Regarding (“Of course, some were clock-watching, unmotivated lifers who sucked the life out of everything and dragged everyone else down with them.”) this quote , this has been my experience dealing with agents on audits, more often than not.
And allegedly the IRS had a well advertised job fare for more than a thousand jobs and less than 100 people showed up and when offered jobs galf of those didn’t show up…
My philosophy is to just do the best you can do at work, then let it go. I found a career that taught me about life. Every client is a world unto themselves. Their bodies are either rebelling or struggling when they come to me. What I found is that helping clients connect to their bodies, being curious about their medical situations and learning to work as a team with their issues, helps them to live the best life they can and transform their life. After all, if you can’t get along within yourself, how can you expect to get along with anyone else? So if you see your health as a job, you’ll never find perfection, but you can find contentment, peace, and motivation one day at a time.
I’ve personally known auditors in the business world, both internal and external, some as the entity being audited. The vast majority were just trying to follow the rules and do their jobs. I’ve never known an IRS auditor but find it difficult to imagine what their job is like.
The five lessons are a wonderful roadmap for life. You might even consider turning them into a self-help book, perhaps along the lines of “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.”
In my experience working with government employees that put process over results is that sometimes it leaves out discretion when common sense and logic apply. Then they hide behind “They’re just following the rules.” If only everything fit so neatly into political policy and procedure.
With that said, there are the exceptions who challenge the status quo when appropriate but they probably don’t last long in that career.
Is a lesson learned if it isn’t implemented? Or is the theory understood, but the lesson isn’t actually learned? Mostly rhetorical, but I’m not sure you can “learn” the same lesson over and over, you can be taught over and over, but it isn’t learned until it’s implemented… just a thought…
Bill you have to write a book about all of the jobs you've had and the most interesting, funnies, worst, situations you found yourself in at all of them. Every time you mention a job you've had in the past I go, "wow, I'd love to hear more about that". I'll tell you about the time a government worker at the DMV tried to convince me that I wasn't legally married, if you tell us something wacky about one of your experiences as a government worker.
Regarding the life suckers and those counting down until retirement, here's something they don't teach you in school. Something my Dad taught me decades ago and it really changed the way I interact with those two cohorts. Not everyone can lead a parade.
As a tax preparer who has slaved over returns for the past 10 weeks, why do the government workers get all the love? I'm just messin' with you, but I'm also looking forward to some well deserved time off. Many of my colleagues have mentioned how brutal this tax year has been. At first that seems odd, considering all the various stimulus payments and grants paid by the various government entities over the past two years. However, I do think this year is a consequence of the past two because many tax preparers have burned out and/or retired from the profession resulting in an influx of new clients for the rest of us. So, not complaining, but planning to hire more help earlier in the game next year.
Do any readers know anything about outsourcing oversees? Also, I need a sheepadoodle.
I worked for a state agency for five years and came to appreciate bureaucracy and the employees there. Almost all were dedicated to their jobs, efficient, and pleasant work with. They valued the security working for the state provided. But one thing I learned was the value of bureaucracy, one of the major sources of stability in our country. No matter how much political turmoil was going on, we kept doing our jobs. Services were provided. Yes, sometimes the regulations and slowness of the processes were frustrating, but the services were still provided
Good insight, to be able to glean the positive out of negative environment (I worked in city government) is a point of character that is lacking in many fields, especially in todays culture. As a old pastor once said to me about his sermons. As a horse feeds they eat the oats leave the stubble. The oats are better for you. Good advise for life. In every situation look for the good and you will find it. It is healthier for you.
Hey Bill, as a loyal “Substacker,” I’m having a hard time understanding (see what I did there?) why you are moving to a new format. You’ve shared a bit in recent past posts, and I think promised more clarification. I, for one, need to be very stingy in how I use media and so I restrict the number of different formats choosing instead to value consistency, simplicity, minimalism, and loyalty. I write on Substack myself and have LOVED everything they are offering as well as their mission to simply value writers and not advertisers. I’m hesitating in moving with you to the new format (and here I am, a paid subscriber—yours being the only Substack I pay to receive for the full benefit and to offer you support). I don’t have a Facebook page nor am I on Twitter or TikTok. You initially appealed to me because you were an early Substack adopter and your style of writing appealed greatly to me. I don’t want new “clutter” in my life and have no need to upload new apps and formats—nor do I need new solicitations from those new places. I cannot find that you have named the new format you are moving to so that someone like me could look more closely into it to see if we want to invite that into our lives. So, I’m struggling. And I’m struggling as well with these latest “rewards” if we move over by 2pm today—not that I feel entitled, but I also don’t want to feel pressured like this knowing I lose out on the rewards even if I move over with you later. What say you to all this? I’m wondering if anyone else feels this way or if I’m simply the only one?
I too was a trial attorney for the US Dept of Labor. I started right out of law school and wanted to learn how to be a trial lawyer and the best way was to try cases. We prosecuted civil cases against large Fortune 500 companies who had the biggest and best law firms and I learned a lot by seeing how they tried cases against me. Our office was constantly being threatened with our office being closed and now 50 years later, that office is still there. I too was with the clock watchers but I wanted to try every case and the "clients" ( Dept of Labor sections) loved me since I would take every case to trial but my peers resented that the agencies wanted me. My peers just wantd to get to retirement. I left after 5 years and have become (50 yrs later) a successful trial attorney
First...
Thank you for your service, Bill!
Carry on!
