Checkbook Theory

University of Dayton- Emerging Leader Program - Coaching for Performance

2008-12-19T08:06:00.002-05:00

My December session was on Coaching for Performance and was kind of a mix between a self-review and a "how to" workshop. Interesting review of personal behavior using the DiSC DImensions of Behavior approach by Inscape Publishing, Inc. While the review of this personal behavior didn't reveal any surprises about myself, it certainly helped me to take a look at how that style / behavior may be viewed by others. It also helped me to recognize different behavior by others and how I might translate my message to get through to them.

I came out as a D or Developer Pattern = goal oriented, gets bored , strong willed individualist continually seeking new horizons. Opportunities for advancement and challenge are important to them. Sometimes seen as less than empathetic by others.

No surprise there...

The other half of the session was on providing performance feedback, understanding how different cohorts desire, receive and process this and things to avoid. As in "Hi Bill, you are doing a great job BUT..."

I used it right away to provide feedback to my team and am beginning year end reviews. Very helpful. I caught myself wanting to use the "but" during them and thankfully was able to avoid it!

A very timely session!

University of Dayton Emerging Leader Program - Business Simulation

2008-12-19T07:56:00.004-05:00

Taking time to get caught up on my last couple sessions in the program....

I was able to attend only one of the two day sessions in the business simulation segment. Overall it was a helpful, game-style simulation around forming a company, setting a strategy, attracting employees and finding customers. The process revolves around matching people to your strategy, seeking customers in that category and generating your financial results.

For example, our team chose to go with a low debt structure, a small but highly trained team of people, specialized / niche type customers and to "stick to our guns". We led for the first 4 years of the simulation but found (as many niche type strategies do) that we literally ran out of room. We found that there were not enough niche customers willing to pay the higher service rate that our team was capable of providing. Our debt strategy held for the first four years as well until we had to reinvest in some money in higher training costs, etc. Our highly trained team could perform great work but we opted to retain 100% of the staff and ran out out of lower associates to take on more basic assignments.

We would have been better to take a loan earlier on (say in year 3) and bring on some lower associates in order to build capacity. This would have given us a larger range of people skills at various salary levels capable of generating an ever-wideing circle of revenue.

I was dropped into the team on day 2 and had to catch up quickly (just like the real world). Overall a great experience and I was able to take away some quick points to use at work.

Enjoying the program so far!

University of Dayton Emerging Leaders Program - Strategic Business Development

2008-10-31T07:10:00.003-05:00

This week I experienced a very good session in my program - Strategic Business Development. The session was given by a well-seasoned teacher / facilitator / consultant and focused on how to overcome thinking patterns that block business growth, learn various strategies and use simple financial analysis to understand these strategies.

Overall a good session and I particularly liked the case studies. Often a failed case study can teach you more about something than a successful one. Several were reviewed in several industries with an emphasis about how people define their markets ( their available and playable markets). This emphasis could lead (in one example) from a soft drink company redefining their market from "soft drinks" to "liquid refreshment" and reclassified their market share as "share of stomach".

One overlooked concept in this session is that as a mid-level manager I'm forced to implement someone else's strategy (rather than setting it myself). Perhaps when I get to senior levels, I'll be able to use this more fully.

My favorite part of the session was the discussion around corporate strategy alternatives.

1. Stability strategies

2. Organizational renewal strategies

3. Growth strategies

Often I find someone who says "We want to grow, we are using a growth strategy" but upon review, it clearly is NOT a growth strategy but rather a restructuring or a profit-maximization or resource-stripping one. Resource-stripping is my term to describe setting up a business for a harvest or divestment strategy. I outline them below.

Resource-Stripping
1. Reduce / eliminate new product work, product line extensions, etc.
2. Trim product offering to "just the basics", rationalization of old SKUs and so forth.
3. Reduce people / time commitment to the business - lowering the cost to serve.
4. Push up pricing on low volume specialty products - driving the demand to fewer package sizes or more standard products (one size fits all).
5. Closing production sites, branch offices or warehouses.
6. Reducing marketing expenses to low or non-existent levels.

I've lived through the above scenario myself...

Overall a good session with healthy debate.

University of Dayton Emerging Leader Program - Marketing Essentials

2008-10-14T07:23:00.002-05:00

I'm catching up again as my company brick (the Dell) boots up on my most recent session of UD's Emerging Leader Program. This one was on Marketing Essentials and was a high level view of marketing and the various components of it.

