^^^^ This...on the few occasions I "did what I had to do"....well, those didn't happen in a vacuum, and garnered prompt attention. Good luck Rick...sounds as if you're doing just fine :)!

Funny story.

Around 2008 my boss was a good buddy and a music guy. He lives in Baltimore and I had just moved to AZ. I think he had mentioned he was going to see Van Halen soon. One day I needed a VP's signature on a contract like immediately. I couldn't locate my boss, IM'ed, emailed, called all his phones, nowhere to be found. Had to have that signature right then and there. So I called his boss. His boss didn't question a thing, knew that if I was calling him, I had my reasons, signed the contract, scanned and emailed it right back.

An hour later my boss called me up and his first words were, "What the fook are you doing, telling my boss I'm not working today? WTF?" I replied that I told him no such thing, just that I couldn't reach you and had an urgent matter only someone with a VP title could handle. Then I said, "I thought you mentioned going to see VH tonight, so I assumed you took the day off and are tailgating with your buddies. Though I didn't say that to your boss." He waffled a bit and said he was working from home, had Internet issues, couldn't get onto the VPN, blah, blah. No matter, I told him he didn't owe me an explanation.

Sure enough, a few hours later he drunk dialed me from the VH show, screaming into the phone how great Eddie is and holding the phone up so I could hear this or that guitar solo.

Yup, strictly professional operations I work for.

good story, only I'm a bit surprised you werent there too

And today I got an email from the HR boss in Germany, inviting me to a meeting to discuss my initial performance with her, my boss and the big German boss in attendance. This is for the week when I'm in the office in Germany. Her email included an attachment she asked me to complete and email her before the meeting. When I opened it, all the questions pretty much ask me to rate and review my boss - "Was your training adequate, Are you being given the proper tools, Have expectations been communicated," etc. It sounds like a glowing opportunity to cover my boss's ass and make everyone look and feel good. I'll play along.

My boss is in Norway, but my boss's boss is right down the hall from me and I have a long history with him. I go directly to my boss's boss all the time. I always copy my boss on emails and tell him what I am doing. "hey boss man I needed emergency approval on xxxx so I went down to the execs office yesterday" etc. There has got to be a way to communicate the right people, the intended message, with dignity and integrity intact. Hell if you have a good idea, make it sound like it is your boss's or it is "team findings".

I have had some VP bosses in the past that I don't see eye to eye with on many things. However, usually people get in high positions for some reason or another, and may have some insights you don't. You want him to look good, even if he has some deficiencies.

I think it would be easy enough to communicate some ideas just put a positive spin on everything. everything is great, I think there are a few minor opportunities to do things even better........

UPDATE

You guys will love this. I'm a week back from Germany now and the week in the office there was, well, it went kind of sideways. Everything seemed to be going great until about the fourth night, when the big boss had us all out to his place for a beer-soaked bbq. Most of us were pretty drunk, but my boss got really drunk and then belligerent and started a fight with another manager from Brazil. If we hadn't all been huddled together on a long picnic table bench, my boss would have been able to hit the guy. Fortunately for him, he couldn't reach and the big German boss had just gone to the bathroom, so he missed it all. But his wife was there and witnessed it all. I don't think she speaks any English, but she surely understood what was going on, and I have to think she told her husband everything after we all left. The mood was shot after that and the ones who were sober drove us all back to the hotel. The next afternoon most of those guys headed to another office for some managers meetings, though I'm sure spent the weekend in between hitting the bars, if not brothels too. By then I was on my own, driving to Austria for vacation.

That whole situation was probably compounded by the CEO's decision to scale back the $10k/month Google AdWords campaign my boss talked him into, but only produced three or four leads in the first month. My boss had boasted that he regularly gets calls from recruiters and thus has options. I'm predicting he starts taking those calls now. Very weird developments.

Is this a good thing for you, Rick? Did this open up other opportunities or at least validate to others what you have been seeing? Do you have a shot at the departing guy's job?

