Need a shot of Inspiration?
By TF | July 7, 2008
I was surfing www.TED.com today and came across the video below. Not that it is profound, but it is profound. Perhaps that is what makes people like this so darn successful. They can boil down the obvious, they can articulate it for all of us. Interesting that for 20 minutes you can sit transformed thinking, humm perhaps he just hit the nail on what is missing in life, whether it is your own life, or life in general.
enjoy the following presentation:
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Special Assignment
By TF | May 14, 2008
I had an epiphany the other day. As previously stated my company has been purchased by a very large 90k person firm. While the transition has been anything but elegant, it is not with out its benefits. That being said, during this transition, I had been tapped on the shoulder, to bolster our pipeline, and help guarantee work future work with one of our largest clients. Over the past several quarters, we have increasingly lost revenue from this client, as is the ebb and flow with any client.
However recently they had come to us and asked us to manage a large program. That is where I come in, Leading the program. I with the rest of the management team came together to discuss whom could lead this team, and we boiled it down to 2 people, myself and peer in another group. Logistically it would have been impossible for her to do it, and for me, just slightly less impossible.
During the transition, it is apparent that I am leaving security behind to go into a high risk situation, in the attempt to close more business in a highly volatile client environment. Any good manager / leader will tell, you that you should only focus on a sphere of influence that can obviously influence the outcome. In this case we know not of what the sphere of influence will be, and history, if it where a good teacher, would indicate that we will not have the influence necessary to make this successful. But I digress…
I’ve been assured that my current position will be waiting when the project comes to a conclusion, though i would be displacing the individual whom i just transitioned it too, and that would / could present a moral dilemma. More on that later..
for the past 3 weeks, I’ve been on the special assignment . As a counterpart says it is like moving a glacier, that is getting the client to change or accept that they may have made some mistakes.
The position was promised to be the leadership center for a large multi-million dollar program. Sweet, in my mind I’m thinking that this will be cool, and will allow me to knock the dust of my project / program management skills. Shortly after i started (within the first hour) I found that the land scape had shifted, and that I would not be the lead dog, much the opposite, i would be the “project leader” for one of the work streams… How could there be such a discrepancy? Ahh such is life as that is the clients prerogative.
So what to do when you drop in a couple levels below your comfort zone. For myself it is all about learning the client, their organization, their decision makers, who has purse strings, and oh how else can i help them.
In the organization here, i find that i have a minimum of 4 people to report to, the sponsor, the project leader manager, the business IT manager, and two people at the PMO. (kind of reminiscent of that movie … Office Space)
We’ve been making slow progress on the project, really still in the storming stage if, and moving into the norming stage.
With that being said, I find this to be an interesting topic on how to manage a project and how not to manage a project. Should be interesting.. Lets see how this progresses.
T
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Office Etiquette…
By TF | May 6, 2008
Office Etiquette… where does it begin? For the past couple of years I’ve had been able to work out of my home. Well okay at least partially, I tended to split my time from the car, the home office, the client site, the main office, and many places in between. The beauty of the Internet enabled world is to be able to work from any where I can plug in. Humm much like Neo plugging into the matrix but i digress.
My recent gig has me working pretty much full time in a large pharma where I spend most of my day in a cube farm the size of football field. Okay so this is where you start to wonder what happened to peoples common sense of courtesy.
I’m not talking about business chatter, sure you can hear the phone from several cubes away, that is expected. For me the business of phones ringing, email dinging, and such is normal and creates a certain white noise, that allows me to focus on the mundane task at hand.
But there are several things that you should note when working in these conditions. Obviously hygiene comes into play, but i could go on for hours about that. But more importantly just the common courtesy.
Keep you computer speakers low (test them, play something and walk out of your cube, you shouldn’t be able to hear it untill you sit down)
Speaker Phone- No one wants to listen to the drone on the other end of the call going on about TPS reports. So if your going to have the phone on speaker, again do it quietly, or better yet, pick up the receiver.
Music / Video etc. If you must play the latest utube vid, then invest in some head phones, It is a real pain in the ass, to be on the phone trying to articulate why your TPS report didn’t have a cover page while having to listening to some video, where a guy lights is you know what on fire and is screaming like two felines in a cat fight.
