the opportunity to stop at Jill's desk and check the book.
"Excellent, Jill." I noticed that Jill had filled in my 3 o'clock in the Meeting Room A column. "You seem to be getting the hang of it. Nobody else having any meetings?" This last remark was in my famous ironic tone, perhaps a little too much so, since it was hardly Jill's fault if nobody else was using the procedure. I arched my eyebrows humorously to put her at her ease. Man-
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