Our resident corporate Agony Uncle, CEO Ken Cheng, tackles business challenges – so you don’t have to.
Dear Ken Cheng,
I had a really embarrassing interaction at work. We were in a meeting and my boss assigned me a task and I responded “yes Dad.” How will I ever live it down?
– Jonathan, Stafford
Ken Cheng:
I don’t see anything embarrassing about this slip up at all. It makes complete sense to me.
Your managers are your parents in adulthood. They look after you, pay you your allowance and tell you what to do. It’s natural that your boss has assumed the father figure position in your life.
In fact, I think more employees should call their bosses Dad. Or more bosses should call their employees son or daughter.
After all, I do see all my staff as my own children that I raised and gave birth to.
With the men, I give them advice on how to stay stoic and repress their emotions and at lunch times, I agree to play catch with them. I am constantly reminding Eric, my eldest male employee, that it’s down to him to pass on the company bloodline (he is 62.)
I am fiercely protective of the women (my girls). I tell them they can accomplish anything men can, and when they dress too provocatively I warn them about the dangers of doing so. If any female employee is going on a date, I stalk the person they’re meeting online, then I follow them to the restaurant and while she is in the toilet, I show up to the table and warn the guy to treat her right.
I’m the perfect father boss. And you, Jonathan, sound like a great work son.
To have your business issues addressed or to book Ken Cheng for your event: [email protected]
