The first day on a new job is always difficult, thought DaveRichards, standing in the middle of the square looking up at thetower of glass and steel in front of him. It's like moving into a newhome. You hate to say goodbye to all your old friends and youwonder what the new neighbors will be like.

He remembered the first time he ever moved. He was just a kidin low school and when his father told him they would be movingto the other side of town he vowed he would return every week tosee his chums. But that didn't last long. Within a couple of weekshe had a whole new set of chums.

And that's the way it was with jobs too. He had moved arounda lot and it had always worked out the same way. He would becomefamiliar with the new surroundings, adapt and within a short periodof time be feeling like an old hand.

He could remember his uncle, Fred, admonishing him forchanging jobs so often. "I don't understand it. It seems like you'requitting jobs every couple of years. Is there something wrong withyou? Do you not want to have any stability in your life?"

Uncle Fred was from the old school. He had lived through thedepression of the thirties and when you had lived through thedepression you thanked your lucky stars you had a job and you heldonto it for dear life.

It was a way of thinking. It wasn't the way Richards thought.

A long time ago he had heard someone famous say he had neverworked a day at a job he didn't like and likewise, he was determinednot to either. After all, life was too precious to waste and didn't youwork a third of your life, so why not enjoy it.

Nevertheless, this time he felt things might just be different.Then he looked at the inscription above the entrance, "TheDepartment of the Environment," and felt queasy all over again.The thought of working for the government had never entered hismind until just recently and he was still feeling uneasy aboutmaking the move. If somebody had suggested it just a couple ofmonths ago he would have laughed them off. Him, a publicservant! Don't be ridiculous. The private sector, that's where theaction was. Government is red tape. Government is misseddeadlines and cost overruns. That's where the second-rate peoplego, the people who need protection, the people who can't make it inthe majors. And of course he had always considered himself amajor league player, a man with ideas and all kinds of energy toburn. He relished the thrust and cut of the real world. A little bit ofpressure never failed to bring out the best in him. He couldn't seehimself working in the cocoon of government, isolated from thefires of competition.

But that's being ridiculous, thought Richards, rationalizingagain. There had to be some good people in government. Everyyear you would hear of someone well thought of in the privatesector quitting to join the public service. Being the kind of peoplethey were, they would never do that unless they figured there wassome kind of challenge there. Besides, he had already thought it allout and made his decision so there was no point in going all over itagain. The job was just too good to pass up, a real opportunity toaccomplish a lot, just what he had been looking for. So never mindthe qualms. He was just having the first-day jitters, that's all.

* * *

Brad Houston, the Executive Director of the Finance andAdministration Division, the man Richards would be reporting to,welcomed him at the door of his office. "Good morning Dave. It'sgood to have you on board. Come on in."

The office was on the twenty-first floor of the Environmentheadquarters building overlooking a heavily wooded ravine. In onecorner of the spacious office was a large desk with a tall blackleather swivel chair behind it and three smaller chairs spread out infront of it. Along the far wall was a chesterfield, a coffee table andthree armchairs. In the middle of the coffee table was a large vaseof mixed flowers, adding to the scene a touch of home.

Houston motioned him towards the chesterfield and said,"Would you like a coffee Dave?"

"If you're going to have one, sure."

Houston pressed the intercom on his desk and asked for twocoffees, then took one of the chairs across from Richards. For thenext several minutes they exchanged small talk about the weather,the baseball team and the current slump it was in. Then when anattractive young lady entered the office with the coffee Houstonstood up and said, "Sandy, I'd like you to meet Dave Richards, thenew Director of the Information Systems Branch. Dave, this isSandy Christie, my secretary."

For a brief second Richards thought he saw a hint of animosity.Then the lady smiled and said, "Nice to meet you Mr. Richards."

"Same here."

The lady put the tray of coffee down and left.

"Sandy's a real asset. I don't know what I'd do without her. Ifyou have any questions don't hesitate to give her a call. She knowsher way around here and I'm sure she'll be able to help you."

"Thank you. I'm sure I'm going to need some help."

Houston took a sip of his coffee and smiled. "I guess Dave youmust have been wondering if we were ever going to make you anoffer, what with all the interviews we put you through."

"I have to admit, after the fourth interview I was beginning towonder. Then when I didn't hear anything for a couple of weeks Iwas almost ready to write the job off."

"I know. It was a long process but we can't be too careful. Anyposition from manager up gets a close scrutiny. We can't afford tohire any misfits. Once you hire them it's hard to get rid of them."

"I can appreciate that," said Richards.

"Yours is a key position Dave. You're going to be responsiblefor assessing information needs across the Department, outliningvarious alternatives for meeting those needs and proposingappropriate solutions. You're going to be responsible fordeveloping systems and selecting the best equipment to do the job.

And on top of that you're going to have to see that the data getsprocessed on time and within budget. That's a big job. You'regoing to be looking after close to fifty people. I think during one ofthe interviews you said you were looking for a challenge. I thinkyou'll find one here."

"If it's not a challenge what's the point?" said Richards.

"Exactly," said Houston. "That's one of the reasons why Isettled on you. You came across like you welcomed a challengeand believe me, you'll find a challenge here."

Houston paused to take some coffee, then continued on.

"This is a very technical, a very scientific type of organization.We've got all kinds of engineers, we've got civil engineers, we'vegot mining engineers, we've got industrial engineers, we've gotchemical engineers. We've got all kinds of scientists, we've gothydrologists and biologists, we've got meteorologists andgeologists, we've got scientists coming out of our ears, you name it,we've got all kinds of expertise galore. If you want to know aboutair and water quality, about sewage plants and waste treatment,about bugs and plants and fish, give Environment a call. We'regood in all those areas.

"However, when it comes to managing programs, defining goalsand objectives, drawing up plans and objectives, measuring results,we've still got a lot to learn....