I think with "greatness" there is a level of predictability.

You know hiring Gadd will get you good solid consistant groove if you ask for it.  Thats predictability.   You know what youre going to get.  And hes great for it.  

Being unpredictable can make you a hazard.   Your at a gig, and mid song you totally change your riff from the written steady backbeat to a synchopated drum and bass link.   Your band falls apart.

Greatness involves knowing when to be predictable and when to branch out.

Some of the best musicians I know are the most unpredictable, unreliable, scatty and disorganised people you could ever meet. Fortunately this all changes when they get behind their instrument when suddenly they turn into dependable, reliable rocks. Very strange how an instrument can totally transform a person like that ...

i know exactly what you're talking about, and believe me, i have tried mightily to raise my performance level to his expectations [spend my weekends reading Quicken and Excel manuals, have memorized all his securities account #s in case our files go up in smoke]. some areas i've succeeded, some still need improvement [but the staple thing was a fluke; he asked me to staple it and forgot!] he's a difficult person to please, and our work styles are very different. but i do respect the guy for his intelligence and unfliching committment to detail. i don't spend my days figuring out how to be insubordinate, but i do need to vent because somedays the nudging gets to be overwhelming and it really sucks being 39 and having someone talk to you like you're 10. i am fine with being a subordinate, i am just frustrated with working under what i believe is an archaic system of management. i don't believe in negative reinforcement. i think one needs to pick ones battles and not kvetch over every last thing, because a) you demotivate people and b) people become unable to prioritize what's really important. that's definitely been my experience.

but i'm well aware he pays my bills, and am grateful to have a job, etc. i've just never had such a difficult boss. the other folks he employs feel the same way.

the good news is i know i'll be able to work for anyone after this experience.  

Got to agree with 563 and Mr A I'm afraid.
There's nothing worse than having to constantly correct things because people don't do what you ask them to.
This applies to music too.
I'm sometimes a 'boss' in musical endeavours.
There is a place for improv and a place for playing it exactly 'as written'.
The musicians who don't get anywhere are generally the ones who can't play the same thing twice.
As Mr A. says, there's a certain satisfaction in doing a job well (however menial). Believe me, I've done some repetative and menial jobs just playing drums on tour with a band.
Like Mr A, I've had my share of nightmare bosses (usually the lead singer). There is no labour law in the 'band' environment and I've been psychologically abused on more than one occassion.
Incidentally I have a well known drummer friend who says he has a problem with LSD............
Lead Singers Disease.

yeah, which is why i never told him i played. his old assistant was the one who spilled the beans.

and just to clarify, the point i was trying to make (however roundabout) was that the same laws that apply to business apply to music. i think the assumption that musicians can't be predictable and reliable is a false one, and that predictability and consistency is paramount in music [especially drumming]. i think my boss's preconception that music is just about fun and blowing your wad is erroneous. i may not be methodical at every last thing on the job, but i am still pretty systematic, whether at work or behind the tubs. generally speaking, there's a method to my madness.

Predictability is better than greatness.

I wonder where bossy got that stupid phrase? I mean, yes, it is worth pondering, but I don't see how being predictable should preclude greatness.  In other words, Steve Gadd is predictably great every time he plays.  An office worker could be reliable, predictable, and great.  One attribute does not negate the other, so I wonder why he put them in the same analogy?

If he had said "Predictability is the most important thing" that would make sense.

Tell your boss that he is predictably ridiculous.  And get him a staple remover.

"Predictability is More Important than Greatness"

Ah, you've got to love blanket statements like this. Yes, this does fit many situations, both corporate & musical, but innovation rarely comes from predictability.

Think of all the boy bands and their clones, or the host of faceless grunge-pop bands that when heard on the radio could be anybody. Predictable yes, interesting no.  

In many musical situations you are called upon to play a part and need to be predictable. Afterall, nobody wants a drummer wigging out on some improv solo during Beethoven's 5th while playing with the symphony. That just wouldn't do. But there are pleny of places within defined music structures where you could be a bit unpredictable and it would be applauded. John Coltrane & Jimi Hendrix were unpredictable and managed to achieve greatness. It's a rare commodity in these blatantly corporate days, but can still happen.

As for work, if the boss can't stand staples, I'd throw out the stapler. Simple enough. And the next time you're in the middle of some smokin' jam with your band, remember that you have your drums and he doesn't. All he has is his paper clips.

Or you could be a nice guy and give the stapler to Milton:


"D-mn, it feels good to be a gangsta..."

Don't apologize for having issues, because you are totally right!  

I have now worked in 6 corporate jobs, or small-owner companies where a select few are raking in the cash despite gross and blatant incompetence.  Some of the jobs outright lied to everyone involved until they sank like the dot-com bastards that they are---meanwhile good people lost all their savings when the stock went from $48 per share to less than the price of a small fries.  And what was the balm to soothe those who lost so much stock investment money?  Well, fired of course, because the board said profits were down, and "resources" had to be cut.  People are no longer humans, they are now resources to these money grubbing companies!  Personnel is now called Human Resources.  What a world.

And for all of my oft-acknowledged musical ability, I have remained for nearly two decades trapped in inside sales (shoot me now!) and the companies ALL are exactly like the Dilbert comic strip, to the point where we would sometimes cut out the cartoon, and change the names to our bosses' names!  

I am flabbergasted that corporate America still exists... they succeed somehow despite their worst efforts...trust me when I tell you NOTHING gets done at work anymore, not by bosses, and often not by their underlings.  It made me get to the point where if the owners arent doing anything, why should I?!  I wrote this at work if it is any consolation  

You are right about the catch-phrase to fill up space and sound authoritative.

My favorite phrases to hate are:

We need to take a level-check on this.

Let's brainstorm!

James will be spear-heading this meeting.

That is a whole NOTHER thing...

We will be forming a committee to decide...

That's thinking outside the box, Smoggy, great job!

You are still in your comfort-level, and need to jump out of it.

We all need to shift our paradigm to get results.

If I were half the man I was 5 years ago, I'd take a FLAMETHOWER to this place!


(that last one is my favorite Al Pacino line, just thought I'd throw it in to keep us all awake at work!)

    That's hilarious...


Mfran, you must seek help. I'm afraid you'll soon be found on a tower somewhere, naked with a rifle.

But seriously, I despise the corporate lingo of today. Besides the "resources" example that mfran gave, another that makes my skin crawl (and is similar to "thinking outside the box") is "color outside the lines"...

Uhh....

I'm sick to my stomach now...