In any event, your post brought back some old memories.

As a white water rafting guide in the late 70's, we would routinely take senior management from companies on a three day rafting trip for "team building" or whatever they called it in the 70's.

I have witnessed more than one beer fueled fist fight with taking a bunch f type A knuckle-draggers down a river..

One in particular stands out: I booked a trip for the leadership of the San Jose Mercury News. The first night went well but the second night was, added and abetted by vodka (those boys could drink) a brawl that started when one guy accused another guy of being a "hack"...apparently the newspaper worlds equivalent of the N word.

It was on and ended up including all 20 dudes. It was spectacular.

The were all in their 40's and 50's, drunk, after two tiring days on the river the brawl didn't last long. Lots of hugging and crying after that.

Team building the old fashion way:)

Do you work for Uber?

I just don't know. I absolutely don't (yet) have the industry and product knowledge to take over his job. If he were to leave, they'd probably not replace him and then just make me report to the guy in Brazil or Germany until I was up to speed and could assume the departed boss's role.

UPDATE

I'm not the paranoid type, but feel like I'm getting set up for a spanking. We went to a trade show in late Oct. and didn't get a whole lot of traffic at our booth. Most of the attendees weren't decision makers, and so weren't great prospects. Around early Nov. my boss said to me on the phone that we need to talk the following week about a follow-up plan for the folks we met at the show and somehow incorporate that into my Q4 goals. Never heard about it again after that.

Friday he sent me a very formal email stating I had missed a 11/17 deadline for sending him a follow-up action plan for that trade show and, if he had missed my email then to resend it. I scoured my email and IM archives and there was no such communication. I do not miss deadlines. EVER. In fact, several times I've been the only one in sales to comply with them and was then called out on the next dept. call as such. I have no idea what this email is all about, but I can almost guarantee my boss will dodge all my attempts to get him on a phone call and will want everything to be done in IM now.

Good luck. At least you can still archive IMs for for future reference.

You might reply, using email, and state exactly what you posted here along with either a copy of all email interactions or a statement about them. Emphasize the phone call he made to you and the fact there was never any follow up from him as to a meeting.

It sounds like his intention in the call was for you to get back to him and set up a meeting, sometime during the following week, but that was not clearly stated. As a result, you came away with the understanding that you should expect a contact from him as to when to meet, since he initiated the idea.

Offer the above as an apology to a miscommunication. Without knowing how your boss typically communicates, it's not clear if it was a simple miscommunication or he's setting you up. You'll probably know by the way he responds.

Nothing on topic to add, but why are you putting up with this BS.
If you are good at your job, go somewhere else and bury this guy.
No job is worth losing sleep over

Why would he wait two weeks to alert you to a missed deadline?

Two days sure, two weeks, I smell some very old fish.

The vibe I'm getting is that you don't trust your boss and you probably shouldn't. He suggested an assignment by phone with no follow up until an accusation in writing that you screwed up.

Apologize, come up with a plan to make things right and start looking for another job.

But I really love this job and suspect my boss is looking to leave. I am in very good with his superiors, and his credibility sank like a stone after that episode in September. My new best friend is the head of HR in Germany. She and I regularly (like daily) email in German about translation stuff I help them out with. If he tries to sandbag me and I really have nothing left to lose, I can go over his head and probably save myself. I wish none of this were necessary, though. I hate playing politics, but, in a place that assigns goals at the end of the quarter and makes them retroactive, it's not exactly like I can focus my efforts on my goal and then say I got there early.

Time for an update and advice welcome.

We're convening in FL this weekend for another trade show. My American (direct) boss will be arriving late Sat. night or early Sun. His/our big boss from Germany will arrive tonight. I arrive Sat. afternoon. I emailed German boss to ask about getting together Sat. night. He wrote back that he definitely wants to do so in advance of my American boss (his underling) arriving. And I'm guessing it's not just because we also talk in German. So I know he is going to ask me some very difficult questions. Not difficult because I have anything to apologize for, but because they will be nearly impossible to answer without bad consequences from my boss later on. We all know it only ever rolls downhill.

