Boss waits to tell employee that they must change their entire revenue plan overnight because the company is $350k short: ‘I’m expected to magically fix everything’

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Dec 14, 2025 4:00 PM EST

Many businesses have fallen on tough times this year for numerous reasons, and like clockwork, higher-ups have their sights set on blaming their subordinates for things out of their control. Without proper guidance, employees below the higher-ups have no idea what they are allowed to do, control, and what have you. The easiest way to fail a business? Expect subordinates to fix everything without any pushback, even if "fixing" things is virtually impossible.

Bosses have a funny way of blaming everyone but themselves, which we're sure you've experienced first-hand at least once in your lifetime. When higher-ups and executives hide the important information from their employees, how are the employees supposed to prosper and excel? Without the essential information that should be the driving factor for all of their work, they are left with very little to base their tasks on.

In the next tale below, a boss informs his employee that the revenue plan for the upcoming year is nearly $350k too short, despite having looked at the employee's plan earlier and not batting an eye. Now, the employee is expected to wave a magic wand and crunch the numbers, but the numbers just aren't there. Scroll below to continue reading.

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  • 01
    man writing at desk with laptop looking stressed
    via Vitaly Gariev for Unsplash

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02

    "My boss waited 3 weeks to tell me our entire revenue plan is ‘wrong’ and needs to triple by tomorrow. I’m exhausted."

    I just need to vent a bit because today was rough. I work at a small startup in the B2G space.
    via nghaiyen01
  • 03
    I basically run everything on the commercial side (outreach, meetings, follow- ups, pricing research, GTM stuff, proposals...) literally all of it.
    via nghaiyen01
  • 04
    We don't have SDRs, we don't have a real marketing engine, and the budget is tiny.
    via nghaiyen01
  • 05
    So I just try my best with what we have. 3 weeks ago I sent my CEO a financial model + pitch deck for 2026 and projected around $169K in revenue.
    via nghaiyen01
  • 06
    He said nothing about it. Today he suddenly tells me he has a board meeting tomorrow and that we "need to show $500K minimum." No explanation, no new info, nothing.
    via nghaiyen01
  • 07
    Just "make it $500K or I won't be able to get investment". He also said that after 2 years we basically have no deals and that's telling us we're doing things wrong.
    via nghaiyen01
  • 08
    businessman in his office sitting at a desk and looking at his computer
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 09
    We recently closed a $65K deal and he said the only reason we got it is because he met them in person all the time (which in reality was like 2 times) and built the relationship.
    via nghaiyen01
  • 10
    Meanwhile it was me who reached out to them in the first place, set the first meeting, followed up weekly, pushed the deal forward, and did all the ops work.
    via nghaiyen01
  • 11
    Hearing him rewrite the story like that really sucked. Then he brought up an old pricing analysis I did a month ago (one he approved at the time) and threw a bunch of questions at me and said we need to do better pricing analysis.
    via nghaiyen01
  • 12
    I don't mind feedback, but why wait a month and then throw it at me the day before a board meeting?
    via nghaiyen01
  • 13
    He also randomly mentioned a $200K budget for 2026 (which he never told me before) and said I need to solve the whole GTM strategy today.
    via nghaiyen01
  • 14
    It just feels like I'm expected to magically fix everything alone. And this space is incredibly difficult to sell too.
    via nghaiyen01
  • 15
    Then he was like I'm not saying you did a shitty job, you just did the best you could in 8 hours.
    via nghaiyen01
  • 16
    I've been working 10-12 hours almost every day and put a lot of effort in my work so that comment honestly made me feel real shitty.
    via nghaiyen01
  • 17
    I'm exhausted. I don't mind solving hard problems cause I enjoy the learning, but it's getting really hard to stay motivated when everything I do gets minimized or questioned way after the fact.
    via nghaiyen01
  • 18
    Thanks guys. Just needed to get this off my chest. I hope nobody is also having a shitty boss like this:)
    via nghaiyen01
  • 19
    doghairpile Jesus Christ you're doing an entire director of sales role with what sounds like minimal training and he's putting the weight of the whole company on your back like it's your responsibility/problem? Does he do anything all day? Like he plans so poorly before a board meeting he expects you to scramble? What's his responsibility in reaching the 500k instead of helping at you to do it? Eesh!
    via doghairpile
  • 20
    nghaiyen01 He manages several companies but it's all talking and not doing and having similar management style across all of his companies. 500k is really crazy, if not wanting to say it's even a stupid and unrealistic goal considering the average sales cycle in this space is 2-3 years. He always considers his responsibility is just to work with the investors & get us funding & "high-level" talk to the clients, sometimes he would give me vague guidance like you need to be more aggressive on sale
    via nghaiyen01
  • 21
    CelaresHarridan Start looking for a new job. This guy is a joke and is going to run you into the ground and drive the bus over you himself when his garbage "leadership" ruins the company.
    via CelaresHarridan
  • 22
    Low_Lobster30 Haha that sounds insane. The lead times on that type of work is years. Any new marketing you do now will not pay off for another 18+ months
    via Low_Lobster30
  • 23
    nghaiyen01 Exactly what I've been trying to tell my boss. The advices he gave me were: 1. Be more aggresive 2. Get on the calls more and start calling more people
    via nghaiyen01
  • 24
    Albsantos I hope you start thinking of a new opportunity elsewhere. You deserve better.
    via Albsantos

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employment issues boss workplace-stories manager money problems targets overworked-employees
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