What's in a name anyway?

There are, I think, nearly 800 people in my organisation. Nationwide that is. I believe there are maybe 130 people in the building I work at. People come & go, although there are a core group of people who have been here for decades... and people move between business units quite a lot.

I'm often a little dismayed at how few names I know of the people I work with. This is exascerbated by the fact that everyone seems to know me...

"Hello Abyssinia" they say in the lift (I was born in the brief time when it was all the rage for parents to name their kids after obscure countries).

"Hi... er..." and I'm thinking Kyle? Kelvin? And generally fudging it. it's particularly embarrassing if this happens shortly after I've sat in a 3 hour meeting with Kevin.... or Ken... or whatever. And it'll turn out his name is David. But that doesn't matter, I'll have forgotten by the next time I see him.

I'm one of those people for whom newly introduced names just pass through me like radiowaves.

"Hi, I'm John."
"Abyssinia, pleased to meet you er... um..."
"John"
"yes... of course... pleased to meet you Colin."

My wife tells a story of when in her very first job, she was some executive's PA, and he called her in one day to say there was some guy in reception, whose name he couldn't recall.

"I can't remember if he's John, or Ian, can you go down & get him & make sure you introduce yourself & get his name? Then quietly tell me before you usher him into my office."

So my wife went down to reception, greeted the guy by introducing herself.

"Hello, I'm Tanzania, Don's PA."
"Pleased to meet you Tanzania, I'm Ian"

So she took him back upstairs, slipped into her boss's office ahead of him & whispered,

"It's John."