A Servant Life

One of the big pluses of being in Singapore is that I get to enjoy Jo's company. Whilst it can get silent sometimes, he does ask (or usually states) good questions, things worth thinking about.

He posed a question to me the other day, "I don't think you should stay in IT too long, as you are in a servant role, and it's not helpful in understanding how to grow a business".

I was initially a bit shocked. But it did get me thinking about it more.

He's quite right, internal IT is all about serving our business, and quite a reactive place. When the business grows, we grow. When the business shrinks, we shrink. It's a place of ideas, yes, but always of ideas to cut costs, not to increase revenues.
Granted, at my company, there is a small group of IT people with a focus on growing the "technology in property" part, but the focus is always on IT serving the business. And especially in construction, where the majority of people think that they can still build a building with just pen and paper.

And the pitfall with the service attitude is that creativity is more difficult to achieve. When IT is in reactive mode, it's comforting to not have to think and just do, just fix the problem at hand. We become great problem solvers for the problems that we can see. But growing a business usually involves fixing problems that are not yet visible, tapping the untapped opportunity.

So I need to think more holistically, and understand how the business wants to grow here. As a start, I need to think of how we can position our IT offerings to enable this growth. Perhaps business ideas will grow from there.

Should I totally step away from this servant life? A part of me quite enjoys this role, so for the time being it's the right thing. I do like the managing people part, that is where I'm learning a lot. I'm sure that will come in handy in the future.

Strategic Thinking

I recently attended a "management strategy and communications" course. I was initially drawn to the communications part, of learning how to properly structure the words to senior executives so that they understand the message and know what actions need to be undertaken.

I obviously did not read the course in much detail, or really the title of the course, as there was a whole day (it's a two day course) spent on defining management strategy.

I'm starting to understand how "tactical" my job really is, focusing on deliverables and milestones. As part of the course, defining a strategy is always about understanding the market differentiators, what makes "us" better than the competition. From the market differentiators, this should (hopefully) lead to some insights that will determine the strategy and hence strategic objectives.
What was an even more shocking realisation is how little I understand or appreciate the ways that the company makes money. It was a revelation to see the breakdown of the profits (via our annual reports), and see the trends of where money can be made.

To me, "strategic thinking" is quite an foreign concept, but one that I should grasp and master if I am to do my next job properly. There's even a line "develop a vision for the region" which is causing all sorts of anxieties.

My boss defined "strategic thinking" as "testing a certain theory against as many scenarios as you can, and the one that gives the best outcome is the one you go with". Thinking about that a bit more, is it really the flip side risk analysis, when you think of everything that can go wrong by taking a certain course?

I'm glad I did this course. Perhaps I could become a strategic thinker in the future!

Value of Time

Even though I had said earlier that my 30th birthday seemed to have come and gone without much impact, I'm starting to think of the value of time with slightly more seriousness.

Previously, given my current transfer situation, I knew I was committed to working in the company for another year, and after that, it's not much of a stretch to be around for two more years to hit my 10 year mark and enjoy the fruits of my labours. But suddenly I'm thinking that there could be other options and those extra two years seems like a long commitment.

Now don't get me wrong, I think the company is great, and the people there are wonderful, the question nowadays is "where next"? Staying a bit longer, there should be a managerial spot for me. Is this what I want? Can I see myself being the nurturing type for my minion employees? I think I've said before that my strengths seem to be on focusing on a deliverable and hitting the target ie project management. Trouble is, will there be many more interesting projects to deliver in the next few years, with the financial climate as it is?

Perhaps extra schooling might be the answer? Funny thing is the first question they ask on those MBA forms is "what position do you seek after graduation?", and I'm already stuck! I need more thoughts on the matter...

Yay for Go-Live!

I like when projects go-live.
There is a certain satisfaction to be had when all the hard work comes together and a product is rolled out to the users.

Of course there are issues, I don't think any project goes to the users without something that someone would complain about. However, as long as the issues are not too many, or too severe, I would consider it a success. The comms out to the business was terrible (side note: I really do think that people in the business do not understand change management) but the usability of the system was enough that most people were up and away.
Funniest part: an email from one of the business units that said "Tomorrow is the dawning of a new era in internal communications" when in fact the system was already live today.

There is some really bad statistic that says that 40% (or is it even more?) of ICT projects don't see the light of day. So I have to make sure that the team celebrates. Think I might have to buy some thank you items!

Let's kick back, relax for a bit and savour the moment.

Sydney Work Review

As sad as this is, given I'm back in Sydney with family and friends, I'm writing a post about work.
Coming back to Oz I've been reminded how difficult it is to properly manage a project, especially a large enterprise one.

The amount of people to manager, issues to fix, risks to watch over and general grief counseling that is involved could make any PM insane. The problem is exacerbated by poor requirements, leading to one of the biggest scope creep issues I have ever seen. I'm coming here as a viewer of the storm, as opposed to being in the middle of it, so it makes for quite a learning experience. Time is a factor, and as crunch time nears for project delivery, communication really doesn't get the loving it deserves.

