Been A.W.O.L. Again - But Here's Why!

Once again, we apologize for not updating the blog as frequently as we'd like. We have been very busy with multiple things on the go (learning to juggle bigger and more dangerous things). For example, there's the typical consulting and board meetings I go to after work, and the typical meetings Smartbottom goes to after work. But the last few weeks have seen MANY more obligations.

1. Bigger and more dangerous juggling item number 1 is I (Bookly) had a job interview to take on the promotions development lead for another government department. So I've spent the last week reviewing textbooks and researching that department to prepare for the interview, which was yesterday. In my opinion it went very well. There was even a surprise question where I was asked to give an impromptu promotional presentation on a topic of their choosing, and I didn't miss a beat. But after getting some answers to questions I had, I'm not too sure I'd take the job even if it were offered to me. But we'll see.
   
   
2. Bigger (but not so dangerous) juggling item number 2 is I wrapped up a four month long consulting contract this week. WOO-HOO!
   
   
3. Finally, the biggest and most dangerous juggling item was an obligation that has taken up a lot of our energies. But it was worth it. Smartbottom and I are buying a house! It's been two weeks of meetings, contract reviews & signings, late evening drive-by's, and many other things that take up time, decrease energy and add a lot of uncertainty and stress.

But I finally got word this afternoon that everything has been approved! We officially have a house!

So, for those interested in this new development, here are some details:

• The house is brand new. In fact, it's still being built. We are supposed to take possession on March 30th, but with the trades the way they are these days, it could be delayed.
  
  
• It's a bi-level, detached house. We took the garage package as well, so it will have a two car garage in the back, separate from the house. That means we also have an alley! Why am I so excited about an alley? Less bumper to bumper parking on the street that would otherwise force you to play chicken with an oncoming car due to lack of road space.
  
  
• It is located in a brand new community in the north end of the city, right between my family and Smartbottom's family. We actually timed how long it would take to get to both families from the house - 10 minutes and 3 minutes respectively, assuming good flowing traffic (which we had when we took the time measurements).
  
  
• Being that the community is brand new, it's a relief that it's already beautiful! The public portions of the street are lined with young trees, and every front yard is required to have at least one additional tree. Therefore our street will have a lot of trees, which is always beautiful to see. So we are looking forward to walking down the street in the Fall.

Anyways, as soon as we have things settled we will be inviting our families and friends over for an informal house warming party of sorts. I am particularly eager about finally getting to host a nice dinner party, and Smartbottom is crazy excited to get a highly charged game of Monopoly going with our friends.

So we are looking forward to hearing from you soon so we can plan some things!

Thanks for understanding our absences.

Smartbottom, je t'aime ma chérie!

Ah, Valentine's Day.

While I am well aware of the growing cynicism around Valentine's Day being a marketing gimmick (this has some truth to it, but this cynicism makes us marketers feel like its hunting season, and we’re not the hunters), it is still nice to think that all over the world people are stopping to think of their loved ones for a moment. Isn't that a nice thought?

In an admittedly atypical demonstration of my thinking processes, I like to optimistically think that all over the world someone is reminded of what this day is, and they in turn take a minute to specifically smile and think about their loved one. That one moment might buy them a minute more of life before a stress-induced heart attack 10 years from now. That one minute might be caught by the boss during a meeting, convincing him or her that you are in fact paying attention and that you like his or her idea so much that you're smiling at their sheer geniusness, thereby setting things in motion for a pay raise and promotion, allowing your kids to go to a better school and you to buy your loved one a better Valentine's Day gift next year in the hopes that this Karmic-like cycle repeats itself in perpetuity. That one minute might be the best thing that's happened to them all day, all week, all month even.

I just hope the sheeple in line at the Hallmark card store and the Starbucks gift card wall, among other zombie hangouts, don't get so frustrated over waiting in line with the dozens of other procrastinators that they end up taking it out on their loved one in the form of crankiness, or it's more subtle and ugly cousin, resentment. Then all the positives listed above invert to negatives... one less minute of life before the heart attack, a frown for your boss's thoughts, or the straw that broke this work-horse's back, not to mention a hurt loved one.

You see, marketers aren't the enemy. Procrastination is. So, hurry out to your nearest Hallmark store and buy a card! Better yet, buy several, then you're covered for a few years! You'll live a longer and happier life, see!

Sorry, I let the marketer in me take over for a second. In actuality, when I think about how automatic these kinds of holidays are (going out to buy the cliché box of chocolates, a card, and some flowers) I feel guilty because it’s the easiest way to demonstrate your love and appreciation of your loved one. Doesn’t it make you feel like your love is equal to the $13 plus change?

