OK - Imagine this scenario with me. You are a member of a project team at work with a single goal in mind. Maybe it's a team in Product Development, maybe its a Major Account/Sales team that has been working on an RFP to sell someone like Exxon or Google a whole bunch of whatever your company does. If your product launch goes well or you close the deal, you're a hero. If it doesn't go well, the last 3/6/12 months of your life are a wash, and maybe you have to look for a new gig.
Got it? Great...
Now flash forward - you've worked hard for 6 months and your are two weeks away from the big event - product launch or the final pitch to Exxon/Google. In other words, CRUNCH time. You call and email a
member of the team for some details on an adjustment you are making to your piece of the project, only to find out the team member has taken a quick trip to Mexico for a little R&R before the big launch/pitch.
That's right, the team member is in Mexico two weeks before the critical event you've been working towards for the last 6 months. You slowly IMPLODE as you try to figure out how to get what you need.
Sound reasonable? Yes? No? Sound far-fetched? It happened to the Dallas Cowboys last week. Two weeks away from the playoffs, and their quarterback, Tony Romo, heads to Mexico for a quick trip with a new girlfriend and a couple of teammates. From NBC11 in San Francisco:
"Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and pop star Jessica Simpson vacationing in Mexico just days before a playoff game.
The couple were vacationing in Los Cabos, Mexico, with a few friends, including fellow Cowboys Jason Witten, Marc Columbo and Bobby Carpenter. The photos show the group relaxing on a patio and Simpson spending time in the pool.
Dallas Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips instructed his players to take advantage of the first round playoff bye and to get away from football for a few days, NBC reported.
"People will look for blame if you lose and will basically let all that stuff go when you win because they don't think it was relevant and it isn't," said Phillips
Uh...That's right Wade. You have to wonder if Phillips, in effect the manager for the team, isn't biting his lip once he got the news. He encourages his players to get some rest and get away from the game, and his most visible team member takes that as an invitation to travel out of the country? And with a girlfriend the shareholders (i.e., Dallas fans) are already concerned is robbing Romo of his focus.
If Terrell Owens is playing it safe, playing Xbox at the house in Dallas, I think the end may be near... TO is now the responsible one...
All this after a well-documented miscue in a playoff game last year (See clip below). I don't think the trip has anything to do with performance, but man does it look bad if the Cowboys lose. I just hope he drank bottled water exclusively. Even then, there was probably a Giants fan (their opponent in the playoffs) down there trying to sneak him a bottle filled with tap water.
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