Thinking of the up and coming project on my radar, where I'll be trying to herd two quite different business units in all three regions of the globe will be quite a challenge. I need to make sure that I keep everyone engaged, or else there will almost a guarantee that things will be coming out of left field.

Of course, it's not like I was the best PM when I was here in Oz. Having talked to the guys that are now supporting the project I ran, I would have to say that there was a real lack of quality analysis on the work that was produced, and whether that is due to poor developers or poor BAs, the ultimate responsibility comes back to me. I'm just lucky that I have a PM friend in Sydney whom I handed over to, who is very good at working through these knotty issues. For someone who doesn't swear much, even he says that the solution I produced was "fucked", to use a technical term :)

In other news, it was wonderful to catch up with family and friends. I miss everyone here! Looking forward to XBox night on Wednesday hehe. Some things never change!

Changes

My company went through some major management changes this week. People who were replaced had been with the company for over 25 years. Whilst the announcements were sugar coated with "mutual agreement to leave" and "he's done a fine job" etc, the fact of the matter is that the main US guy for our company was removed.

As an outsider who had been here in NY for only 7 months, the employee meeting to discuss the departures was one of the most interesting things I have been to from a work/career perspective.
I have no affinity with the guy, but there are people who have been working with him for the last 20 odd years. I couldn't imagine the shock of it to those other senior managers.

There was a lot of "the board members are only concerned with the stock price, but we're concerned with a place for people to have a job and support their families" seems very us vs the big bad corporation. In the end, I believe we're all here so that we can make money, and if the guy is not performing or he's not the right guy to implement some improvements, then it's time for some new blood.

The strangest thing was the message the other senior guys were saying, that "things around here won't change much", and "NY is what we want the company to be". Given that the main guy was removed, you would think that change is in the air, and that if you don't toe the corporate line (as a regional business) you'd better watch out. The message from corporate was none too subtle.

As the financial controller said to me (again, he's a new guy to the company), this is just the beginning. Who knows what other changes are coming through.

I heard that when he was leaving, the main guy said that "I'll be back in a year to take this company". It's definitely an interesting time to be in the US!

Career Opportunities

Argh, so much for a Sunday post, been in a conference the whole week.

A work friend told me a story that in his first year out into the corporate world, the tech bubble busted and he got laid off. Ever since, he's been a big believer that no one looks after your career except yourself.

This conference last week has made me feel a little bit different to that. As per my post a few weeks back about my project getting canned, I've been operating at a fairly low capacity, and doing mostly support work. I was starting to consider "what next?" and thinking of other possibilities (even outside of the company).

I came down to Charlotte for some other work, and ended up being invited to this global ICT conference. Within this week, I have been promoted to a Project Manager again, and gotten some global work. It was good to get nominated (without any suggestion from me) in front of the bigwigs as the person to do the job.

Perhaps managers do look after their staff, at least in this company.
Perhaps this comes from being able to deliver in previous instances, and past history in the corporate world counts as something.
Perhaps no one else wanted the role!

In any case, it's project time again. 6 weeks to go-live :)

Canned Project

I've had a project cancel on me before, but not one where I was the project manager. I think I didn't feel it as much because we were still in the pre-development stage, and everything I had done was only on word and pictures.

What's there to learn from it? A project manager should never be that fully invested into the project, and they should always be, as I learnt from one of my classes, "a conduit of other people's dreams". Any kind of change in business conditions, as witnessed these last few months, can turn a project on its head. Probably the other thing to learn is that a PM should always have contingencies and different scenarios thought through. If I'm constantly thinking "what if...?" I would probably be better prepared for what was going to happen.

However, my big boss has indicated he's keen on using ICT money to fund the project and have it ready for the business when they need it. I'm not so sure that is a good idea, but if the project gets revived, I'll be ready.

Pity, though, I now can't say I have another project under my belt. I wonder what I should write for my resume for a project that gets the shaft?

Things To Say To The Boss

He's coming for a visit on Tuesday. Things to discuss:

What's been good?

• Get to learn about the way they do business here. Never knew much about construction until now.
• Working in another culture. Americans are quite clear in what they want, so gathering requirements is slightly easier (maybe cause I'm working with existing systems)
• Visiting different offices, meeting new people. ICT can get insulated from what happens out on the sites, it's good to get out and about.

What's been difficult?

• Working by myself. Having no team around is hard to bounce ideas and work off the energy of each other. Reporting to a manager in another office makes the relationship quite distant.
• Not working at full capacity. Could change when the project actually gets into gear, but I could do with some more work. Should I be thinking up and proposing new activities e.g. the money saved on a project using the tax exemption?

What questions to ask?

• How's the ICT strategy going in terms of being implemented, now in its last year?
• Are we addressing the business' need for ICT adding value? Have we been involved in any construction ICT work?
• Where will the New York office be in a year or two? What kind of ICT service will we be providing to them by the end of my stay here?
• How's the Sydney office going? And how are those new projects going along?
  

The Art Of Negotiation

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a confrontational kind of guy. And hence it's always with trepidation that I went into my negotiations for the US transfer. What they had given me as the first offer was a bit light on the transfer allowance...actually super light on the transfer allowance.