The other side of it, is don’t get offended when your fellow cube workers come over and tell you to tone it down. Your offending them, so suck it up, and keep the volume low.
T
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Rental Car - Lesson Learned -
By TF | April 24, 2008
Again a lesson in customer service. Yesterday my rental car started to run poorly and the check engine light came on. Now this car was a 2008 Grand Marqui. It had roughly 7000 miles on it, and was for all intensive purposes new. So when it wouldn’t idle properly, and the check engine light came on, i figured i had better get it swapped out. As I was renting from Enterprise, I call the office from which i rented it. Now i’m in the greater Philly area, and i rented it about 90 miles away. I won’t be back to the original office until sometime next week.
First the home office was oh sure no problem bring it in and they’d give me a new car. I’m like not possible.
Second, they were like well, we don’t know of any offices in your current location (ever hear of a little thing called the Internet?) Not to mention just how in gods good name can you not have that information at your fingertips?
Third, the finally found an office, 60 miles north of me… Then they were like call them and work it out. Gee thanks your a huge help. So I called that office, and they are like, love to help, but we have no cars. This gentleman had no idea of offices in my area, so he said if i found one to take it in to one close to me.
So I went into a meeting and got online and low and behold, there is an Enterprise office about 3 miles from my location. It took me less than 3 seconds to find it from the Enterprise web site. Entered my location and boom.
So I called that office, and they are like sure no problem bring it in, we have plenty of cars. I’m like sweet, this will work out well.
So I drive the car there (it is running fine now, but still has the check engine light on) so i’m thinking maybe i should keep it, but then talked myself out of it, as i have a 4 hour drive to upstate NY and then another 3 hour drive to home Sunday, plus all of the running around for a wedding when i’m in upstate NY. So I convince myself to exchange cars, and alleviate any potential hassle with this car.
So i walk in to the enterprise office, and they are like oh okay, yeah, we can help you… oh wait you didn’t rent this from us?…. It is from York?? humm yeah that is another operating division, we aren’t sure we can help you…. But actually the young girl Jen behind the counter was helpful. She picked up the phone and called the York office. They requested to speak with me:
Me: Hello
Them: Hi, we don’t / can’t trade cars with this location, they are in another network.
Me: umm, okay then what should i do?
Them: Would you be able to take it to the dealer yourself?
Me: You want me to do what? I wasn’t aware that i worked for Enterprise. Are you kidding me? You want the customer to take it to the dealer? ?? ?
Them: Well oh that would be inconvienant? Let me but you on hold….
(woman behind the counter was aghast)
Them: Sir, okay what we typically do, is that the enterprise office will rent you a car while this car goes in the shop. Will that work?
Me: Well that depends, how long will it be in the shop? if that can be done in the next 2 hours before I head to upstate New York, then that would be fine, but I don’t think any dealer will be able to see a car at 3pm and or have the parts on hand. So if your expectation is that it will be a couple of days then no that won’t work either.
Them: Let me put you on hold
Them: Can i talk to the Enterprise Rep there?
Basically, it ended with them working out the details on how to get a transfer done. All the while i had to wait.
While waiting, another gentleman was in the office, just laughing at the insanity. He was like, wow you handled that well, I’m not sure how you didn’t loose your temper. He also expounded on a situation he had, where he got a flat tire in an Enterprise rental, and they expected him to get it fixed. He was mystified as well. (I wondered why he was still renting from them)
Fortunately I did get a car, the only saving grace was the fact that the Enterprise Agent in Wayne was willing to help. But the overall experience was tragic.
To add insult to injury i also got a car that was sub par. It pulls to the left, it has a wheel out of balance, no automatic locks, and has a tape deck (who still puts a tape deck in a car, guess i won’t be listening to my Johnny Cash CD collection)
The lesson is Enterprise Rent a car, is a sub par organization, with a culture absent of assisting the customer.
T
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The Past
By TF | April 22, 2008
does your past haunt you? I was reminiscing with some friends the other weekend, whom worked with me in one of my past jobs. Wow, as I sat there entranced by the discussions, i found myself transported back 5 years. I found it interesting the flood of memories and stories that were brought back to the forefront of my consciousness.
