Office politics can turn even simple projects into uphill battles.

So when a corporate worker was told to move all company training online, his boss refused to give him a decent computer.

Within days, his quiet compliance sparked a chain reaction that ended up getting his boss demoted.

Read on for the full story!

Use Slow Computer for Demanding Project

I got voluntold for the job of switching a paper-based corporate learning system to computer-based, including web-based training.

I did not have a desk or a computer, so I brought in my personal laptop.

The boss objected and stated I needed to write a business case for a computer.

But the machine this worker ended up getting wasn’t quite up to his standards.

A week later, I got the absolute minimum system that met the minimum requirements on the box.

I started the painful process of converting a PowerPoint into an Adobe Captivate file.

It pretty much moved at a snail’s pace.

When it came time to compile the first file, the computer stated it would be three hours before it finished — maybe — so I headed to the break room.

The executive director for the project happened to walk in and asked me what I was doing there.

The worker was forced to tell him this task would be taking him three times longer than expected.

“I’m staying not frustrated while waiting for the first draft to compile — should be about another two hours, sir.”

It was five hours.

Things progress further.

When I showed up the next day, my computer had been upgraded to the then top model with dual monitors.

The next day, my fancy unit was on the boss’s desk, and I had his even older, slower computer.

This time, compiling was over ten hours.

Back to the break room.

Same executive walks in — I just smile, nod, and go back to my lunch.

Finally things start looking up, but not for the boss.

The next day, I had two computers on my desk: the still-compiling boss’s unit and my previously issued fancy one.

The boss was cleaning out his desk, having been sent back to frontline, non-boss work.

It felt so good to give that company the boot once the project was completed.

The computer wasn’t the only thing that crashed in that office.

Some people truly don’t know the first thing about computers.

Who knew computers could be such a prestige thing for some managers?

Some expensive tech is worth the investment.

What is no big deal at one company is often a code red at the other.

Nothing’s sweeter than watching karma run on company time.

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