Now I’m not saying you’re lazy or cheap if you think this is a good show of your love. It’s just that it bothered me enough that instead I used Microsoft Word and made a Valentine’s Day card and “Newsletter” for Smartbottom. Sure, some will think I’m cheap, but I put a lot more thought and feeling into these two things than into standing in line, and I was able to personalize every piece of my gifts. I’m sure Smartbottom will really appreciate that.

Anyways, Happy Valentine’s everyone! Don’t forget to smile!

Update on Bookly’s Performance Review

Yesterday, the Director of my Branch (my supervisor's boss's boss) came in to talk to me about my performance review. He's happy with the results and has decided to make a minor change to our organizational structure:

• I used to work on a variety of projects with several different units across the Branch in a project support role.
  
  
• I'm now supposed to work primarily with the strategic planning unit in a project lead role.

Ok, I admit, this is shop talk to anyone not in my line of work, but it's a good thing.

Here's Why:

My work is now centralized to one unit, making this is a good thing for me for two main reasons:

Breadth vs. Depth

A key determinant to success or failure in the business world is your product/service offering. If you were to open a pizza joint, are you going to offer a couple types of pizzas and lots of other things? Or are you going to offer lots of different types of pizzas, and a couple of other things? It's almost always better to specialize in at least one thing and to be competitive with that, while offering some other general things. For example, I specialized in marketing management (particularly in the strategic planning side), and can offer general skills in software & hardware support, among other things.

Anyways, in the project support role I worked on a variety of projects with several different units (like a jack of all trades - breadth). In a project lead role, I'll be working on a few related projects allowing me to "specialize" (depth). This leads into the second reason why this is a good thing for me.

Brand Management

In the first post about my performance review, I wrote about how I was worried that my brand image and brand equity have been damaged over the last few months, and that it might affect my performance review.

This update will greatly aid my brand management efforts because now they are focused on one primary target market (the strategic planning unit), and not on so many other target markets.

But...

I'm not sure I want to stay with this job.

More to come…

Performance Review Day for Bookly

I had my performance review today.

I was expecting it to be an awkward and frustrating event.

Why? Well here are some backgrounders:

1. Since I started this job two and a half years ago, I've been working on branding myself with a "young management professional" image - the "go to guy" for strategy and solution ideas, the tech-savvy "generation rep" of the office. So I'd make my rounds every day to say hi to my colleagues and see how they're doing, sitting in their offices for a few minutes, smiling and being friendly. Occasionally I'd drop in to ask if there is anything I could help them with, and then I'd look for ways to not only complete the task but improve the whole process. I'd even bring in Tim Horton's coffee and muffins every once in a while, stating that it's just because I walk past Tim's in the early A.M. and I was getting one for myself anyways. And occasionally I take my supervisor and boss out for lunch as thanks for their mentoring efforts. I didn't do all of this to kiss butt, mind you. The butt-kisser is someone who tries these tactics with a sort of desperation that sabotages their efforts by making them look insincere. They've typically convinced themselves that they are on the fast track, without seeing that they are just endured and disregarded by most everyone else. I'm sure I succeeded in coming across as genuinely interested and friendly, especially with some of the process improvements I've been a part of implementing. That's the difference. Anyways, since my tailbone surgery (in July, 06) I've been sore every day as I recuperate. This means I'm also sore throughout the night, therefore I haven't slept well in seven months. So, at work I'm often yawning and looking tired and like I don't want to be there. That's a bad thing - it severely damages my brand equity.
   
   
2. I used to be called on for a lot of things. But since my promotion (in August, 06) we've hired someone who now does a lot of this work. So, sometimes I'm left out of working on projects that I used to handle. Don't get me wrong, I don't resent the new guy, he's pretty cool. And it's not like I'm just sitting around waiting for scraps to land on my desk, I do have other projects I work on and I do actively look for things to do. It's just that, keeping with the marketing analogy, the more your brand is in the consumer's face, the more recognition you get. That's why marketers use multiple channels of advertising & promotions. Channels are like projects! With being less involved with a few of the projects I've always been associated with, I'm not in their faces as much any more. Will this come back to haunt me in, say, the performance review? (Them: "Well, it seems your productivity has gone down..." Me: "Well, no, I've just been doing more projects for the other unit... (My target market has changed thanks to a new entry in the market)" Them: "hmmm...well maybe you should have done this! (whatever "that" is)")
   
   
3. I had a head-butting match with my supervisor in November about a mistake I admitted to and apologized for. It got so out of hand, even after apologizing, that a week later he apologized to me for over-reacting about it.

Suffice to say, I was expecting the performance review to be slightly tainted by a slightly dented pride, and that it would reflect a seemingly lower level of productivity and lack of enthusiasm and energy.

On the contrary, and to my delight, it went very well.