Such a shame.

Up until now this calendar year has been a very busy at work. There is no need for me to go into details about this. First of all I make a point to not go into details about work here. That is not something for blogs. Secondly, I know that you, my fine readers, just are not going to be that interested in the intricacies of my office. After all, you have your own problems right?
That, in fact, is right to the point of my issue at work. All of us are under a lot of stress right now as massive changes and reorganizations are creating lots of uncertainty, confusion, and extra work for us all. While this provides a challenge, I am not greatly thrown by the extra tasks or added workload. Since late January I have been doing the work that was before done by two. In fact, I have at times been doing the work that as recently as December was done by five people. And I know I am not the only one.
But what has been bothering me today is that I seem to be the only one with that level of understanding and appreciation for out combined plight. I’ve been witness to more than one coworkers pushing off work on an already overloaded colleague. To say nothing of the gossipy whispers that go from cube to cube as some try to gauge who is doing what and what is or isn’t fair.
I can’t help but wonder how much more would be getting done if the gossip time was replaced with work.
I can’t help but wonder how bad an individual’s performance is affected by the distraction of wondering what the others are saying.
I’ve been plugging along, but I can see that some of my more sensitive coworkers are cracking. I have the luxury of knowing my value, but some don’t have that certainty. So now I am left to wonder what motivational words or corrective actions could help right the ship.
In the end we will be ok. No one’s life is at stake as part of our day to day jobs, and that is something to be remembered. It is a shame that the high school traits of groupthink, gossip, narcissism, and self-absorption can still be prevalent in the most adult of situations.
We can only aspire to be better.

No tips or advice here. Just wanted to get in on the page.

KT Tunstall (With lighting that makes her look way too pale).

Ding

Since blogger is giving me trouble today I guess I only have time for a quote.

"I want to put a ding in the universe." - Steve Jobs

Wine Library TV

Those that know me well are aware that I am pseudo-sophisticated at best. Yet I do try to be a sophisticated person. To this end I, like many others, have always wanted to "get into" wines more. I know very little about wine and do not have a refined palate in any way. And wine can be intimidating when you hear references to the tannins in a wine or the reaction on the mid-palate. That is why I am really glad to have found this wonderful show by Gary Vaynerchuk (VAY-ner-CHUCK!) called WineLibraryTV.



Gary is an energetic, charismatic, and sympathetic wine merchant in New Jersey who is using the internet to educate the 'general' public on the joys of wine. His language is clear and simple. While other wine reviewers might speak over the audience's head, Gary will say a wine tastes like green peppers and black cherry soda. So you know exactly what is really being said. It absolutely lacks the pretension that many of us wish to avoid.

He describes each wine after taking a 'sniffy snif' and pointing out that the wine is a fruitbomb or 'poopy poop' (and who doesn't find that funny). Plus, he has the excellent quality of being able to bring you into a mood or feeling with a good reference. He is much like a good baseball broadcaster or author in that way. It also doesn't hurt that he will throw in great pop references like Big League Chew or Stratego for a good chuckle.

I highly recommend his show to anyone who is or wants to be into wine.

The next challenge

Tonight I finished up the last few pieces of work for my MBA. As I emailed off these final contributions to my team (more on that in a moment), I felt some real closure in knowing that this particular task/challenge was done after almost two years of work.

I’ve complained about my MBA program at times. I suppose it was just not as balanced as I would like. When I say that, what I mean is that some of my courses were painfully easy, high school stuff. While others were so complex that professionals in the field would tell us students that they didn’t get what our professor was dishing out either. I’m up for a challenge but would hope it is at least consistent.

In the end I did find this program rewarding and useful. In particular, over the last year I have gotten in depth with the concepts of good project management. I think this was a wonderful area to study as it applies to almost any major project in any field, a very universal skill. More importantly the university allowed me to test this skill in a real life situation.

So many emails, so many late nights, this task really challenged me. This was especially the case as I was placed in the role of project manager. One day I am just another student, the next I am some kind of Donald Trump Apprentice team leader who must coordinate and lead the efforts of my peers. The job was full of many minor details, annoying simple tasks, and a few moments of serious thought and analysis. But given this is just how it would be at any job, what great experience!

I am very proud of my team and must admit, pretty proud of the fact that they seem to feel I was a good leader.

So now it is on the next challenge. Why another challenge so soon? It is easy to say that you are looking forward to getting back to a “normal” routine. Lately everyone has asked me if I will be relieved to be done with school. But I suppose I’ve come to re-learn over the last two years that the “normal” state of not being challenged is really a rut. We, at least I, need that next challenge, a new goal to work towards. There is no finish line, at least no permanent one. I let myself forget that once, after my first run in college. I don’t want to forget it again.

It is not that I am one of those people who has to have something big happening just to have something to talk about. I’ve worked with those types: the guy who always has a new scheme that will fail, the woman who is getting married or pregnant because she has nothing else interesting in her life. I don’t want that to be me, but I also don’t want to be running in place.

But the question is: “What should that challenge be?” That is probably what this weekend is for. About 8 hours after I post this I’ll be on a plane to Las Vegas for a well earned little vacation. It won’t be anything huge, just a couple of days. But I think I will use to the time to reflect and recharge. Hopefully I will come out of it with a decision about what is next and a plan to attack that goal.

Hey it is not the Rehab pool party at Hard Rock but it is productive.

Of course maybe I’ll make time for the party too ;-)