Name

To: Chief Executive Officer

From: Intern

Date: August 24, 2009

Re: Name

Every book needs a title and every blog needs a name. "Rigidly Flexible" is the phrase that excuses otherwise unacceptable behavior here at M. Any time an Executive Management Meeting begins an hour after schedule, "We're rigidly flexible around here" is the offered rationale. If you can't complete your online time sheet after 4 weeks on the job because you still haven't been entered into M's employee database, it's because "We're rigidly flexible around here." Don't get me wrong, i understand that every corporation has its idiosyncrasies, but only a quasi-governmental or governmental agency mooching off public funds could afford to have this kind of lackadaisical attitude towards any sort of efficiency.

As two grad students just entering the M workforce as interns, we quickly realized that no system of inefficiency and redundancy this bloated should go unrewarded by being blogless. We felt burdened to share our experiences (and selfishly hope it will be cathartic). We know others out there experience similar frustrations that would be comedic if they happened to someone else, so we figured we'd be that "someone else". In the vein of Dilbert, The Office and Office Space, we offer this commentary. To all you nameless, faceless interns, to all you corporate drones, to all you mid-level managers, to anyone who's ever wondered how the real world works, or doesn't - read on!