Russian Mayor Bans Phrase 'I Don't Know'- & "It's not my job," "It's impossible," "I'm having lunch"

Russian Mayor Bans Phrase 'I Don't Know'
By BAGILA BUKHARBAYEVA, Associated Press Writer

Tuesday, September 4, 2007


(09-04) 15:56 PDT MOSCOW, Russia (AP) --


The mayor of a Siberian oil town has ordered his bureaucrats to stop using expressions such as "I don't know" and "I can't." Or look for another job.

Alexander Kuzmin, the 33-year-old mayor of Megion, has banned these and 25 other phrases as a way to make his administration more efficient, his spokeswoman said Tuesday.

"It's a suggestion to the staff that they should think before saying something," Oksana Shestakova said by telephone. "To say `I don't know' is the same as admitting your helplessness."

To reinforce the ban, a framed list of the banned expressions has been hanging on the wall next to Kuzmin's office for the past two weeks, Shestakova said.

Some of the other prohibited phrases are "What can we do?""It's not my job,""It's impossible,""I'm having lunch,""There is no money," and "I was away/sick/on vacation."

more...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/09/04/international/i155635D97.DTL&tsp=1

There was a story a few weeks back about a city that "outlawed popcorn." Turned out the city hall was having a problem with people making a mess of popcorn in the microwave in the employee lounge, so they made a rule against it. And then the media sensationalized it for some dumb reason.

This sounds like the mayor had some sort of motivational speaker come in.

it's a sign of weakness