I was planning to talk to my financial controller (who is the one arranging this transfer and he was the one who gave me the initial offer) but was pulled aside by my CIO to ask what's wrong with it.

The funny thing was that I had prepared all these answers, but in front of the CIO, they just didn't come out! What came out was putting numbers on the table, discussion of things that I was training myself not to talk about ie Bec's transfer. I'm just glad I didn't sign anything!

Still, all is not lost, and I subsequently had my meeting with the financial controller and have made my requests (without giving away all my numbers yet). Fingers crossed!

The things that I have learnt from this experience:

• It definitely takes practice. Things have the potential to get heated, and it takes a calm mind to argue logically through it and emphasise the points that I want to.
• I may not have been 100% with the arguments they were going to raise, but it was good to have gone through and thought out what objections I needed to be able to reply to.
• I suck in terms of standing up or not divulging information to my boss! I don't know if others have the same issue, but when he says "name the number", or "tell me what your partner will most likely get" it's very hard to not say anything concrete. Much like when he says "jump", I would say "how high?"
  
• The less numbers the better. Or rather, don't name a number until the other side has named one. Even then they may name another one first before you have to say anything.
• Clarify assumptions that they have made, or else they may be basing their offer on information that is incorrect.
• Silence is golden whilst looking people in the eye. It shows you mean business.
• Have a laugh once in a while! Negotiating should be an enjoyable exercise, because in the end, both parties should be happy.

And a point that was told to me: leave something at the table, because there is no doubt that you will have to deal with the other party again in the future.

Career Learning 101

I got through a confrontation today. I was told that I was going behind someone’s back by reporting that they were holding up their section of the project. I was told that I was lying, but I said the facts as they stood to me. She asked for my apology, but I said “not yet”, not until it was proven that there were no issues with what she had written down.

After the workshop, it was clear that there was a lot more work that needed to be done to get the requirements into some form of specifications. Even she said so. So at that point, I felt it was a good time to apologise, for giving the impression that I was going behind her back.

The aim here is to get things done. Not backing down in the morning was a good move, as she’s the type of person who would get focussed when challenged. However, it’s always a good move to apologise, it smoothes the way for more positive interactions.

I’m proud of myself for being strong in that situation. Always stay professional.

Damn! two cheap calls already:

I'm proud of you babe! That was one ballsy, smart and very effective move. See how exciting confrontation can be?! :)
beckster (link) - 06 February '07 - 19:14

People don't apologise enough these days.

The key is making sure you are specific about what it is you are apologising for. Scope.

I've probably gone a little too far in the direction of apologising. Over here, it often becomes a competition to see who can apologise and show the most humility. Except with your manager. They tell you you're doing something the "wrong" way, and then teach you how to do something, which is always the most inefficient way possible. So you just say "yep, understood!" and then go back to doing it your own way, taking more care this time not to get caught. Repeat as necessary.

RC
randomcow (email) (link) - 16 February '07 - 10:17

Is The Job Right?

It's been nearly 5 years since I've come out of uni, with all the dreams and aspirations that a university grad has. Having done some work experience during uni, I was used to the corporate life and all that it entails. I'm now at a stage of thinking about the quality of my job and how far I can see myself going down this path.

Can I be a Chief Information Officer? Can I be a Project Director for a large multinational? I don't know...
I have other friends who have great aspirations to be involved in social work, and "making a difference". These are the people whom I have the most interest in, in terms of their jobs. Perhaps I could join the two areas together, project work and social work??

I think the best way to judge my job would be whether it satisfies one word: "Wow". If the work is interesting, then it would be a "wow". If I am passionate about what I do, then it would be a "wow". That's the focus I will have going forward.

Is my job like that now? It has its moments, but not really. I know, however, that it is a stepping stone to get that knowledge and skill to move to that dream job later on. Project work is change management, and that always makes a difference in someone's life.

Only one cheap call:

Ultimately work has to be fulfilling and satisfying - of available awake hours (say 7-8 hours sleep a night) I figure you spend at least HALF at work or travelling there.

For me personally, I wouldn't say that "WOW" was a great way to indicate the right job. I'm lucky enough to be working in a job i find enjoyable and not too stressful - but ultimately i want work to be sufficient to allow me to enjoy the time NOT at work.

If as you say your job "is the stepping stone ... to that dream job later on" then I'd say you probably are in the right place and should plug along. It might not be WOW but it's taking you were you want to go - and hopefully we all are making those right steps towards our goals for now and in the future.
Dessy - 17 February '06 - 12:52

The Perfect Organiser

Throughout my short career, I have had the issue of sychronising data from work to home and vice versa. Things events (sorry I double-booked this Sunday Reenie and Bei!), to-do lists and scribbles all lived separate lives within the work computer and the home computer. I was also looking at ways to capture my thoughts from day to day, even when I wasn't near a computer.

Over the last year or so I've been getting quite hooked into reading about productivity, and all the wonderful websites and software that geeky people like myself would toy with because:

• I like to tinker.
• I thought it would help.
• It was cool!

