Not the Same Thing, Karen

A few years ago, I was in a meeting at work when one of my colleagues, decided to lecture me about the importance of thinking outside the box when it came to a project we were working on. Now, she had never worked on the project before, but apparently, she had all the answers.

I nodded politely and said, I totally understand, but you know, sometimes people who haven’t been involved in the project don’t realize the amount of detail that goes into it.

She smirked and replied, Well, maybe you should just think about it differently. It's not rocket science.

Without missing a beat, I leaned in and said, You’re right. It’s not rocket science. But I bet if it were, you’d be the one to walk into the office, proudly saying, I don’t know how to build a rocket, but I’ve got some great ideas on how to launch it.

The room went silent. Karen turned bright red, and the boss, who was listening in, couldn’t hide the small grin on his face. Karen didn’t speak much for the rest of the meeting.