"Looking for answer to questions that bothered him so"

These words I'm sure are familiar to many of you. These are from the Jimmy Buffett song "He went to Paris". Jimmy himself describes this song as being about keeping your senses when the whole world has gone crazy. This has rung true for me and this concept is reinforced everyday in an office setting.

In Corporate America, there is always the next best idea or way of doing things. Not that the way that you just learned after numerous training classes and meetings wasn't good enough. Now that way is being replaced with an even better way. What defines this as a much better way? Simple, a consultant was brought in at a great expense to explain that this is a much better way. What I find convenient, is that the brain trust that develops these ideas never seems to ask the folks who use them; "Is this practical?"

These questions that bother us so, may not have good answers. But, as members of the cubicle nation we need to remember that this is all part of the ride. If you can't learn to roll with the punches and go through the day with a since of humor, your retirement will consist of a padded room and a handful of medications.

So the challenge is this: The next time you are sitting in a meeting with the next best thing being discussed, look around the room, up to the ceiling, and around on the floor. When someone finally gets curious as to what you are looking for, say; "I have seem to have lost the point of this meeting."