I think it is always good to sit back and look at those experiences that have shaped and formed you into what you are today. We were discussing several funny and odd circumstances, and it was interesting to think that in most of them, I would have done the same thing today.
We did have a good chuckle about some of the irrational things that were done, and how we learned from them. I found this to be a worth while exercises in its own right. Think about it, many of us dwell on certain memories, but getting together with colleagues like this allows you to really get a whole perspective on your performance.
Of course you could get wrapped around the axle of past grievances, of which is common, but to punch a hole into the past allows you to see how you’ve matured, how your strengths continue to come to the top, and how solidly you are rooted in your values.
In the discussion, my friends brought back memories that i had suppressed, and it was interesting that my approach all though difficult, would have remained constant, as it was the right thing to do.
Sure some of the minutia may change, language, tact, etc. but the root core message and approach would have stayed the same.
The other thing that came to light is why i left that job. It is interesting that 3 years later, the people whom have assumed my previous role are experiencing the same problems, challenges and issues. Isn’t that the definition of insanity? Do the same thing over and over yet expecting different results? Humm, perhaps I was wiser than my years to leave and find new challenges.
T
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Services
By TF | April 21, 2008
Having diner tonight alone at a regional chain, I was waited upon by a young waitress whom was lackluster at best. Given this expirance I realized that service is what sets companies and performers apart.
Service is what will truly separate and distinguish the America’s apart from our outsourced counterparts, in India and other regions. Sure they can process anything that can be defined and automated. It is the face to the customer that will define us moving forward.
Today’s dinner was very illuminating, My waitress, did the bear minimum, There was bread served with dinner, but she brough no bread plate. I had to repeat myself several times while i order etc.
To contrast a woman next to me, got much better service, her waitress brought the bread, a bread plate, took her order with exuberance. She delivered the specials with clarity and precision (hey i never got the specials!!) Never the less we both got similar meals. But i’m sure that the other waitress got a much better tip. But isn’t that the point, my waitress did the bear minimum, sure i got my food, but the other waitress actually aided in the meal selection of the other patron.
This is the same in business, the company that has the better service will win. Think about it, what is the advantage of a brick and mortar over the Internet? simple its SERVICE. You expect a higher degree of help, and information from the sales associate. It is really the last thing left differentiating them from the online sales and overseas outsourcing.
Today’s dinner illustrated the difference between good and poor service, and represents where we should be focusing our efforts as leaders.
T
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Communication
By TF | April 20, 2008
When working with people you have to realize what makes them tick. What decisions will set them off, what communication will set them at ease, and which communications will shut the down. Since being aquired, the most pivotal item is communication, good news or bad news, people need to communicate. Without it, people make their own assumptions, and when they do, it all comes off the track.
Every instance or example we face in life can be looked at in one of two ways, Good examples of how you should live or perform, and Bad Examples which teach you how not to do something. I find the later more inspiring, as it generally comes with an amount of pain, anxiety, or other related symptom. These symptims make it easy to remember why doing something wrong hurts. When things are going well, it is sometimes harder to pinpoint why they went well and how to repeat it. I suppose that is when our mistakes (or other’s mistakes) are the greatest teachers of all.
In looking at this transition, I wonder with all that is going on, with all of the changes, and all of the pain associated with those changes, why hasn’t thier been communication, why hasn’t the brass, come around during the day and given people a little ” I know this is hard, but i appreciate your work” comment to those in the hall? Why does the brass, ignore but only the few choosen soles, while the vast majority of people in the trenches get little to no thought?
I’ve always found, that treating people well yields the best results, words like respect, gratitude, empathy , appreciation, are not just words they are Verbs. They require someone to do something, They just don’t happen! Without doing something, even seemingly insignificant as taking a moment at the water cooler to say hello, and empathize (verb) with your subordinates during challenging times, people wilt on the vine.
This is one of those mistakes that I have witnessed, and will take to the bank, and do my best not to repeat. You should assume there will be more on this topic, as things churn forward.