Since my last post my boss has been non-communicative, if not downright hostile to me. We have spoken by phone twice in over two months with almost no email. When I have a question, I IM him. If he responds at all, he logs off the second he clicks send, so I can't ask a follow up question, and is then gone for hours. He's offline for almost half the day, almost as if he has a second job. It's to the point that I have to ask others in Germany, Brazil and Canada for help my boss should be helping me with. I suspect this is getting back to his boss. Nothing I can do about it, except perhaps force a phone conversation on him to hash this all out today or tomorrow. And I don't think that will go well for me either.

Am I walking into a buzz saw this weekend? Otherwise, I love this company and everyone else I work with. Best job I've ever had and I'd do it for free, if I didn't need the money.

You really have no choice but to be unemotional and factual in communicating with big boss.

As you say, he probably already has some idea of what's going on and covering for your direct boss will just make you look bad and will do nothing to endear you to either boss.

It is a trap, and it would seem you had a hand in setting it.

Well, I can't do my job without others' help. I didn't have access to the contract templates I needed for a deal last week. Couldn't reach my boss by any method. What should I have done? Blow the customer off, who has pen in hand or ask others for help and swear them to secrecy not to tell anyone else I needed their help? Boss from Germany was going to want to talk to me anyway, without my having emailed him first. He asked about my boss drunken behavior at his house the last time he had me alone.

I would be honest and not protect your US boss. You either go down with the ship, or you may find yourself at the helm. I would not actively try to take down US boss, but I would not try to save him either. I don't have time to read back on the thread but IIRC this looked like you may have been hired to wear some bigger shoes eventually, especially considering your German background.

G

When the questions come you are an expert witness with no skin in the game. Just factual, unemotional answers to the best of your ability. The big boss seems to trust you now, no sense sabotaging that relationship.

This may appear to be a no-win situation, but you don't know what the big German boss has in mind. He may be ready to hatchet your boss, and give you the position....he just needs a few questions cleared up before any action. All hope is not lost, this may be a good thing for you.

Be completely forthright and allow the cards to fall where they may. Detach yourself from the outcome, secure in the knowledge that if your boss's job is in jeopardy it has everything to do with his own action or inaction, and little-to-nothing with anything you've said or done. Anything less than complete honesty (professionally and calmly delivered, of course) is a disservice to your customers and to your company.

_

That would be hard for me to believe. This German boss is almost a Sgt. Schultz type. He's very friendly, kind of goofy and chatty, and I know he really likes and relies on my boss to run ops in the US. I've seen him bring the hammer down on others, but really only other Germans. And even if he were planning such, it would just be so awkward for him to spend four days with both of us, every meal together, working the show floor, non-stop within two feet of each other. Just hard for me to see this happening.

If he's planning on axing your immediate boss he'll see to it quickly, in which case not all of you will be spending four days together.

_

Oh no, ain't gonna happen. I'm flying to FL from AZ. Boss is driving from SC and bringing our booth display in his SUV and taking it back home with him.

You need to plan on a conversation w/ your direct boss. He is the one you have an issue with. After that conversation you decide your next course of action. Planning to go over his head without properly communicating and documenting your concerns, IMO is a risky proposition considering you really like the job. In this situation, I would be very tactful concerning how you voice your concerns. I would couch them in broader organizational terms and I certainly would not discuss personal behavior.

I'm not planning to do this at all. It's coming to me. I gave up on the idea long ago, but cannot avoid the questions that are coming. For all I know, my boss could have told his boss I'm a problem. I really don't know, but I'm pretty sure it's not getting resolved before this weekend, where I'm going to be at the mercy of events. I'll be honest, factual and unemotional in my answers, while also trying to convey that I'm a chain of command kind of guy and don't want to remotely appear to be operating outside of proper channels.

Then confront your boss with your concerns again......

Good luck w/ your Show.....