Lots of discussion around the target customer (at the center) and then the 4 P's ( product, price, place, promotion) as well as environmental scanning and SWOT. These often seem like generally accepted practices but we discussed many companies that do not follow this properly.

Due to the volume of information given, we did not complete marketing plans during our session but this would be an area of improvement. We did review the plan structure but did not touch on one that I feel gets short shrift- FUNDING. The best marketing plan in the world is just a dream until it receives the proper amount of funding to make it happen. Research, ads, direct mail, trade shows, marcoms all take money. A lot of it!

Another common misconception about marketing plans is that they all must be measured in sales $. That is not allways true - often a plan is simply designed to build awareness or drive traffic to your trade show booth or website or storefront. Getting key organizational people to agree on this is quite difficult. Clarity should rule the day.

Overall a fun topic for me and I could go on 24/7/365 about it. More posts on my next sessions planned for later this month.

University of Dayton Emerging Leader Program - Operations Management

2008-09-26T07:35:00.002-05:00

Just waiting for the company brick to boot again so I'm taking a few minutes to update here on my Operations Management session. While there is no danger of moving into supply chain any time soon, it was a healthy session on various "greatest hits" of Operations Management. Of particular interest were some discussions about processes important in the past that no longer hold value - and how many companies cling to them out of memory.

Can you say " We've always done it this way"?

I had found a similar response to asking my team to give up a monthly report format recently. Everyone was complaining about having to do them yet when I gave them the "out" and streamlined the format - lots of pushback. Seems it was that comfortable yardstick people felt they could measure their performance with. Unfortunately that is like driving through the rear view mirror - always looking in the past.

So the session was a refresh of concepts I learned in graduate school but had a healthy dose of "actual" versus "theoretical" concepts. Funny too were the comparisions to real life where senior managers scream "my people stand around half the time" and how time studies don't always show that is a bad thing.

Enthusiastic professor - did a good job of delivering what could have been very dry content.

University of Dayton Emerging Leader Program - Finance

2008-09-12T07:34:00.002-05:00

While I'm waiting for my company brick ( the Dell) to reboot, I'll take a few minutes to catch up on my current program.

Well I had my first session as part of the University of Dayton's Emerging Leader Program. I jumped in on the Finance session. Overall the focus was on Finance for non-financial managers and leads students through the usual parade of balance sheet, income statement and statement of cash flows. Usually many managers (myself included) don't need to prepare such statements (finance department does that) but we need to interpret the data.

A key "take away" from the session was the use of financial ratios and a working exercise where we evaluated the effect of certain changes in these and the +/- effects. An example was on inventory turnover ratio and if it improved a slight amount it would clearly have a positive effect on inventory dollars. The fact we ran through many of these and worked it out in our teams allowed us to more completely understand the exercise.

I'm thinking I'll draw up a similar exercise for my work team and see if we can achieve a better understanding of our internal initiatives.

Overall a positive session that reinforced many concepts I've learned before (both in company finance training and my MBA) but a nice, clear, short - format session.

More to come - training session with my mentor next week.

University of Dayton Emerging Leader Program

2008-07-30T07:00:00.004-05:00

This fall I will begin a 12 month executive education program to brush up on my skills. Since I completed my MBA just about 1 yr ago, I find I really missed that intellectual stimulation. I'm hoping this upcoming program will be be a chance to look at things in a fresh, new way.

The program is called the University of Dayton Emerging Leader Program and it covers lots of ground. Some of the topics are:

Leading Change
Marketing
Strategic Business Development
Coaching
Leadership
Management communication

I'm really looking forward to it since I earned my marketing degree at Dayton some years ago. As the program kicks off, I'll be posting my experiences and comments about it. Wish me luck!

Help Those Who Help Themselves?

2008-07-16T06:59:00.003-05:00

I am continually confounded by people who think someone "owes" them something ( a career path, a new job, a chance at some project or something). This strikes me as terribly 1970's union thinking.

These days it is all about value.

Value creation - New products, new markets, new customers, new sales, new people, etc.

OR

Value savings - Cost savings thru six sigma, downsizings, product rationalization efforts, streamlining business proceedures and so on.

So it seems to me that if you can work on either of these two paths, you begin to make yourself more valuable to your employer ( and to any group you associate yourself with). There are plenty of opportunities to do this - most people just don't seem to be able to take that first ( or more critical -2nd ) step.

