Well, today I came the realization that this job is more purely a secretarial job than I had realized. So I have officially given up. Only 4 weeks into it and I have determined that the best thing I can do for my sanity and my continued employment is to think inside the box at all times. No snazzy web applications, no interesting use of technology to further the mission. No streaming video of speakers and presentations. Instead, lots of MS Office docs and administrative tedium.
I heard griping and moaning about how my predecessor was unable to get the big picture and was holding everything back. I’m not so sure she was the problem after all.
Perhaps we’ll swap stories over coffee since she transferred to another gig at the U.
So here’s what I’m not going to work on:
- I’m not going to put together a small intranet/workgroup server with group calendar or contact information to demonstrate that we “get it.”
- I’m not going to lobby hard for replacing an email newsletter that goes out in ASCII text with a weblog that would serve to make the content more immediate as well as encourage interaction
- I’m not going to work on ensuring that all presentations/speakers are preserved on video for re-use
- And I’m not checking work email from home. It can wait.