I first heard this little acronym from Grant Fritchey (b | t). He used it when talking about backups and restores, and I like it. However I realize that I’ve never actually noted what it is, so a short blog to do so today.
An RGE is a Resume Generating Event. This is usually when you make a mistake so egregious that you’ll be packing up your personal effects and exiting the building. If it’s really bad, such as releasing financial or other confidential information, you might be escorted out and someone else packs up your things. I’ve seen it happen, and it will shake you. Don’t do this.
We talk about forgetting about backups, or writing bad code or some important task we often perform as causing an RGE. In my experience, that doesn’t happen too often. Companies usually have a fairly high tolerance for mistakes.
However, that tolerance is usually extended only once. Don’t make the same mistake again. I’d also note that some managers can be very short tempered, and a single, large issue might be an RGE in their eyes.
I don’t usually worry about causing an RGE, but I keep the acronym in mind. Especially when I do something that could affect the core parts of my organization’s business.
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5 responses to “The RGE”
[…] else, but the reports make this seem like a completely unacceptable situation. I assume this is an RGE event for a few people, perhaps all of the staff working the […]
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I’d add that if you do make a mistake it’s almost always better to own up and admit right away than to try and cover it up. It’s especially important to go straight to your boss and say “this is what I did, and this is how I intend to fix or mitigate it”. Even if you know you can recover 100% it’s seldom a good idea to leave it and potentially let someone else discover your screw up somewhere down the road.
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Absolutely. Admit it, correct it, learn.
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Not come across the phrase Resume Generating Event, but have used the boarder term of Career Limiting Action or Career Limiting Move. Covers a multitude of sins committed at work or at the office party.
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I had someone else note the CLM recently as well. I think those seem to be more along the lines of making a social mistake rather than a technical one, but the point remains the same.
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