Seeing a lot of complaints about Elon Musk and his request for "bullet points" regarding what a federal employee has actually accomplished in the last week. Seems to me that was called "evaluations" when I was in the work force. The only thing different was I didn't get to write them. I had to rely upon my "boss" to either say something favorable or not. I understand that Elon isn't the boss but the objective is to review the efficiency of the government. It's good to know what people are actually doing when they are getting paid, seems reasonable enough to me. I understand a failure to respond will get you terminated. I'm thinking that if you are actually at work you will respond. If you aren't, you might miss that memo. It pays to pay attention.
I enjoyed a twenty year career with the United States Navy. Every three months, that's once a quarter, my performance was evaluated. I was evaluated on my appearance, yes had to look good, professional and all, on my attitude and my work performance. All of that was written by my "superior" who may have been my equal last week but received a promotion. There is no redress for any of that, you either sign your evaluations as written or not. It doesn't make a bit of difference if you refuse, you just get more bad evaluations for refusing. I always tried to make sure the one writing the evaluation knew what I was doing. Made sure he had something to write about. A great deal was riding on those evaluations. So I guess what I'm saying is, what's the big deal? Ask me what I did last week and I'll tell you an almost heroic and epic tale of dedication and sacrifice to my job. No problem, might take me all day to do that but hey, I'm getting paid by the hour.
Although there wasn't a formal process at my civilian occupations I'm quite certain I was being evaluated all the time. I tried to keep that in mind while going about the days work. It's good to let the boss know you're busy, even when he can't see you. I did remember an old adage, "keep moving, it's harder to hit a moving target" and so I did move often. Carrying those tools from place to place, focused on the destination, determined to accomplish the task. You don't really have to say a thing, just keep moving. If asked how long it would take to fix/repair something, that is what I did as a maintenance mechanic, I always over estimated that time. Could take an hour or more, then in 30 minutes report, I got it repaired. Makes you look really good at what you do. They were my "bullets."
Having been around government employees a great deal I have an understanding of that system. It is quite difficult to get yourself fired. I have seen it first hand. Government employees fill billets based on their rating system. You've heard of that like GS-4 or GS-9. The higher the number the higher the position and the pay. In order to get rid of an employee that just isn't performing well you promote them. They can't fill a GS-6 billet as a GS-7. So, they get transferred, somebody else's problem now, and you get a replacement. Efficient?
Good enough for government work! That sums that whole scenario up nicely. I'm not saying everyone that works for the government is that way but there are abuses, no doubt about that. Government and efficiency? Sure sounds like a oxymoron to me. I don't have any issue with an agency, official or not, taking a look at all of that. If you are doing your job, it shouldn't concern you at all. During my time in the Navy my concern was always who was writing that evaluation. You know sometimes there are people that just don't like you for one reason or another, I know hard to believe. At other times I was the one writing those evaluations about others, sometimes I barely knew who that person was. If only I could have written my own evaluations I most likely would have been a Fleet Admiral by the end of my first enlistment. And that is all he is asking. List five things you did last week. Shouldn't he that difficult a task. If it is, you're the problem, and you're outta here. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet.
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