RICHARD ALLEN SCOTT - Through the Years

RICHARD ALLEN SCOTT
THROUGH THE YEARS
2011
In March of this year I had a 1-month contract (the contract from hell) at Public Works and
Government Services Canada (PWGSC), where I was engaged to evaluate PWGSC’s Three-
Year Change Management Action Plan (FY 2008-09 to 2010-11) by reviewing and assessing
the implementation of the plan and associated change management framework, process, tools
and templates and other related aspects raised in the plan. The job had to be completed by the
fiscal year-end, March 31 st .
The agency through which I had been contracted, instructed me to report, on a specific date, to
the Acting Director for whom the work would be performed. I arrived at the office tower and
reported to the security guards who called this woman. I spoke with her and she advised that
she was too busy to see me, and for me to make an appointment with her secretary. I would be
looking at probably 2 weeks before I could be scheduled on her calendar. That would be 2
weeks into a 4-week contract! She was impossible to reason with, therefore I had to report this
to my agency for resolution.
A couple of days later (which I billed for) I was advised that I could attend the government office
where I saw this Acting Director. It was then she advised me that she didn’t really have time to
speak with me, I would not be provided with office space, and verbally rhymed off a number of
names of people I should speak with. No contact information or even spellings. I got the
distinct impression that she was trying to subvert this contract, which must have been ordered
from higher up the food chain.
Once home with a list of names, that I had to query in the Government Phone Directory to make
sure I had it right, I started making phone calls. Of the number of people with whom I spoke,
one was most obliging….and now in Montreal. He had been the author of the Plan which I was
to evaluate, and his comments were not glowing…his Plan had pretty much been abandoned
and caused him no end of grief, so he had requested a transfer! Another person on my list was
a Deputy Minister who, (bitch that she was) started asking me questions about what I thought I
was doing…well, that didn’t go well. I ended up speaking rather harshly to her, at which time
the ‘interview’ was over! God, I hate female ‘bosses’ in the government. They all seem to be
the same! I had run across others from day one of my private-sector consulting life.
Anyhow, I performed my tasks, presented a fairly large document, based mainly upon the only
useful information I had received, and left it for the Acting Director. When I did get the chance
to speak to her, she went ballistic, and totally rejected the report.
Back again to my agency and none other than the company President (with me in tow), had to
present ourselves before this woman and substantiate my document…which I had previously
done with the President (herself a woman). In the meeting, you could tell that the company
President was valiantly trying to restrain herself. I simply told the Director that I had nothing
nice to say so I would not say anything, would not change my report as she wanted (she would
not tolerate any criticism of her department’s role in this Action Plan), and the contract is over,
so pay me!
I was several months before I was paid by the agency that hired me, as they had also not been
paid by the client. I sent them a bill for interest which later was rejected anyway. I eventually
had to phone and talk with this Acting Director’s boss, a Director-General, who sounded
June 2017
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