Perhaps instead of people thinking about "participating" but rather "leading" efforts in these areas then they can rise above the herd. Everyone loves a problem solver. Even if it is a small problem.

Which brings me back to my original train of thought...If someone is willing to stretch themselves, take continuing education classes, go beyond their job description or function, offers to lead projects- THAT is the person I want.

Blue Sky Budget or Negotiated Settlement?

2008-07-15T07:14:00.003-05:00

Well it is that time again, budgeting starts for the next year and I was reminded of an article that I read that described budgets as one of two approaches.

1. Blue Sky - Reaching for the stars here - what could you do if you had no boundaries?

OR

2. Negotiated Settlement - The boss wants 25% and you want 10% so you settle on 15%.

The problem with both of these is neither one seems entirely rooted in reality. If you set a blue sky budget and then the organization can't ( or won't) deliver the amunition to fight the battle ( new products, more people, technical or marketing resources) then it ends up being an empty shell of a number that there is no reasonable chance to hit.

But if you choose the negotiated settlement route, you are accused of sandbagging or possibly underperforming ( or worse - just plain lazy).

Both are problematic at best but perhaps the solution lies halfway in between both approaches? I'm working on ones now and I have to dream big but also temper that with what is achievable ( will I have the resources?) against the backdrop of the market.

Time will tell.

marketing VS Sales?

2008-06-06T19:31:00.002-05:00

Recently I was finishing a strategic review where we are delving deeply into a particular market. This task involved the review of the market, identifying trends and things all the way up to beginning to develop sales plans from the opportunities.

What I discovered was a tremendous disconnect between our strategic marketing folks and the sales folks - what a car wreck.

So I set about benchmarking this little divide and found that it exists almost everywhere. That struck me as very unusual as I feel sales and marketing are two very close departments. In some companies, they are the same department.

I'll be researching this issue more in the weeks to come. Right now I'm reading "On Marketing" - great stuff.

Career Development Roadblock?

2008-04-21T07:31:00.003-05:00

I was always certain that a good manager was supposed to be a "Roadblock Remover" for their team. In the functional things that a team must do ( grow sales, develop products or whatever) this seems very straightforward. Unfortunately when it comes to careers, it is much more difficult.

For example, to achieve a certain career goal, often one must be very good at what they do. Unfortunately this creates the problem of now that the person is so good, why would I want to let them go on to something else? I found this has happened to me several times in the past.

I don't want that to happen to my team. In fact, I would consider it fantastic if those on my team could grow, develop and move on to head up teams of their own someday. Hopefully I can continue to remove roadblocks for them ( those that want to move on). I don't want to end up as the "Roadblock" for my team!

People ultimately want to get certain things out of a career. There are times where the company must come first - but if that is always the case then "my career" really isn't mine anymore.

Stay or go? Don't know............

Rules for a Turn-Around - (the Drucker Suggestions)

2008-02-18T17:17:00.002-05:00

I'm reading "The Daily Drucker" for 2008. It is 365 days of various comments, suggestions and introspective things from the late Peter F.Drucker.

Here is what he says about Turn-Around efforts (I seem to be drawn to them)

1. Abandonment of the things that do not work, the things that have never worked, the things that have outlived their usefulness and their capacity to contribute.

2. Concentration on the things that do work, the things that produce results, the things that improve the organization's ability to perform.

3. Analysis of the half-successes, the half-failures.

Drucker, P. (2004) The Daily Drucker. New York: Harper Business.

I see these as pretty self evident. Unfortunately organizations seem to hang on to the battles of yesterday, the memories of the past and all the meetings and organizational structure that go with it!

I'll post more on this subject later.

Development Plan - Critical or Waste of Time?

2008-02-13T16:36:00.002-05:00

Currently I'm working on some career development items and I kept bumping into the fact that we have no formal long-term career development plan proceedure. This really surprised me because I always created my own ( what I wanted to do and how I would achieve it). So I set out to do some research on the subject.

There is quite a lot of information out there on the subject but all was pretty "over the top". I finally settled on creating my own format again based off these ideas. It seems many companies have job rotation programs or "experienced commercial leadership program" formats for a select few. But none of these answer the question of what happens to a person who is eventually identified as having potential but is not a part of any such formal job rotation program (none exist at my company)?