After a while, however, I would think that the system would not satisfy my needs, and move on to some new software. In reality it failed because I didn't take the time to work out what I really needed out of an organiser or PDA.

All this searching for the 'perfect PDA' is a useless exercise. There is no such thing. Quoting from another productivity website, the system should provide you with..."your absolute must-have requirements mixed in with the shortcomings you’re willing to tolerate will determine what’s right for you. (Coincidentally, this is true of jobs, relationships, locations, houses, and cars, too.)".

And so I'm back to square one. What I need from a PDA is:

1. The ability to jot down thoughts when I need to
2. Flexible entry style
3. Captures future events
4. Task oriented
5. Somewhere to hold things I collect during the day.

The new Franklin Covey organiser that I got on my training course is getting some workout, but I need to dedicate some more time to keeping it updated. The beauty is the weekly role piece of paper, which outlines what I have to do for the next week, according to the roles that I have. I think I can live without a lot of the other stuff. A learner and meaner organiser awaits!

Only one cheap call:

That thing looks similar to the Day Timer I use. Is it two pages to a day? Between that, and the month-to-a-view (good for organising social life and big work events, and updating with people's birthdays at the beginning of each month) it had everything I needed to keep relatively organised. And I put all my little projects in the tabbed section.

I think the only thing an electronic organiser wins in is the automatic meeting reminders. Apart from that, paper wins hands down every time.

Flame away, biatchez!!!!!

RC
randomcow - 20 November '05 - 07:13

Neurotic Imposture

Reading this symptom is Boss magazine, and the actual research paper, probably the best way to describe this symptom is with a story.

A bright young employee is promoted to a mor senior level within the company. He/she is very clever, but feared that they couldn't take on the new job's responsibilities. At the root of the dlemma was their suspicion that they are just not good enough, and they lived in dread that they would be exposed any minute. Whilst on the outside observer their achievements are great, annd that they are extrememly successful leaders, deep down inside they see themselves as frauds. It causes them to believe that they don't deserve their success at all.

Now the problem with this is that as you go higher up the corporate ladder, there will be a time where you will be in the number one position. This is where the person is expected to stand on his or her own. When this occurs, risk aversion sets in, and the organisation with a neurotic impostor as its CEO will fail to tackle entrepreneurial and high risk activities, stifling growth.

Something struck me in that article, it seemed to be quite similar to how I feel. Granted, I'm not top 5% of the INSEAD graduation class (as per the article) but I often tell others that I think the achievements I have made have been due to luck and right timing more than anything else. I look towards the future of my career and there is a fear that I will head up some business unit and I will just not have the right stuff.

But there can be a cure. Of course the first thing is self-identification of this issue. The other is to recognise that mistakes and failures can offer great opportunities for learning and personal growth, and that the fear of failure should not be debilitating. Constructive criticism should be welcomed, not a catastrophe.

Anyone out there a neurotic imposture?

Damn! seven cheap calls already:

as a 'professional services' professional, i think ppl pay waaay too much for my services. then again, i know other 'professional services' professionals who charge at almost twice my rate. i also feel that i'm over-paid, which probably explains the need for my exorbitant rates, but that doesn't stop me from wanting more money!!

impostor, i don't know, but definitely neurotic. bwahahahaha

btw, u were mighty stoned or drunk or your left pinky must've been hanging off your hand when u typed that post. check out all the typos!! :b
ken (link) - 19 October '05 - 09:50

Yeah, it was a bit of a rush post before dinner :) Not of the usual high standards.

Ah, the key to the exorbitant rates is known as "overhead" ie drunken corporate parties, karaoke nights, free birthday cakes, stationery etc etc
JookBoy (link) - 19 October '05 - 09:59

Dude, you're not an impostor. You've worked hard up until now. Give yourself some credit.

When the day comes for you to head up a business unit and you don't have the right stuff, you'll probably stuff it up. You wouldn't be the first.

Actually, as you know I started work out here in Hokkaido about three weeks ago. They've got me working as a Bell boy, so I greet the guests, take their luggage and show them to the front desk. Then when they have finished checking in I take them to their room, and explain the features of the room (air con, fridge, japanese YUKATA and slippers, the view, etc). Thing is, there's this whole seperate language for when you speak to customers/guests which I had read about but never actually used. Which could be the same as you - you can do stuff to prepare for the next big step, but there's nothing like actually doing it (there's no shortage of 'How to be a CEO' books out there).

So first couple of times I took guests to their rooms I stuffed up a lot. But by the end of the first week I was doing it like a pro. These days I have relaxed a lot more, and I joke with the guests in the elevator. At the same time I'm still trying to refine my language and do the best job I can.

RC
randomcow - 22 October '05 - 07:43

dude, sorry to hijack your blog, but I couldn't think of a more suitable place to put an update so that everyone could read it.

So this week I got kicked out of the place I was living. It was a shit place to begin with that the agent had found for me and this other guy working at the hotel for the same agent. 30 minutes walk from the station over a huge fucking hill (fun until winter comes along and it starts snowing. Like, this week). Asshole owners who don't let me use the kitchen, and are just dislikable people. strange smell. old. 200yen for a shower, or to use the washing machine. Cold. Expensive. Nothing open nearby after about 10pm. Well, the convenience store was open until 11:00pm. Kinda like a guest house except shit.

