One of my co-workers was asked by his boss to write an introductory statement for a disaster recovery plan. He was also told that he was not actually writing the disaster recovery plan but just a statement saying why we needed a plan.

The first draft of the disaster recovery statement was about 3 pages in length. When he presented it to his boss, his boss reviewed it and told him that this was not what he wanted. When he asked his boss what he wanted in the statement, his boss said that he didn’t know. So, my co-worker made a second attempt at a disaster recovery statement.

The second draft at a disaster recovery statement was about 6 pages long. When he presented it to his boss, his boss reviewed it and told him that this was not what he wanted. When he asked his boss what he wanted in the statement, his boss said that he didn’t know. So, my co-worker made a third attempt at a disaster recovery statement.

Seeing that my co-worker was getting frustrated, I tried to help him out. Knowing that the managers around here tend to be a little wacky, I told him that he was trying too hard. So, I suggested that he try this for a disaster recovery statement. “In the event of a disaster, we need a disaster recovery plan.” He was reluctant but disparate so he gave it a shot.

When his boss read the one line disaster recovery statement, he said that it was exactly what he was looking for.

My co-worker was stunned. He was sure that it couldn’t be that simple. After all, his boss could have written that by himself.

He came out of the bosses office shaking his head and mumbling. He may have been frustrated but at least he learned something. And that is that the leadership in state government tends to be on the dense side.