So I began sketching out this plan and it really opened my eyes to the dirty little secret these days. Once you get someone good on your team you don't want to promote them ( so that they go on to someone else's team!). Companies are so tapped for people in this era of downsizing that nobody wants to give up their best people. I experienced this firsthand. Well, I'm going out on a limb here because holding someone back can't be good for the business - I've just got to put this person on a faster track. The company will benefit even if I have to work without them. I've heard people continually preach that "you invest all this time in them and then they go and leave". I am convinced that some people deserve even more investment. Companies shouldn't look at it as money wasted but rather money invested ( and returned while that person works here). Ultimately if your company stinks and the person moves on - who is the bad guy? He or she for moving on or you for not improving your company to make it attractive to talented workers?

That is a tremendous risk but ultimately in a knowledge-intensive industry like mine ( engineered / formulated chemical systems ) people are the assets that generate all the return! Products don't invent themselves nor do they make or sell themselves. People do. Good people.

I'm banking on it........I'll post more on the subject when I get it finished.

Is the world flat?

2008-02-08T15:46:00.000-05:00

I'm trying to get back into the posting routine but things keep tearning me away. I've been traveling a great deal for work and working my way through some good books and podcasts while at my second home ( that would be in airports!).

These days I'm reading Thomas L. Friedman's book "The World Is Flat". It is pretty good and since I work for a global chemical company, I can really relate to many of the trends. Since my market segment focuses on the prototype and design fields, I see the power that technology has given to people in this decentralized world we live in.

In fact, I work in virtual teams with people I've never actually met ( or met only once or twice perhaps). That is going to be the "Norm" as far as I can see for the future. In fact, my MBA classmates all connect virtually as well.

I think technology as a "flattener" is completely underrated by most companies. Perhaps there is a lesson in that for all of us?

Marketing or Sales-Marketing Hybrid Role?

2007-12-11T06:50:00.000-05:00

Pure marketing or marketing-sales hybrid?

Which is more valuable to a business today? I think both have value especially as the complexity of the product increases and the technical detail as well. Unfortunately the marketing - sales hybrid type of role has to balance near-term commercial pursuits ( such as this quarter's numbers!) with the longer-term actions such as a marketing campaign or a series of press releases.

I've struggled with this over time because both positions add value, just in a different way. I see it in a framework where the sales and marketing work together. Unfortunately each can act as an "island" or "silo" where activities take place in a solitary bubble.

Tipping way out of balance again!

2007-11-14T21:05:00.000-05:00

Things sure have been crazy again at work. I'm training a new team and we are really starting from scratch. This has caused me to work more hours and have a great deal more stress.

The good thing is that it has helped me return to the basics of sales and marketing. Sometimes I've gotten away from the basics that have served me so well. I guess you never know something really until you have to teach it to someone else.

That is the nice thing about my new team. I always enjoyed teaching customers about our products, doing training, demonstrations and seminars. This time I'm training "internal customers", my new team!

PS: If any of my former MBA classmates stop by the blog, drop me a line! (Chris, Charles, Tito and the rest!)

Marketing and stuff

2007-10-20T17:45:00.000-05:00

I'm reading a good book these days called "The Marketing Mavens" by Noel Capon. It is a pretty good book and it is based on the premise that very good marketing companies are really tuned into the markets they serve ( and don't serve) as well as letting Marketing Departments really drive business ( instead of just sending out newsletters).

This is a hard concept to grab since I work for a big multinational chemical company. We don't seem to embrace this concept very well. I'm going to do some benchmarking after I finish the book and hopefully we can adopt some of these concepts.

That's it for now...

The time sure has flown by!

2007-10-16T15:48:00.000-05:00

I had been so excited to finally finish my MBA and get some free time that I seem to have filled it back up again! Family activities have consumed a large portion now as I had certainly cut back on them to get thru school and get all my work done.

Now I've got a new position at work and it has consumed the remainder of that "free" time again. ( OK that and the new kitchen table and storage bench system I'm building!). Did I mention woodworking is one of my hobbies?

Well anyway, I'm going to try and resume posting again.

The Last Day of my MBA!

2007-07-09T17:09:00.000-05:00

Wow! What a great feeling to be done with the MBA! I'll certainly miss the great people including my learning teammates. I've been lucky to have some good ones!

Well this will be a sad day too as I've really enjoyed the intellectual stimulation. It has forced me to be brutal with my time as well. Now I will have a bit more relaxation.

Maybe I'll post more often now.

Final Paper Turned In!!!!!!!

2007-07-08T09:41:00.001-05:00

Well I just turned in the final paper and now have to wait a bit til grades come out. I'm hoping to keep this A streak alive!