So me and the other guy living with me there had pretty much decided we were moving out, and had already started looking for a place in TEINE which is much closer to Sapporo. They have 24 hour stuff there, like a supermarket and bars that are open until late.

The thing is, there is a contract between the agent that we are working for and the owner of the shitty house. Please understand that the agent chose this place without looking at it. In fact, the agent that I'm working for has never been to Hokkaido. So of course when we let the agent know that we are thinking of leaving after just one month then he decides to try and get out of the one year contract as cheaply as possible. he ends up having an argument with the owner of the house, who says he wants us out THAT VERY DAY.

Luckily the guys in HR (HR people in Japan actually do stuff for their employees. So refreshing) managed to organise me and my mate to live with this manager who lives near by in his one bedroom place. Well, he lives there with three other guys who crash on the floor. So now there are six of us here in this one bedroom place.

But back to the day we got kicked out, I arranged with one of the guys from work who finished about the same time as me to drive me back in his van so we could pick up all our stuff. I was packing stuff into my bags like a madman. We apologised and left at about midnight, back to the hotel to drop of 95% of our stuff. I have been living out of a small backpack for about a week now. It's tough.

So we arrived at the manager's apartment at about 1am. The manager is asleep, but he wakes up at about 1:30 - "Ok, let's go to the spa!" We soak away our stress in the specially salted waters of this establishment for a couple of hours, go for gyudon and a beer, and end up in bed around 4:30am.

The rest of the week was crazy-busy. There was a public holiday last week (I think there is one almost every week here in Japan) and so between work, looking for a new place to live, and getting drunk every night with my new temporary sharemates I didn't have time to fully appreciate how crazy my Japan adventure is getting.

To top things off, yesterday the manager and I happened to have the same day off work. So after cracking open first beers at 11am, we went for japanese style gengis kahn (Sydney's is better), more drinking until he fell asleep at a beer hall at about 5pm for about an hour. I got bored and so I went and made some new friends. (^o^) Then the manager wakes up and we walk around the town looking for some action. We decide that there wasn't anything going on, so we catch a train to Sapporo!

First bar we went to was all-you-can-drink (that reminds me - when you guys are here, I found an all-you-can-drink for 290yen, that's about AU$3.20 these days, for 30 minutes. bar-style karaoke included). And you want to drink a lot, because each time the bar girl goes and pours your drink you can see her pussy. Oh, I forgot to mention that the hostesses were all pantyless, and walking around on our table reaching up to use the alcohol-pouring devices. and their breasts were out for all to see, too. Some busty girls too, expecially considering they're asian. You guys are probably not the best crowd to make that comment to now, but it's late and I'm drunk. I have my own private girl come sit on the table in front of me for a bit and hold my hand while we chat. She was dumb, but it's kinda cute. Lucky my time with her was up quickly. Nice tits, too. Smooth skin.

Anyway, after a short while the show starts. Basically many variations of the same theme, where the girls spend a few minutes doing an activity before moving around the circle. Oh yeah, it was a circular bar, with all seedy gyuys like me sitting around and getting drunk.

So what were these games? Well, there was one where everyone had pen-lights. The lights went out, and while the girl in front was rubbing her pussy you use the penlight to see as much as you can. Funny stuff.

Then there was the one where the girls would grind their ass against your crotch in tune with the music, and the one where you have about 30 seconds fondling time. And then the one where they rubbed you crotch.

But the best game was the paper scissors rock, where the prize for beating them was a nice look at their pussy. Of course, they show you what they're going to play before hand, so you can't lose! I felt like a king!

I touched the breasts of about 12 different women last night. Closest I'd ever have come to that in Sydney is a measly 3 or 4 in one night, and they were all wearing a bra.

Anyway, the homeless thing will sort itself out. Hope you're all well.

RC
randomcow (email) - 06 November '05 - 21:49

Wow nice post. I've got a few wild KTV experiences to tell you about - but over email instead hehe
Al (email) - 09 November '05 - 12:48

Let the record show that my all-you-can-drink experience in Shibuya was waaay different to that. It was much more expensive, for one! :)

No wonder I'm getting referred to by all these pr0n sites. RC, have you been referring me?
Sounds like a great trip mate. Is your blog up yet?
JookBoy (link) - 09 November '05 - 14:57

I've started posting work-related stuff here:

http://participate.jhip.org/?cat=2

I don't know if you can set up a RSS feed to only read the stuff I'm posting though, so if you subscribe you might get all the unrelated posts too.

RC
randomcow - 19 November '05 - 22:19

Moving On

Today's my last day out at Ropes Crossing (or St Marys), and I'll be heading back to the big smoke for some IT project management work.
What have I learnt?
1. That on-site work is totally different to working at Head Office. Things like internet connectivity are good most the time, but shocking other times. There is a sense of disconnect with the main office (especially with the remoteness of this site), and also a sense of tribalness. The people here are wonderful, and quite willing to help out and lend assistance to each other. Interruptions happen a lot often, mostly because everyone knows everyone else.