Regarding (“Of course, some were clock-watching, unmotivated lifers who sucked the life out of everything and dragged everyone else down with them.”) this quote , this has been my experience dealing with agents on audits, more often than not.
And allegedly the IRS had a well advertised job fare for more than a thousand jobs and less than 100 people showed up and when offered jobs galf of those didn’t show up…
My philosophy is to just do the best you can do at work, then let it go. I found a career that taught me about life. Every client is a world unto themselves. Their bodies are either rebelling or struggling when they come to me. What I found is that helping clients connect to their bodies, being curious about their medical situations and learning to work as a team with their issues, helps them to live the best life they can and transform their life. After all, if you can’t get along within yourself, how can you expect to get along with anyone else? So if you see your health as a job, you’ll never find perfection, but you can find contentment, peace, and motivation one day at a time.
I’ve personally known auditors in the business world, both internal and external, some as the entity being audited. The vast majority were just trying to follow the rules and do their jobs. I’ve never known an IRS auditor but find it difficult to imagine what their job is like.
The five lessons are a wonderful roadmap for life. You might even consider turning them into a self-help book, perhaps along the lines of “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.”
In my experience working with government employees that put process over results is that sometimes it leaves out discretion when common sense and logic apply. Then they hide behind “They’re just following the rules.” If only everything fit so neatly into political policy and procedure.
With that said, there are the exceptions who challenge the status quo when appropriate but they probably don’t last long in that career.
Thank you for all you do for us Bill, every day (and later night!). I love the picture of Bayley! That made me smile!
Is a lesson learned if it isn’t implemented? Or is the theory understood, but the lesson isn’t actually learned? Mostly rhetorical, but I’m not sure you can “learn” the same lesson over and over, you can be taught over and over, but it isn’t learned until it’s implemented… just a thought…
Bill you have to write a book about all of the jobs you've had and the most interesting, funnies, worst, situations you found yourself in at all of them. Every time you mention a job you've had in the past I go, "wow, I'd love to hear more about that". I'll tell you about the time a government worker at the DMV tried to convince me that I wasn't legally married, if you tell us something wacky about one of your experiences as a government worker.
Regarding the life suckers and those counting down until retirement, here's something they don't teach you in school. Something my Dad taught me decades ago and it really changed the way I interact with those two cohorts. Not everyone can lead a parade.
As a tax preparer who has slaved over returns for the past 10 weeks, why do the government workers get all the love? I'm just messin' with you, but I'm also looking forward to some well deserved time off. Many of my colleagues have mentioned how brutal this tax year has been. At first that seems odd, considering all the various stimulus payments and grants paid by the various government entities over the past two years. However, I do think this year is a consequence of the past two because many tax preparers have burned out and/or retired from the profession resulting in an influx of new clients for the rest of us. So, not complaining, but planning to hire more help earlier in the game next year.
Do any readers know anything about outsourcing oversees? Also, I need a sheepadoodle.
I re-signed up with the first prompt, but I want the punchline!!!
Coffee Cup
I worked for a state agency for five years and came to appreciate bureaucracy and the employees there. Almost all were dedicated to their jobs, efficient, and pleasant work with. They valued the security working for the state provided. But one thing I learned was the value of bureaucracy, one of the major sources of stability in our country. No matter how much political turmoil was going on, we kept doing our jobs. Services were provided. Yes, sometimes the regulations and slowness of the processes were frustrating, but the services were still provided
If there were an attack on the
Capitol, the services would still be
Good insight, to be able to glean the positive out of negative environment (I worked in city government) is a point of character that is lacking in many fields, especially in todays culture. As a old pastor once said to me about his sermons. As a horse feeds they eat the oats leave the stubble. The oats are better for you. Good advise for life. In every situation look for the good and you will find it. It is healthier for you.
Hey Bill, as a loyal “Substacker,” I’m having a hard time understanding (see what I did there?) why you are moving to a new format. You’ve shared a bit in recent past posts, and I think promised more clarification. I, for one, need to be very stingy in how I use media and so I restrict the number of different formats choosing instead to value consistency, simplicity, minimalism, and loyalty. I write on Substack myself and have LOVED everything they are offering as well as their mission to simply value writers and not advertisers. I’m hesitating in moving with you to the new format (and here I am, a paid subscriber—yours being the only Substack I pay to receive for the full benefit and to offer you support). I don’t have a Facebook page nor am I on Twitter or TikTok. You initially appealed to me because you were an early Substack adopter and your style of writing appealed greatly to me. I don’t want new “clutter” in my life and have no need to upload new apps and formats—nor do I need new solicitations from those new places. I cannot find that you have named the new format you are moving to so that someone like me could look more closely into it to see if we want to invite that into our lives. So, I’m struggling. And I’m struggling as well with these latest “rewards” if we move over by 2pm today—not that I feel entitled, but I also don’t want to feel pressured like this knowing I lose out on the rewards even if I move over with you later. What say you to all this? I’m wondering if anyone else feels this way or if I’m simply the only one?
I too was a trial attorney for the US Dept of Labor. I started right out of law school and wanted to learn how to be a trial lawyer and the best way was to try cases. We prosecuted civil cases against large Fortune 500 companies who had the biggest and best law firms and I learned a lot by seeing how they tried cases against me. Our office was constantly being threatened with our office being closed and now 50 years later, that office is still there. I too was with the clock watchers but I wanted to try every case and the "clients" ( Dept of Labor sections) loved me since I would take every case to trial but my peers resented that the agencies wanted me. My peers just wantd to get to retirement. I left after 5 years and have become (50 yrs later) a successful trial attorney