On a plane bound for Phoenix. This is my first business trip with my new company, and Im quite excited about it. I hope that I can live up to the expectations that I have put on this trip!
Works been crazy, and while I cant say that Ive loved every minute of it, I have to say that Im excited about it. Really excited. Theres a lot of work that needs to be done and I need to learn a TON, but Id say that in two weeks (this is the beginning of my third week), I have learned an exceptional amount of
well, lots and lots of stuff, if not yet a ton.
The good, bad, ugly to follow. In fact, here goes.
The Good:
I have an excellent staff. My Product Manager rocks. She knows her shit, but doesnt want to lead by any means. She has tons of experience and shares it freely with me. My Assistant Product Manager is kind of the same. She knows her shit too and uses it, but shes also not a complainer, nor does she need a lot of attention. My Sample Sewer keeps to herself and just cranks out the work. I hope this is a sign of things to come. I hope it all goes smoothly.
My boss is interesting. A former pro athlete, he is nice looking, if not a bit cocky. Super straight forward, I think thats going to be a good thing. Hes on the watch list. Well see where this goes!
Peers are good, if we could just keep them here. Im not sure what the major turnover is all about, but my boss has 8 direct reports and Im one of 2 super newbies starting on the same day (and then there are 2 vacant positions). And besides the Director of New Product Development, who has 25 years with the company, the next highest seniority is 1 ½ years. Weird. And a bit scary, but also some good potential for greatness, depending on how you look at it.
Good established business, which helps, but of course will keep me on my toes.
The Bad:
Bitchy prima donna customers, which I understand for the FASHION industry, but for pet products? Really? Puh-lease. And especially when a few of those customers are the BIG BOX guys. Look, I get where youre coming from , but you really shouldnt have pride in selling the cheapest, cheapest, CHEAPEST product in the world. Sure, you make a shit ton of money, but damn. You are CHEAP. Its not pretty. Or cool (luckily, the cheapest of the cheap is not my customer yet).
Bitchy team members (not my staff). Oh my gah, there are some disgruntled folks in the office. I figured out why before I took this job (bought out by private equity firm, a year and ½ ago so theres a lot of change happening), and even more today (moved into a cool new office that is cubicle and very open spacing oriented vs. old-school offices where everyone had walls, windows and doors. I get how moving into an open space can cause a huge shift in culture, but WOW, are there some angry peeps up in here.
Old-school salesman mentality. I wrote a tirade about a certain someone in the office, but since then the plane has landed, I drove my rental car to the hotel and Im tucked safely away in my hotel room and have since cooled down and sobered up from the champagne on the plane. Whoops. Ill try to settle down now.
The Ugly:
No methods. And that can be madness. Everybody does their own thing and then we have to make our round systems fit into their square holes. Im not sure how this is going to be done.
In order to do my job correctly Im going to have to put in many extra hours. I knew this from the beginning, but its truly and simply a fact.
Look. Its all OK! And Im having fun. Fun! I get to work with animals, people! Well, sort of. People bring their animals to work every day and I get to play with them!!
Anyway. Better get some sleep. BIG meeting in the morning.
I love you!
GS
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