2. DLL is a company at a cross-roads. It's finding its identity through a myriad of organisational structures, and there is no lockdown operational processes that you find at a more mature company, which leads to communication problems between the different "disciplines" of the project. It is still growing, but needs to organise that growth and get everyone aligned to the same goals to maximise its effectiveness and value.

3. I still like IT. Marketing is fun, and urban communities I have learnt all sorts of wonderful information from, but the sign-offs that marketing requires and the sometimes ambivalent nature of the urban communities job detract from the glamour. I see these experiences as additions to the core skill of project management, and when talking to business people, having had business experience provides that little bit more street cred.
What of sales? Sales was fun, and I liked talking to people. As above, an integration of sales into an IT role is something to think about. I think the hours or the sales staff (no weekends off for the whole year) and the location of the job are not really what I wanted.

So back to Crows Nest for me. At last I can stop living out of a bag!

Only one cheap call:

As long as you remember all your sales lines... life is sales :) They'll serve you well.

Now, about updating your crappy Honda... would you like to come in Saturday or Sunday? :P
PeeDz - 16 September '05 - 20:04

Working For Work's Sake

I heard recently that there is a family out there that makes $200,000 from government benefits. There are 6 in the family, and they are living it up (I'm assuming it's tax free?), chilling out at home and playing the XBox.

One of the major issues with unemployment is the lack of financial security. With "The Solid Facts: The Social Determinants of Health" paper from the World Health Organisation in Europe (it's amazing the stuff I read now for my work), the authors have stated that unemployment brings both mental and physical illnesses.
But what if that financial insecurity was removed, as is the case with this family. They are earning a decent buck.

Life is grand...or is it?

At much as we would like to be ladies and men of leisure, I think there is an urge in all of us to have a meaningful job. A job that we feel utilises our skills, encourages responsilibty and and promotes creativity and problem solving. There is a buzz from achieving, no matter what the task may be. We look forward to our reviews, not just to complain about a pay rise (which we all do!) but to see if the stuff we do is making a difference.

Do other people feel this is true, or am I off on the wrong path?
Would an extra 40 hours of relaxation make me a happier person?

Damn! six cheap calls already:

I think for most of us who want to achieve even a teeny microscopic amount of something/anything with their lives, a career of coach-potatoing will drive them certifiably insane. Particularly for our social clique, most of whom were raised in decent environments and privileged enough to receive a solid education. To squander it away is an injustice to all of that. A holiday is only a holiday if you have something to take a break from.

A job confirms your self-worth in a sense. Like you said, we all like to know that what we're doing is making a difference, that we're being constructive, not just taking up space. The politics, pain and endless biatching at work makes life interesting.
beckster (link) - 04 August '05 - 13:32

I've been off work for almost two months now. I don't really want to go back, to be honest. I couldn't really say I'm not adding to people's lives. I'm a funny guy, I make people laugh.

RC (the clown)
randomcow - 10 August '05 - 09:44

if you can keep yourself busy in your time off (e.g. travelling the world, surfing the net, house sitting or xbox) i don't think many people would not it back. Who's gonna knock back free-money? or who'd knock back a job with less work/responsibilities and more money? not me :)
Dessy (link) - 11 August '05 - 18:21

How much net surfing and XBox playing can one do?
As with all things, it's all a balance....although those all-nighter Halo events were fantastic!

I don't know though, having less responsibilities makes a job less interesting.
JookBoy (link) - 12 August '05 - 13:19

I think it comes down to your personal needs.

There are 6 basic needs we, as humans, all share -

1 Certainty
2 Uncertainty/Variety
3 Significance
4 Connection/Love
5 Growth
6 Contribution.

Addictions arise when people satisfy 3 or more of these needs by committing a various act eg smoking.

Needs 5 and 6 are what it sounds like people fear losing if they do not work or accept reduced workplace responsibilities. As most people reading this site are "achievers" the thought of not growing (#5) or not contributing beyond themself (#6) is unattractive.

People who don't like getting up for work every day and additionally don't like the thought of NOT working every day clearly value their need for Variety. It doesn't matter what they do, as long as some uncertainty about their day exists.

Surely there are alternate ways to meet these needs other than work, right?
Taipan (link) - 14 August '05 - 10:14

dude I haven't worked for more than three months now and I'm still not sick of it. I start work this Monday as a porter at the Hilton Hotel up in Otaru (near Sapporo) just in time for ski season :) I wouldn't say I'm not looking forward to it, but the time off has been great.

RC
randomcow - 26 September '05 - 08:34

Performance Review

Had my performance review the other day. Performance reviews are a strange thing, it's like a year of my life condensed into an hour meeting. Things that I don't even remember committing to pop up, and I'm at a loss to explain what actually happened.

I didn't do as well as I would have like, to be honest. Missed out on a few goals, but the realisation that came through from this session was that money plays a part at all levels of the company. I consider myself to still be a youngling (where do Star Wars script writers come up with these words??) at my company, so making money for the company is not something high in my priorities (I'm in an internal service area). Obviously you watch your costs, but the need to actively bring in money for IT is a new concept, and something to bring for the next year.

