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The day my boss gave me a project with zero guidance and a tight deadline

Last Thursday, my manager dropped a new client report on my desk, said 'figure it out,' and left for a meeting. I had to pull data from three different systems, and the deadline was 5 PM that same day. I spent six hours just trying to make the numbers match up. Has anyone else had a manager do this, and how do you ask for clear direction without sounding like you can't handle the work?
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3 Comments
wesley181
wesley18118d ago
My old boss at the warehouse did this with inventory counts. He handed me a broken scanner and said the regional manager needed totals in two hours. I ended up counting every box in aisle seven by hand. I learned to ask, "Just so I get this right, can you show me the one most important thing you want from this report first?
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the_jennifer
Managers who do that drive me crazy. Wesley's question is a really good way to get some clarity.
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julia_anderson
My boss does this too, and @wesley181's question is way smarter than my usual panicked nodding.
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