T
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Morning Coffee
By TF | April 15, 2008
I think I will start a new section based solely on my observation of people. Today like millions of Americans i awoke from my less that stellar hotel, and headed to grab some wakeup juice. Better know as coffee. Perhaps it was the haze of sleep that still drenched my eyeballs, but what i saw where people swarming Starbucks, for their shot of caffeine. What an un-personnel automated cold experience that was. While Starbucks had their logo’s plastered all over the place, and crappy pastries in the display, the environment would have been better served, if it had been dressed in stainless steel, and the temperature set to a balmy 57 degree’s.
At best it was surgical, at worst it was pathological. It made me wonder what had happened to the bar stool at the local diner where at worst, you would sit and read the paper, or best converse with another human being?
Believe you me, i’m not criticizing people from buying their morning coffee at Starbucks, or the McDonalds drive through, or at my personal favorite of Dunkin Donuts, we seemingly have forgotten what is important. We get our breakfast, we speed to work, listening to the news, talking on the phone, drinking our coffee, all while attempting to keep our 3 ton suv’s on the road.
What happened to the personalization, what happened to the interaction between people?
This morning, it was similar to a movie where we were all ghosts, going through the motions, no one talked, except on their blue tooth headsets, as we all moved with surgical precision in and out of the establishment.
T
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Change is hard?
By TF | April 10, 2008
The company that I joined in 2005, has metamorphosed into a perennial behemoth due to acquisition. For the past couple of weeks, we have been in the throws of the transition. When I walk around the halls, there is no shortage of complaining, deception, and now down right disgruntled employees. It is a shame that seems to always happen, but while some blame poor communication between the parent company and us, I think the more fundamental issue, is the fact that it is a clash of two corporate cultures diametrically opposed. How do you road-map the change between culture?
For me, what I enjoyed is the direct impact to the business I had. Running 2 practices, managing the P&L for two large groups, was incredibly gratifying. Now my impact to the business has been marginalized, not for any other fact than there are staggering differences on “how” things are done.
The best example of this, was in our last town hall meeting, when they put up the organizational charts. Prior to the merger, my peers and i were 1 layer removed from the General Manager. Now, after the merger, 4 layers away.
I learned from a career coach years ago, that when you come to the realization that you can’t change your environment, and it is intolerable, that it is time to move on. Sure that seems obvious, but many people, continue to bang their heads against the wall, long after the opportunity for changes has taken a bus for the coast.
I’ve made peace with the fact, that things are what they are. Now, over the next several weeks I will see if the new world order and I are compatible. If not then it may be time for ….
T
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Contractors on behalf of a client
By TF | April 10, 2008
Over the past several weeks, i have been engaged with a client working with them through a variety of issues. Ranging from delivery of services to cost estimates etc. While this is a staple of my job navigating choppy waters, I can’t begin to explain just how frustrating it is dealing with a contractor who is working on behalf of the client. In most of my experience in these cases people that assume these roles are out to prove something at the expense of the systems integrator. It always comes back to burn them.
In this instance they are not only hammering us on the price, but on the how. I get tired of hearing, “well that isn’t how i would do it in my company” Well you can take your 4 person staff shop and all of your wisdom and do this work yourself…
While i understand the monetary prudence of these people and companies, what I don’t understand is why they continually throw us under the bus, and yet expect to be successful.
The reality of the situation is, you need to work with people, and be secure enough to leverage the people around you in a positive manor to succeed.
I had a gentleman indicate to me, he had no concept on how we set a Time and Materials estimate. Humm it is the time we estimate, plus number of FTE’s and an hourly rate. What he couldn’t't get his arms around, that if it took more time it would be more expensive.
Personally working with someone in this capacity, what I try to do, is find out what they need to be successful, what are they measured on, what are their constraints, operational models, fiscal issues. Once I can get an idea of their landscape it makes it easy for us to work together to come up with solutions, vs. every meeting rehashing you don’t do this, or your price is to high.
Their are times when you can’t get there from where you are, as people like to continually through it back on you that you are subordinate to them. In those cases, keep your nose clean, do your job well with much integrity, and rest easy that what comes around goes around.
T
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