The other thing to bring for the next year is passion and enthusiasm. Much like that "Fish!" book (Yui, I think I still have your book!), it seems like I'm great when there's exciting things to do (and perform quite well), but mundane tasks make me want to procrastinate :)

So the answer is less surfing the web, batch checking of emails (you know that if you check your email once a minute, you will create 500 interruptions??), and just focussing on the tasks at hand. The other option is to just give me exciting projects and I'll be the bomb!

Did anyone have any fun reviews this year?

Only one cheap call:

mine was along the lines of... fantastic effort this past year... above and beyond... great feedback from all your managers and clients... unfortunately we can't afford to give you a raise... but keep up the good work
ding! (email) (link) - 31 July '05 - 15:01

The Wonders Of Marketing

It's been a few weeks at the new job at St Marys, I'm starting to get a bit of a feel for it. The communities part of the job is not yet full steam ahead, so the expeereince is mostly on the marketing side.

I've been doing a lot of reading about marketing, and website usability, and demographics of the western Sydney region.
One particularly interesting reaserach I've been reading is about the art of marketing to females. Here is my quick analysis:

1. Emotive rapport building
- women process incoming messages on a far more emotive element than men
- men will recall facts and data, women recall much more emotional/human factors
- difference at different age groups
- the "emotional hit" is the issue

2. MSP (Multi-dimensional selling proposition)
- could be more important to USP (unique selling proposition)
- automatically relating the marketing message to different components of her life, whereas the male will evaluate on a single component. Hence need to appeal to all factors of her life.
- do not stereotype and pigeon-hole women

3. Community network
- the importance that women place on their network, feeling a sense of community
- provide mechanisms and the environment for women to connect to each other
- eg an online community
- tie yourself to an existing network or create its own network.
- "think constellation, not individual stars"

4. Open channels of feedback
- giving ownership of your brand to your female customers
- ie providing ideas, product dvelopment, suggestions
- the customers themselves become the promoters and networkers
- work on establishing a client advisory board
- utilise female collaboration as a story for further promotion

5. Referrals (Word-of-mouth)
- They can basically learn 100% of the product from their "inner circle" of female friends before they purchase.
- 73% of married women rate the relationships with their women of greater importance than their relationship with their husbands (talk about non-commitment! :P)
- Word-of-mouth becomes an exponential strategy
- Get them to refer by working out how to reward their referrals
- Reward the referral, rather than offering an up-front bribe ie surprise the female with the gift AFTER the referral has occurred, rather than before.

I wonder if this type of information can be integrated into how guys should approach relationships? It's all about marketing yourself, right?

Damn! five cheap calls already:

So...does that mean you have a "constellation" of "stars" that you "network" with, with the referral rewards paid in full? :P
ricegrains (link) - 11 April '05 - 09:06

I will now sell more Lexus'. Thanks :P
PeeDz - 12 April '05 - 17:25

Good point Diddyz...I hope none of your competitors read your blog KC :)

I will also now proceed flog more deodorant :)
ricegrains (link) - 14 April '05 - 06:05

Yeah, these all-body sprays are just dodgy, especially if they are not diluted :)
JookBoy (link) - 19 April '05 - 13:43

I guess sometimes your product's reputation is so good that you don't have to go out there and market it.

RC
randomcow - 02 May '05 - 10:47

Stirring The Creative Juices

Pretty soon *fingers crossed* I'll be moving to a new role in the marketing department of one of our business units. This is a good opportunity to try something a bit different, and of course, with new ooportunities, there is a high amount of trepidation at to whether you can step up and deliver. This one is especially daunting as the first thing the marketing manager whom I'm reporting to said to me was "Kev, I've heard really good things about you from your managers...." Oh dear :)

Anyway, I've always thought that I did not have one creative bone in my body. Like in art, I had more fun doing sketches of existing paintings/drawings, rather than liberally applying paint across the canvas Pro-Hart style. In business, I felt I did not have the visionary abilities that my partner displayed on a much more frequent basis. Give me a lead or aim, and I'll deliver it for you. Ask me for the vision, and I'm quite stumped.

I think marketing is about understanding what the consumer values in your product, and pushing that message to induce the need in the consumer's minds. A lot of times, this comes just from listening to the customer, and to really get to the bottom of their psyche.

How much creativity is needed? The skill is marketing is presenting the message in a way that makes it memorable for the consumer...or is that the advertising exec's job? Is thinking creatively and being creative two different things?

On a different tangent, where does the creative side come from? And how does one develop it more?

I'm hoping that my IT skills will bring a different perspective to the table, and that further down the track for me, it's something to add to my skills...I keep reading that it's not hard-core IT that gets you places, but an ability to bring the business and IT perspectives together.
Give me a few months, and I'll come back all arty. Maybe my hair could be as "tzsujed" as Boges'!