Now I'm exhausted from the past 21 months of school while working full time and traveling all the time. That PhD is calling........

Perhaps it can wait a bit!

The last 72 Hours of my MBA

2007-07-07T10:16:00.000-05:00

The finish line is so close and I am really sweating out my last paper ( a strategic plan) for this last course. I am going over it with a fine tooth comb to make sure I don't miss anything.

I keep telling myself that just 72 hours from now I will have completed all the requirements for my MBA program.

This has been a great program for me. I've learned a great deal from my learning teams and all my classmates ( spread all over the US and Europe). I've found I am able to apply much of the learning from the program and already received both a raise and a promotion since starting the MBA. I attribute both to the tools and skills I learned ( and was able to put into practice).

Well, I have to finish that paper........

MBA Countdown - Less than 3 days!

2007-07-06T09:09:00.000-05:00

Here I am taking a day of vacation to work on my final MBA paper. This is a complete strategic plan exercise and I find myself bleary-eyed and tired but pretty satisfied so far. I figure one more day's worth of work and I'll have it complete.

What a journey - lots of late nights and very early mornings. In spite of writing so much, it seems hard to actually describe.

This has been a goal of mine for years so I feel very satisfied to be on the verge of achieving it.

iPhone a success ( or a pump and dump)?

2007-07-02T06:16:00.000-05:00

By all early accounts the iPhone seems to be a success. I was reading that analysts think Apple has sold 500,000 units, well above expected levels. That makes it a very big thing. Now if half of those new customers are switchers from competitive plans, that is good news for AT&T too.

Now we will find out how many iPhone returns there will be in the next 30 days. If there are lots, it could be the most finely crafted pump and dump scheme.....................

MBA - Here I come!

2007-07-02T06:14:00.000-05:00

Well it has been a very difficult couple of weeks but now I am within 7 days of finishing my MBA. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! Now I'm working on my final project, a full-scale strategic plan. I've been lucky to have a great instructor for this final course and we are having some great discussions. I certainly will miss that.

Well, I have been thinking of that PhD...........

4 weeks of MBA work left!

2007-06-08T06:17:00.000-05:00

I've had difficulty finding time to post due to workload but I have the end in sight now. Only 4 weeks and a couple days left until I'm finished with the MBA. What I'm hoping for is a chance to sleep in for the first time in a couple years.

I'm working on strategic planning at this point and this last course is like a capstone course - putting it all together. Hopefully I survive!

I'm going to try and begin posting more regularly!

MBA Journey Reflections

2007-05-11T06:46:00.000-05:00

I have about 8 1/2 weeks left on my MBA and that has caused me to reflect more on the process. I certainly will miss the intellectual stimulation and the great classmates. Because I'm doing mine via distance learning, my classmates are all over the place. I've really enjoyed that and consider it a strength of my program.

I am somewhat sad that it will end soon but I've already set the goal to take at least one "refresher" kind of course every 12-24 months to keep current. I had contemplated pursuing a Ph.D. but that would be another 3-4 years and it would be a bit of a strain on things right now.

Overall a good program is only as good as the effort you put into it. I believe that and work hard to apply the concepts from the course.

Change Agent or Sucker?

2007-04-19T15:49:00.000-05:00

I gave a presentation to some co-workers earlier this year on "Real Change Leaders" a concept that actually is kind of old but is receiving new emphasis. The concept is that Real Change Leaders (RCLs)can exist at all levels of an organization and can have a significant impact on any business. Here is a quick summary:

Who are they?
Be Curious
Learn from mistakes
Lifetime learners
Question the status quo

What can they do?
Leapfrog over vertical hierarchies
Work informal networks
Personal courage to change and build skills
Take career risks

Where are they?
Any level of an organization
Critical mass needed to make it all stick
Every location, SBU or department

Why are they important?
Increase bench strength and depth of talent
360 degree impact within the organization
Open up leadership capacity without adding people

I firmly believe that they are important and it does work. Others have commented that it is all garbage. So does that make a person who attempts such activites a real change agent or just some sucker for the company to dump more work on (without any more pay)?

Career Development or Waste of Time?

2007-04-16T15:38:00.000-05:00

Figured I'd catch up on the Blog here while I wait for the company brick to reboot. Enterprise-hindered laptops seem to haunt me....

I was asked again just today about pursuing an MBA and if it was a waste of time or a carefully planned career development tool. Since I'm pursuing mine in a non-traditional route, I get the question all the time. So I'll answer that and more here..

