"If you get hit by the bus..."

I was in a meeting yesterday when someone said, “We’ll need a backup in case Sandi gets hit by a bus.” I’m sure that you’ve heard this phrase repeated many, many times. I understand the need for a backup since we are all cogs in a wheel but what a morbid way to get the point across!

My question is, where is this bus and why won’t somebody stop the bus driver! Every company I have ever worked for is afraid its employees will get hit by this bus. Why not a train, airplane crash, stabbing or car crash? Corporate America, stand up to this dreaded bus and its crazy driver!

Of course I say this in jest. The phrase, “getting hit by the bus” is now a part of everyday business lexicon. This goes back to one of a previous blog entry where I remind each cube monkey that he/she is completely unimportant and expendable to the organization. You are a part in a giant machine that can easily be replaced.

So be careful and stay on the lookout for the most feared business risk, the dreaded bus that goes around and runs over employees.