Bossy Stuff

Dear Jessica Brennan,

Before I start this note, I want to say, my current boss is great.  I’m not saying this because he is my boss, I am saying it because it is true.  I wish I could clone my boss and send him to you all because he’s fair, firm and funny.  A great combination and also really good alliteration.

He likely stands out as such, because over my lifetime I have worked with some pretty complicated characters.  Most, but not all of them were good people, but some had some strange philosophies and habits.

My first boss told me that none of her staff could go on the sales floor if they weren’t wearing a slip and pantyhose. This made it tough on the guys, but hey, rules are rules.

I had a boss who I had to fight off with a hammer regularly because he couldn’t keep his hands to himself.  I had one who asked me to marry him, in writing.  I still have that note.  I was seventeen and he was 45.

I had a boss who used to throw her shoes at people, (I loved her), and one who claimed to be in love with me.  I wasn’t really into her.

I once had a boss whose voice sounded like a bird.  I used to get the giggles something terrible when he talked to me.

I had a boss who insisted I was Jewish, one that was terrified of me and one that terrified me.  I had a boss who I never understood in the two years I worked with him, and one who told me he would give me a raise if I promised to always agree with him. Also, I had one who asked me to be a little less Sharon. What?

I’ve had bosses who told me regularly how lucky I was to work with them, and those were usually the ones who never really showed up.

By the time you get to be my age, you’ve had shouters, game-players, flirts and pouters, and I have learned something significant from all of them.

I know you have a great boss, but if you ever have a difficult one, here’s the way you deal with them – exactly like a reasonable boss.  Do your best. Be yourself.  That’s why you’re here and yourself is all you can be.

Love Mum xo