1. No- It is not a waste of time.

2. It is not a degree factory - I can personally attest to over 1300 hours of reading, research, coursework and many, many papers in the last 19 months. ( still have 2.5 more to go!)

3. I have found out how fast I can type with very little sleep.

4. My iPod helped me get through this phase of my life- honest. It feels like I've had my iPod and my trusty Toshiba Satellite surgically grafted to my body for the last 2 yrs.

5. I have learned so much beyond my experience base ( in sales and marketing) that it is hard to even explain it.

6. It has enabled me to see opportunities where none seemed to exist before. Inside my company, in my personal life, as a spouse and a parent.

7. I negotiated a career-enrichment role at my company because of my learning.

I could go on and on. This degree is like most things in life - the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. So I know it has definitely enriched my life as well as given me a new set of tools for the future no matter if I stay here or have to move on.

Gear Junkie - Continued

2007-04-10T18:40:00.000-05:00

In the never ending quest for strong wireless signals - Here are the other parts of the home network.......

WAP54G with dual 7 dBi antennas

Netgear 54G AP with 9 dBi antenna

And Network #2 ( that's right) Motorola 54G AP in the shop ( yes that is right - in the shop)

It may not be elegant but it sure does work!

And the switching center.............

Learning Teams as a statement on society?

2007-04-09T14:08:00.000-05:00

I have one week left in MBA 560 Enterprise Risk and boy does my current learning team underperform. I have been wrestling with how to mitigate the risk of a few slackers. Looks like we have it fixed for now as we have a paper due tonight.

How do you jumpstart a team of 5 with 2 slackers? Certainly a challenge. I see it as a statement on society that even in a group of motivated MBA candidates, you still end up with some slackers.

But one more week and I'll be on with a different team ( we re-form teams every 6 weeks) so I look forward to the new challenge. At this point only 13 more weeks until I'm done and then can get some well-needed sleep!

As my liberal-arts knitting sister has pointed out, I am a MIY ( make it yourself) kind of person. I was trying to secure an old WRT54G V 4 or older so I can hack the firmware for fun. See what I have been reduced to......................

Bright Eyed & Bushy Tailed or Slackers?

2007-04-05T05:57:00.000-05:00

I just gave a talk to first year business students the other day at my old college on careers in marketing & sales. Some people were very interested in learning what they could about that career path but overall not a lot of interest. Seems everyone wants to be an accountant now - who would have guessed that??

Anyway, I shared the results of a Manpower survey from 2006 that stated that the #1 job in demand ( and the hardest to fill) is that of sales. Interesting. I thought it would be like SOX Compliance Specialist or IT Network Engineer. Certainly sales is dear to my heart having spent 16 years in various sales positions but most companies treat their sales group like an expense just waiting to be cut.

That is a real shame because a properly motivated sales group with the right set of modern tools can acomplish a great deal. Hopefully these young students can see the transferrability of sales activities into other functional areas. Often the experiences with customers, profit margin, delivery problems and credit issues can guide a person in some other assignment later in their career. I feel it has for me.

So most just wanted to know "How much can I make?". That is certainly a motivation but I don't think people who chose a career strictly for the money end up all that happy. I think time will tell if these students were bright eyed and bushy tailed or just a bunch of slackers playing Box 360 until 3 AM......

Career Growth or Waste of Time?

2007-04-02T07:50:00.000-05:00

I was discussing some concepts I'd learned ( and was attempting to apply) from my MBA course recently. A co-worker said "all that stuff is just a waste of time" So, is he right?

I don't think so. Even if my company doesn't allow me to apply it formally ( perhaps in the form of a promotion or expanded role) or reward me for it ( with a raise), I am glad I embarked upon this journey.

I try and apply the principles as often as I can and it really works. The MBA is no sure-fire ticket to the corner office ( especially because mine is not from Wharton). I've learned a great deal and think it can apply in almost every part of my current job.

MBA coursework focuses on tools and training to be a more effective leader and businesperson. A top-line school may offer more career placement or alumni networking or name cachet but many of those programs are limited to full-time school.

If you want to continue working full-time and your company won't support the Executive MBA option and you travel - well then your choices become more limited. Two decades ago you wouldn't have any choices at all.

Like anything in life, the more you put into it, the more you get out of it.