As someone who has led several large divisions, this is the kind of crap that I despise. I never understand the temerity of staff. I always want to hear from the trenches. Just tell the guy what you think. Based on his reaction,you might have to tell him, having said all that, you're in a really awkward situation and would like a reassignment. If he doesn't do sh_t about it, leave while you're still employed so finding a better ecosystem is easier.

Interesting set of circumstances.

Here is my limited take:

As others have stated, be unemotional, factual and direct responding to any question from SGT Schultz. Critique politely, offer solutions (I can't believe you do not have access to a contracts template without asking, etc.) and don't criticize...huge difference.

Use this opportunity to offer suggestions, when asked, about how to improve process flows, streamline communications, etc.

Intrigue and roiling endless scenarios in your mind is counterproductive: Anticipate questions, have options, help Schultz help you.

And, as always, be ready t walk away with your head up.

Good luck!

Actually, I did, but didn't know it at the time and could not reach the boss for clarification. As it was my first time doing it, I really wanted to make sure it was correct. I was almost to the point of just attaching it all to an email from my email program. But we're supposed to send it through our portal and I was having trouble navigating it. My asking others for help may have gotten back to others. I didn't complain or tell anyone, but I know some of the folks I asked have no love lost for my boss and were probably wondering why I had to come to them.

Being in technology, having a boss that actually knows what you do is alien to me. Asking my boss for help with a technology issue would yield about the same results as asking my 2 year old.

Every manager I've ever had, even the ones who were once technical, thought my job was way easier than it is. Conversely, I did a job for a year where I basically interviewed people to document risks and typed up word documents. I've never gotten so much praise in my whole career. The job was mind-numbingly easy but all the management I dealt with thought it was super hard.

I just think you have an opportunity here, Rick...it is clear you like what you do and my experience has been that that type of attitude gets noticed.

The other data point I and many others noticed is your US Boss is a bit of a pouter and shuts off communications.

In sales and BD growing a company, that is THE Cardinal Sin. Bad news doesn't get better with age or alcohol.

I agree with Paul, stick to the facts and leave emotion out of it. Seems like you are at the point where you are open and honest and let the chips fall where they may.

UPDATE

Ok, back from the trip, spent just about every minute of four days with the boss and the big boss. My American boss showed up a few hours after the German boss and I got together. He really wanted to buy some Mountain Dew and Hanes socks (unavailable in Germany), so we Uber'ed to a Target. Not a word about my American boss other than, "How is the cooperation with him?" I casually said we don't talk much, but that's because I feel pretty ramped up and able to do most stuff without calling him.

During the show and after hours the three of us were together every minute except for sleeping, and we drank a LOT of beer (after hours). But no drama, dead air or awkwardness. Maybe a tiny bit, but very minor. They both wanted to have a chat with me by the pool on Wed. and told me to bring a pad and pen to take notes. German boss said it had gotten back to him that I had been calling others for help with things I should have learned in training. American boss immediately owned up to falling short there and asked me for a list of things I need to brush up on and said they'll spend whatever it takes to make things right. I didn't mention to either that I had called others because my boss is usually offline for half the day and hard to reach. No good could have come from that.

American boss had to drive home early Thurs. and so I had alone time until about 3pm that day with the German boss. When we were laying by the pool, he brought up the drunken incident in Germany last summer. It started when he said he'd be having another bbq at his house for us this summer and added in German-accented English, "But with strict drink limits for some people" followed by a belly laugh. He added that his wife told him my American boss was no longer welcome at their house and that HR had been notified immediately the following morning. Obviously, nothing came of that and I didn't press for more info on it.

Anyway, feels kind of like a nothingburger. My American boss made a few cryptic comments like, "You need to know this stuff in case I get hit by a truck." But he gave no indication of being on the way out.

Best of luck to ya Rick...sounds like you're doin' just fine in the eyes of the "big boss".... keep on keepin' on :)!

American boss is probably on his way out but doesn't know it, yet.