I’ve been on lots of projects, and I’ve also gotten brought in to fix projects which have gone haywire. Nothing is worse than being on a project that’s going poorly….”we’re rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic” is one of the memorable things said to me. Here’s a list of the things that I most often see….
(If you ask me any rules about any sports, I don’t know them. But I love sports metaphors.)
This is something I have wrestled with my entire life….and still continue to struggle with. When I don’t get a response, or a response that seems “off”, I assume the worst case… that I screwed up, that I offended the person somehow…..I immediately go to the multitudes of reasons why I didn’t get the response I thought I should have gotten. And here’s the one thing that always resolves it….
This is one of the most difficult posts I’ve had to write. For the first time, I’ve experienced a personal loss with someone from work. Continue reading
I recently spoke to a friend’s son who was interviewing me…just getting my thoughts on work based on my experience. It made me remember how hard it is when you’re interviewing for your first “real” job….and what it’s like on the other side of the table. Many of us are seeing our kids/nephews/nieces go through the process, which has been pretty much upended with COVID. Some things I’ve shared with others….
Having gone through some mergers/consolidations/reorgs and seen what it’s like, I thought it would be useful to recap on lessons learned during what can be a very difficult time. Should you stay…should you go? Here are some things to think about during this weird time….
There are a lot of skills you learn because you’re thrown into situations which require you to learn them…how to communicate effectively, work with people, manage priorities. And many companies have classes to teach them to you. But there is one skill I am proud to say I taught myself which has helped me like no other. It’s boring. Some would say tedious. But it has served me well.
I recently had a conversation with someone about her relationship with her mother. Their relationship is very difficult, with the mother wanting to control her daughter through bullying behavior….all in the name of “what’s best for her”. The guilt she’s feeling is huge. It got me thinking about the skill and will matrix and applying to your personal relationships. Continue reading
I was lucky to learn this lesson early in my career. Many times, an organization will look for consolidation opportunities. Sometimes it makes a lot of sense to consolidate systems: there are cost savings involved, unit costs go down, you decrease the effort needed for change management…it’s the classic argument to create scale. A transaction is a transaction, right? So when is it a problem?
This was a new one I had added after the original list was created. This is one of my biggest weaknesses….for some reason, I would always attribute another’s person reaction/non reaction to something I had done. Which would be ok if it was balanced…but I found I did it when I thought the reaction was negative. I would often jump to conclusions….someone didn’t answer me back on email right away because they thought my email was stupid. They didn’t return my call because I wasn’t important enough. They didn’t stop to chat with me when they walked by my office because they don’t like me. What I realized was that this was almost never the case. I was creating a negative narrative in my head. Continue reading
There’s been a lot in the press lately about how financial companies are having regulatory issues. One observation: the organizational structure of the firm could be a major contributor. How?