Gear Junkie Part 1

2007-03-29T14:05:00.000-05:00

My new favorite piece of hardware. The Linksys WRT54GS that I've amped up with a pair of 9 dBi antennas. This is the first part of my wireless network and has been great. I'll hold on to this until 802.11N becomes commonplace in notebooks.

Great range, particularly combined with my other access points. Excellent signal throughout the house!

MBA - Stay or Go?

2007-03-29T06:13:00.000-05:00

Recently I was talking with a former co-worker who just left our company. He had left for a similar position elsewhere but for more money. He asked the usual question that people ask me all the time....

"Are you going to leave when you finish your MBA?"

This seems to be a universal question. Frequently I get people asking about my income expectations upon completion. I don't expect my company will pay me any more than I make now. The MBA isn't some magical money tree. I have proposed some significant projects for the year as a way to apply my new skills and these were accepted. If I can be successful with them but nothing comes of it - then at least I've succeeded in correctly applying my new knowledge.

Since I work in a big mega-global chemical company there should be something interesting here once I finish. After all, the new HR thing in vogue is employees driving their own career paths. I've mapped out the assignments I want to work on and the path I'm looking to follow so I've just got to secure the next step to make it happen. Since I work in a very, very flat organization ( only 6-7 layers from bottom to top for a $13Billion organization) so career growth here takes the form of project work in a matrix type layout. That is good up to a point - somewhere there has to be some visible sign of promotion. Heck, everyone needs to know there efforts mean something.

So should I stay or should I go? -

Work/Life Balance?

2007-03-29T06:00:00.000-05:00

Is work always work?

Recently I was crashing to complete a project in a burst of activity and the hours just slipped on by. This is unusual for me as I typically have things very scheduled to fit everything in ( MBA coursework, work, travel, family stuff). It was an interesting assignment ( largely of my own making) and I was trying a creative approach to a common business problem ( a marketing plan). I know the balance was tipping the other way for a little while and I didn't seem to mind because it was such a great project to work on ( for me). My virtual team is small but dedicated and each has a special skill set that seems to compliment the others. We don't have much budget but everyone is pretty resourceful and able to use our limited resources well.

So the work just didn't feel like work. It was fun and challenging. Don't get me wrong, this is real work with real financial consequences if it fails. Personally I've really rediscovered my interests since starting my MBA.

So the work is there for the "working" but seems not to be so much drudgery like some older tasks I don't do anymore.

Is this really a work/life balance issue at all or should I just be glad to have the motivation and excitement over the project? Lately the ideas just seem to spill out - nice feeling to have.

Winning the War but Losing Some Battles?

2007-03-26T07:57:00.000-05:00

I have had the whole balance thing shift way over this past month ( hence the very few posts). Hopefully now I'm bringing it back on track.

I feel at times that I still am winning the war but losing the most recent skirmishes!

So I've got to write a paper this week, catch up on my expense report ( battered and bruised ) as well as completely redesign a product line / market approach at work.

Hopefully I'll make some progress in the next day or two.

Making A List And Checking It Twice

2007-03-15T07:40:00.000-05:00

No this isn't a Christmas time reference, it is an intro into my career list idea. Each year ( ideally every 6 months or more often if you wish) I take all the things I do at work and list them down. I start with the things I like at the top and the things I don't at the bottom. I just let things go and brainstorm.

Then I rearrange the list so that there is a break in the items where I determine things "change" for the negative and draw a line. Then I try to incorporate more of the things I do like and work to divest myself of the things I don't like.

An example:

LIKE

Strategic planning and implementation
Customer related work
Career enrichment assignments
MBA Coursework
International teamwork projects

DON'T LIKE

Day to day grind of sales travel
Too broad a focus on daily activities
Lack of career advancement potential at current position

So for the next period of time ( for me the next 6-9 months) I will create action plans to do more of what I like and less of what I don't. This helps me to prepare all my career and performance program items at work.

Plus as a bonus, it helps my personal development as well!

Burned Out, Blocked and Bored??

2007-03-06T20:40:00.000-05:00

I was reading an article from the HBR the other day on the subject of "mid-career" types and the challenges they face regarding career planning and advancement. I thought it was very interesting and certainly can relate. The double edged sword is that many boomer types are at the tops of their careers ( or near the tops) and a decade of downsizing has decimated the middle ranks of corporate America. That normally isn't a problem unless you are a younger worker looking to move up. Roadblock!

