Remember when we hired the guy who brought his girlfriend to the interview? What I didn't say then is that this person was going to be my new sort-of boss. My boss is theoretically nearing retirement (he keeps saying "in a couple of years"), and so this person was to train with him to be ready when the day finally did come. In the interim the newbie would be the day-to-day supervisor of my coworker and I in theory. Let's just say my initial judgement of him was not far off. I can get along with most people, but I've never meshed with him. In fact, having to see him was the thing I most dreaded about going back to work today after my over week of vacation.
Well, it turned out to be a great day back today because HE RESIGNED last week.
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was so happy I actually came home and danced.
I thought I'd hidden my dislike of him, but obviously not as several people commented about how happy they knew I'd be. My coworker said someone had mentioned to her how happy I seemed to be and she said "there is no love lost". A huge understatement to say the least. I asked my coworker "Is it wrong if I want to sing the Hallelujah chorus?"
Now, yes, I do have to take my tiara back temporarily. However, I've made it very clear that this is interim only until we get someone hired, and I've already told my boss I need a raise to even to do that. I'd rather have this than have to deal with the now ex-supervisor.
And best of all, I get to say "I told you so!"
Monday, October 29, 2012
Monday, October 15, 2012
What a Cartoon Character Can Teach You About Work
If you've ever watched the cartoon "DuckTales", you know one of Scrooge McDuck's favorite sayings was "work smarter, not harder". Though he's a cartoon duck, he's still wise. There are times when only more time and/or effort will get something done, but there are very often things we can do to improve the situation so it can be achieved in an easier way.
An example from my company: When I started there 12 years ago, the presentations for our monthly management review meetings were done on transparencies. Yes, you read that right. This meeting routinely had over 100 pages of presentations. No only was this expensive (we went thought boxes of transparencies like crazy!), it was incredibly wasteful. The charts all had to be redone every month, so each transparency was used once and thrown away. If there was a typo on a transparency, it was trashed and a new one made. I and others actively campaigned for a digital projector. Once it was purchased, guess which was the first team to use PowerPoint for their presentation? Oh my goodness, so much less wasteful and faster.
This is a small example, but things like this are common in both our personal and professional lives. We'd all be well advised to be like Scrooge McDuck and stay on the lookout for ways to "work smarter, not harder".
An example from my company: When I started there 12 years ago, the presentations for our monthly management review meetings were done on transparencies. Yes, you read that right. This meeting routinely had over 100 pages of presentations. No only was this expensive (we went thought boxes of transparencies like crazy!), it was incredibly wasteful. The charts all had to be redone every month, so each transparency was used once and thrown away. If there was a typo on a transparency, it was trashed and a new one made. I and others actively campaigned for a digital projector. Once it was purchased, guess which was the first team to use PowerPoint for their presentation? Oh my goodness, so much less wasteful and faster.
This is a small example, but things like this are common in both our personal and professional lives. We'd all be well advised to be like Scrooge McDuck and stay on the lookout for ways to "work smarter, not harder".
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
What Your Choices Say About Your Priorities
We make lots of choices every day. Some are big, and some are small. These choices can often reveal much about our priorities. I'd like to illustrate this with two stories.
Story #1
My brother works at an auto parts store. He said that people will take the absolute cheapest route to fix their daily drivers, i.e. the cars that get them to their jobs so they can make money. When it comes to their weekend cars, though, they'll spend all kinds of money. It drives my brother crazy.
Story #2
A lady got a job for a company that makes home deliveries. For this job, she needs to use her own car. When she was hired, they told her she'd have to repair the crack in her windshield. They were generous and gave her some time to get this done. A few days later she comes in wearing flip flops, a dress code no no. Why? Because she got a new tattoo on her foot and couldn't wear other shoes. That's right, she didn't have the money to spend on getting her windshield fixed, but she did have the money to spend on a tattoo and to cover not getting paid since she wasn't allowed to work in flip flops.
As you can see, our actions can prove insightful about the value we place on certain things in our lives.
Story #1
My brother works at an auto parts store. He said that people will take the absolute cheapest route to fix their daily drivers, i.e. the cars that get them to their jobs so they can make money. When it comes to their weekend cars, though, they'll spend all kinds of money. It drives my brother crazy.
Story #2
A lady got a job for a company that makes home deliveries. For this job, she needs to use her own car. When she was hired, they told her she'd have to repair the crack in her windshield. They were generous and gave her some time to get this done. A few days later she comes in wearing flip flops, a dress code no no. Why? Because she got a new tattoo on her foot and couldn't wear other shoes. That's right, she didn't have the money to spend on getting her windshield fixed, but she did have the money to spend on a tattoo and to cover not getting paid since she wasn't allowed to work in flip flops.
As you can see, our actions can prove insightful about the value we place on certain things in our lives.
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