ROOMS and even lobbies require doors that can be opened or closed with locks on them. Such openings are not just architectural features used for security. Doors provide metaphors for other types of getting in and out.
CEOs routinely express the importance of people as the company’s most important assets by announcing an “open door” policy. They may declare their preference for informality in the workplace, not just by their casual office attire but by their availability for informal chats. This announcement of an open door is not meant to be taken literally. (Just address me as “Sir.”)
One discovers that walking through the CEO’s anteroom door (which may truly be open) does not ensure entry into the sanctum sanctorum. There are gatekeepers that inquire if you are there to deliver a gift or simply out to get free coffee. Even open-door executive types require an appointment before entry. (He will be available after 10 working days, starting tomorrow.)
So, the informal invitation to drop by anytime can be ignored. An appointment needs to be made even for a courtesy call.
The “closed door” as a description for a meeting implies the need for an invitation to attend. What is to be taken up is intended for a limited number of participants to discuss a matter that affects everybody else but cannot be disclosed until it’s too late to react.
The door is closed to kibitzers and marginal staff. Only those serving coffee who are not expected to contribute anything to the proceedings beyond the provision of refreshments can gain entry. These uninvited onlookers can later disseminate snippets of what they heard, just before they had to exit due to the stares they attract by serving coffee too slowly — Can I wipe the coffee stain from your collar?
Doors are also used for exits.
Being “shown the door” entails an exit neither graceful nor temporary. Passing the door on the way out is followed by the sound of its closing again. This state of exile from an organization, sometimes called a dismissal, is the subject for motivational speakers who feel compelled to try to cheer up those that have already left. (Put your retirement money in corporate bonds.)
Inspirational exhortations revolve around doors too.
The disconsolate one is told that “when a door closes, a window opens.” This trite phrase meant to provide spiritual comfort and consolation is applied to other non-corporate situations. The intended meaning has to do with certain opportunities disappearing and perhaps new previously unsought ones offering themselves for consideration. Can a crisis lead the way to a blessing?
Unfortunately, the metaphor of doors and windows provide practical difficulties due to differences in the sizes of apertures. The body may enter or exit through a door with ease. But can you try the same egress and ingress with the smaller window? Why doesn’t one hear instead — when a door closes, a fire exit at the back may be available?
A full range of services may be offered under one roof. A catchphrase now illustrates this panoply of contact points with the customer not as “many tentacles, one victim” but “one door, many rooms.” But who wants to enter a maze? And how do you get out?
The “door opener” is also known as an influence peddler or rain maker. This influential person is supposed to offer even a secret entry point into an otherwise inaccessible space by his ability to access a back door. His influence may be too grossly advertised, such as to attract the ire of the otherwise inaccessible power source. Can the public denunciation of this influencer be far behind?
Entries and exits can happen without any reference to a door. One can be ushered into a room with little ceremony — no photos? She is then ushered out with her bevy of witnesses to listen to her unfounded fears.
Just in front of the entry is a reminder of what a former door opener becomes. Everyone passing through a door understands the function of the doormat. (Please wipe your shoes.)
Tony Samson is chairman and CEO of TOUCH xda.
What the door is for
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