The Managers of Catan

My best friend--henceforth known as H.--just switched roles at the brand-name company for which she works. (Yes, it was Reorg Season again...) For the first time, she's stepping into a position that is not a hand-me-down. Nor is it a particularly well-charted position. Despite the fact that such situations are, at best, the proverbial double-edged sword, she's cautiously enthusiastic about being able to pick some of her own colors in a such a paint-by-numbers organization.

As part of the transition, H. took two developers who previously worked for her, with the prospect that management might supply more. I teased her about the possibility that this uncharted territory upon which she (and possibly other managers) were loosed was actually her company's version of Settlers of Catan.

Sadly, she didn't buy into my theory. Pity: It might just take the edge off the depressing spectacle of corporate empire-building if one could think of it in those terms. Granted, I've never won a game of "Settlers" in my life. But at least I'd understand the rules.