Damn! eleven cheap calls already:

You don't have to come up with the creative, that's what your advertising agency is for and why you pay them big bucks :)

I think your IT skills will help, especially if you do Online/Digital stuff. Some of the clients we have are retarded when it comes to things like that and we have to hold their hand through the whole process which makes it so painful.
riss (email) (link) - 08 December '04 - 11:10

i always wondered how u would spell "tzsujed".
pskis - 08 December '04 - 12:32

i think he made that up ,we need to check with the queer eye boys...
addy (link) - 09 December '04 - 02:31

IT + business is my entire work world and I think it’s very true that hardcore IT will only get you to one spot - hard core IT. But if you know IT and u know business u can use that to help the business really achieve its goals and objectives - then u can be at the top of all the business (hardcore IT-ers and all!). Now you’ve got another important skill which u can use to conquer the world à marketing + IT + business acumen = WORLD DOMINATION :)....hmmm…anyone for Risk?? It’s been awhile since playing that!
mushiejc (link) - 09 December '04 - 03:47

Riss, are you tring to drum yourself up some business?
Dre - 09 December '04 - 06:18

dre- yes :p
riss (email) (link) - 09 December '04 - 11:32

tzsujed is correct. The queer eye book says so :)
PeeDz - 11 December '04 - 13:48

Dude, you've been practicing for this role for years! Think of all the hos you've been selling yourself to at your dance parties, planting in their mind the idea that your product is superior, more durable, longer-lasting, etc.

I think this is your calling.
randomcow - 12 December '04 - 02:02

In the immortal words of Huggy Bear from Starsky and Hutch - "I lay it out for ya'll to play it out"

JB, don't stress about the creativity; Miss Riss is right, while you need some, that's why we pay the advertising peeps the big bucks. To take your vision and message and turn it into something that the consumers will, in short, want.

Creativity comes from so many sources. What you read, what you watch, insights...it's all about turning these influences into something that you can use in your role to help market your product.

And RC is right; you'll be fine...years of fine-tuning :P
ricegrains (link) - 12 December '04 - 06:32

hehe, thanks for the wise words everyone. Equating it to spading chicks always makes more sense to me.

If I ever get to allocate spending, riss, you'll be the first on my list :)
Congrats on your role Jem! I think the role is Marketing Communications, although I'm still waiting for the job specs to come through. Doing some education with the help of some digital formats ie CD distributions and other mediums.

That LOTR Risk is wild...pure luck, that game, althought the figurines are very cool! I'm down for Diplomacy if anyone has it (do you have that mushie?)
JookBoy (link) - 14 December '04 - 17:54

Oooh LOTR Risk - count me in!! :) okies diplomacy/risk night soon...although diplomacy will prob take many many nights to play (we better play it - only played it once and it cost me big bucks!!)...maybe we should combine it with another LNP night??? ;)
mushiejc (link) - 15 December '04 - 14:44

Feels Good To Be Called Special

Finally got my pay review yesterday, and it was all good. Got a 10% increase, and comparing that to the company average of 1-2%, makes me feel like a special boy :) There were some "we see the potential that you have in this place" as well as "this increase is quite out of line with everyone else's", but also came with the more ominous "you'ed better deliver!"! But all in all, I know that the management are looking after me.

People are taking notice of the work I do (even the CFO of our region was chiming in with some calls saying that my project was a "key deliverable"...ooooh!) and so if it all works out, it should be fantastic. If it all doesn't....well, let's just hope it all works out :)

Also got a cash bonus, which sadly will be directed into funding the new tyres I had to get for the pink slip. Registraion sux ass! Now I'm just waiting for the share price to kick up, so that my Lend Lease shares (got as part of the bonus) will increase as well. Go you good thing!

Strangely now, with the imminent sale of the Gap Games business, I have taken a more serious look at where the career is going. It seems a lot of friends are taking opportunities with different companies and really getting out there and seeing what's available. For me, I feel that Lend Lease is a great place to work. The culture here is awesome, and that's half the battle of finding a good job. Throw into that a management team that knows you and a CIO that is taking a personal interest in you (most likely because I'm half decent at the sports our department organises), and what else is there to look for?

And the answer to that, kids, is.......a much higher salary!!

For the foreseeable future, I think I'll stick with this construction company. If I can get a secondment over to Asia somewhere *fingers crossed*, that would be awesome. Let's see how it goes, eh?

Damn! seven cheap calls already:

woot WOOT!
Dre - 08 September '03 - 21:38

Not until the 19th mate :) Show me the money!
JookBoy - 09 September '03 - 09:23

Just an update on meeting famous ppl (or semi not so famous people) I THINK I saw that asian chick from neighbours on the train the other day. So I went up to her and was about ot say 'wassup' when she hopped off at central. She got on at town hall so I thought I had enough time to get my groove on so to speak. Oh well.... if it WAS her, she is much finer in person.
Dre - 09 September '03 - 22:54

who watches neighbours?
pskis - 10 September '03 - 11:53

Dre isn't "Neighbours" filmed in Melbourne?
-Stephen- - 14 September '03 - 22:08

Yeah, but she's already left the show I think. And as I said, I THINK I saw her :P
Dre - 18 September '03 - 00:37