Back in mid-2006 I had hunch that my company was making an error on a great number of customers’ accounts. It seemed like an easy enough error to make but it was only a hunch back then. I mentioned it to my director and his response was; “Even if there’s a mistake, it would only affect 2% of our customers, at the end of the day it ain’t gonna mean a hill of beans so move on.” That director took another position a few months later and I restated my hunch to the new director. This time around I had proof from data queries I had run showing the mistake was occurring on a lot of accounts. Even though it was only 2% of our current business this problem stretched all the way back to the year 2000 and affected a lot of ex-customers as well. My new director was intrigued by this idea and asked me to run some more queries to see how widesweeping the problem was. Fastforward a month or 2 and the higher-ups decided to go back on every single account since 2000 that had this error and rectify it. Advance 5-6 months later. All the accounts have been reviewed and 6000 were affected leaving us with a $2mil error that needs paid back to the customers.
Since this error has been brought to light my new boss seems to have gotten the notion in his head that it was all his idea. I have heard him tell numerous people above him that he found a $2mil mistake and that no one else would have caught it if it weren’t for him, etc. I have tried to remind him that I came up with the idea several months before he even took this job and that I had brought it up to my previous director. He just doesn’t seem to get it.
I’m not sure how to handle this. I don’t need fame and glory but I sure as shit don’t want someone else taking credit for the origination of my idea! Especially when it’s as big of a find as this!
Do you have documentation (i.e., emails to the previous director about the problem, stuff like that?)
If you don’t, then drop it.
If you do, then bide your time… no need to get into a pissing contest with your boss, who will invariably do the same to somebody else who won’t have to worry about retaliation. When that time comes, you’ll be prepared.
Also… another thought. Y’all do performance reviews, correct? How many people sit in? (Most companies will have an HR rep sit in at least, if not more people). This might be the time to bring up your accomplishment (complete with documentation) so that others will know your contribution to resolving this error.
I’d start looking for a new job, and I wouldn’t be shy about mentioning the find in my cover letter and/or resume.
Sounds pat, but hell, you don’t want to continue working for someone like that, and HR is not a recourse in this matter. If you know your boss’s boss well enough to talk about it (with documentation), that’s something to consider, but do it in addition to looking for a new job.
It depends on the culture of your company. Ultimately, it is your job to make your boss look good. His success will translate to your success since unless he’s a complete fool, he should realize that he needs people like you on his team. On the other hand, it’s also a sign of a weak manager who is unable to share credit with his team.
Also, think about it like this. Mostly what you have done is bring to light an issue that cost your company $2 M.
I worked for some real assholes, but none of them stole credit for my work. I think that’s beyond the pale, but hey, you and the OP can draw your lines wherever you see fit.
You don’t know how many times I have fantasized about this.
As a side note I made a phone call to my old director about 20 minutes ago asking him the same question. Remember he’s the 'aint gonna mean a hill of beans" guy. He said that I need to stop being so short sighted and letting my emotions get in my way. That I need to forget it and move on because what would I have to gain by making a stink about it. My current boss could really make my life a hell depending on how I handle it.
Maybe moving on is the better decision. Luckily my job is safe so I’ve got a good net while I look around at other opportunities. There’s no need to leave hastily.
Yeah it cost us $2mil, but it would have cost us 10x in a class action lawsuit. We were short changing the customers on something they paid for. It’s a matter of catching before it got any worse. It had already been misapplied for 7 years.
My advise would be the same, unless you already have another job lined up and want to have a (I want to say moral victory, but I’m not use that’s the right idiom). If it does bother you to the point that you have to leave, make sure that your HR group understands very clearly that this was your primary reason for leaving, it may not do much, but then again it might.
I dunno, you might bring it up in your performance review. You could assert you’re a team player and therefore you don’t mind credit for the catch being given to your division, or its leadership. But on an individual level, you were surprised not to have at least some personal or within-unit acknowledgement of your contribution. If he completely denies any knowledge that it was your idea, I’d show surprise but not anger, and then in a nonconfrontational way refresh his memory with facts about when you brought the matter to the attention of unit leadership.
I guess it depends on the organization, but in my office we each do lots of work that goes out signed by someone else. However, that’s fine with me, because we know the reason why. The people who matter know who did the work and acknowledge it with sufficient frequency internally.
Some things you have to let go, and this is primo examplo.
If someone told you life was fair, it’s their fault you care so much. Think back and see if you can recall who that was. Then tell them your situation, not the boss or his boss.
Drop it like a hot rock and let him take the credit; if higher ups demand someone’s head for costing them $2Mill then he’s the guy holding the handle. Even if he gets a big, fat bonus for doing the right thing, grin and bear it. You can’t win and it ain’t worth the potential grief.
As someone who got burned by “Project Managers” directly stealing my work and presenting it as their own at two different companies…
Take it as an Object Lesson about the character and integrity of your boss and move on.
In the future, should a similar opportunity arise, be sure that you not only have it completely documented, but make sure that you’ve discussed it (preferably by e-mail) with several other people outside of your manager’s line of reports, before presenting it to him. That way, should your boss try to claim it, there are others, not accountable to him, who know who actually produced it.
Hell, being me, I might even bring it up in my annual review. Say that I’m willing to let it go and never mention it again, but he and I both know that I’m a walking font of knowledge and skill and that it should be reflected in my salary and job title. No threats, no hostility, just “you know how valuable I am to you”.