Hi Barbara,

Look, we need to bring our costs down and our productivity up this quarter, and your department is one of the key areas where I'm looking to accomplish both goals.

I've been noticing that it's difficult to determine how much time your department is spending on each of the projects they're assigned. I want you to come up with a spreadsheet that tracks your people's hours on each project. Make sure everybody's using it!

I also noticed that I had to search through six different documents to locate the basic design specifications for the Peterson project. I need to be able to find that information quickly when I'm working with a client. Have your people come up with a form that includes this stuff, and make sure it's filled out before the project hits my desk.

Let me know ASAP how you'll handle these things.

The Big Guy

That's a pretty clear message from the boss, although it's not particularly "you" centered. I'd like you to translate these orders into a "you" centered memo addressed to the employees in your department. Feel free to elaborate on the situation and to come up with interesting solutions, but keep it within the bounds of reality