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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/Calm-Cheetah2991 on 2025-10-07 02:43:18+00:00.
My dad used to work as a technician at a manufacturing plant in the late ‘80s. He wasn’t a manager or anything fancy, just one of the guys who actually knew how things worked. The place ran smoothly because the crew knew all the little tricks that kept the machines alive long after they should’ve been replaced. Then a new supervisor showed up. Fresh degree, shiny clipboard, zero experience. He told everyone that the old way was inefficient and that from now on, they’d follow the manual to the letter. My dad tried to warn him that the manual was outdated and didn’t reflect the modifications they’d made to keep production running, but the supervisor insisted.
So my dad shrugged and said, Alright, boss. We’ll do it your way. The next morning, they started up the machine using the manual’s exact procedure. Within twenty minutes, the production line jammed, overheated, and shut down. The entire shift was stalled for hours. The supervisor panicked, calling maintenance, engineers, and anyone he could reach.
When my dad arrived, the supervisor demanded that he fix it immediately. My dad calmly pulled out the same dusty manual and asked, You sure you want me to follow this? The supervisor just glared at him. So Dad followed every step exactly as written. It didn’t work. He just stood there with the manual in hand, waiting. Eventually, the plant manager came in, took one look at the mess, and told the supervisor, Maybe next time, listen to the people who’ve been doing this for twenty years. After that, no one questioned my dad’s methods again. And the new supervisor started asking, not ordering.
Dad still laughs about it. He always says, Sometimes the best way to teach someone is to let them learn the hard way.