My gig at Morgan Stanley (at least, this particular gig) will be over on Wednesday. It’s been obvious since my boss was canned that there were no stakeholders in London, thus my position was precarious, but it was confirmed, very clumsily, yesterday.
I had previously told the account managers in New York and London that we ought to seek to have me removed from the project, and do it proactively, since it was clear that there would be no role for me to play. However, I had heard nothing (and it wasn’t for want of asking) until Friday, when a catch-up call from my boss started with, “So Wednesday’s your last day, then?” I responded, “I haven’t heard anything about that.” He gulped, and quickly said, “I’ll call you back.” and hung up. I giggled a bit.
Finally he called me back, and we had a short conversation. I mentioned that I would like to be as helpful as I could be over the next three workdays, and we were civil. There are a couple of things I can help out on, I think. Always good to leave with a smile and a wave, as you never know when something else will come up and put you up with them again.
I will go back on the bench; the client manager will be looking for another role at Morgan Stanley, but who knows what will happen? It’s been interesting.
If there is one thing that will start to doom the project, it’s this: the people who are left are not managers, but technocrats. And, as we know, most projects fail not for technical reasons, but for managerial ones. They are now relying on a team of testers in India who are 10-1/2 time zones ahead of New York. There is no way that communication will be smooth and efficient. It has to be well-managed, and I don’t think it will be.
In other news, HWMBO is on the plane flying home even as we speak! Hooray!
I’m sorry to hear that your paying gig is ending. I’ve been walking around eggshells at BofA too. I don’t think any place in financial services is safe these days. Everyday at work, there’s yet another reorganizational announcement it seems; and its affecting everyone, top->down.
I hope I can make my timely exit from this industry before the finger of fate reaches me. :\
Oh, let me emphasize that I am not losing my job, just my gig. Being a consultant working for a company, when my gig ends I go on the bench, to consult again another day. My paycheques will continue.
Congratulations on your handling of a distasteful situation. I have long been an advocate of not burning bridges no matter how sorely tempted. I think my trading a bit of momentary satisfaction for a possible good long-term relationship has been to my benefit, as I suspect will be the case for you.