Now the other side of the sword is that as a company, you should seek to have a strong "bench" of capable people ready to do any of your top jobs. Unfortunately how do you keep a strong collection of people primed and ready before they get bored and move on to some other company?

I work in a matrix type organization and this is clearly an issue where people no longer can measure advancement by the promotional ladder ( because there isn't one anymore). So how do you do it???

I think the potential solution is in making job rotations more a necessity and actually drive employees to push their limits........

Cellphones and Toilet Paper??

2007-02-25T19:54:00.000-05:00

I was at a meeting recently where everyone there had some awesome cell phone ( oh, excuse me they call them Mobiles). About 15 countries represented at the meeting and the Asian guys had the best ones of all.

My phone just rings. Just a plain old ring. No fancy ringtones or whatever. In fact, I lump cellphones into the same category as toilet paper. Cheap and disposable.

Ok, I do lust after the iPhone though. I saw on some website you can print out some fold-up pattern that looks like an iPhone when your done. Just to play tricks on people I guess....

30 Pages Down & 1 Week to go!

2007-02-25T19:52:00.000-05:00

OK, getting caught up now after a big paper due in class this week. One more week to go in this class and then on to the next.

That puts me at 19 weeks left. Oh that feels so, so close!

Extreme Jobs

2007-02-14T11:15:00.000-05:00

I was listening to a podcast a few weeks ago ( the HBR Ideacast from Harvard Business Review) on the "danderous allure " of extreme jobs. It was an interesting podcast and I went and read the entire article ( I can't remember the issue but within the last 6 months).

It sure was interesting and described how some jobs are just so extreme that some employees ( who have these jobs) wear their dedication like a badge of honor. I certainly see their point about having some job that is so tremendously exciting ( not rock stars here) but demanding. They described the concept as jobs that demand 24/7 access, high pressure jobs like full commission sales or investment banking, consultancy work and jobs that require someone to spread out over APAC, EMEA and Americas region time zones.

It was a very interesting article and I would expect these workers receive above-average salaries. Unfortunately you can't have much of a life when you work 90 hours every week for 20 years. In fact, I would expect a family life would suffer dramatically as would your health.

I believe in working hard but there has to be some payback in the end ( family time and your sanity)!

Back In the USA

2007-02-14T11:09:00.000-05:00

Ok, I'm back catching up on things after a business trip overseas. Things do pile up after a while! I was struck by the whole concept that work / life balance seems to be very blurred by my European colleagues during this trip. Certainly business dinners going til midnight aren't the norm every night but it does cause the family to get short-changed. I was suprised that many of them felt like it just "goes with the territitory" and that us Americans need a thicker skin.

I think things haven't gone far enough in this country to help employees balance everything. Happy employees are productive employees and I firmly believe that.

To celebrate that I slept in til 6:45 this morning! ( I know, life on the edge...)

Learning Teams Rock!

2007-02-04T21:13:00.000-05:00

I'm very happy after a busy several days that my current learning team in this MBA class is really working out great. Usually you find out pretty quick who the slackers are. This is a pretty motivated bunch and we plowed through this week's assignment early. Nice to enjoy some time off with the family.

I can see the finish line - 22 weeks to go!

Back To The Salt Mine

2007-01-30T19:16:00.000-05:00

OK, so this is kind of a study in work- life balance so now I'm tipping the scales too far today. I spent the day traveling a couple hundred miles to see customers and now some schoolwork. I did take 25 minutes to decompress- boy did it help!

It was some bad weather driving and my rig is not so good in the snow (rear wheel drive) so it was a bit tricky.

Now I'm back researching articles for a benchmarking assignment at school on cash management strategies. Hopefully it is more interesting than it sounds.......

I heard Bill Gates will be on the Daily Show today (Vista Launch) so hopefully that will be good for some laughs.

Fried Router Anyone?

2007-01-28T14:21:00.000-05:00

I forgot to mention I think I fried my old fashioned Linksys router. Couldn't seem to keep it on and would not reset so I replaced it with a Linksys WRT54GS. Setup was like 30 minutes of work and 28 minutes of my over-thinking it. Well it works great and my company brick was able to connect for more than 4 minutes ( the previous record ) to the wireless network. So I pulled one of my APs off and reshuffled the antennas and bingo - back in business.

I love WiFi....

36 Hours of Bliss

2007-01-28T14:15:00.000-05:00

I was fortunate enough to power through some classwork while traveling this week to carve out 36 hours of time this weekend with no firm demands on my time. It sure was unusual and I'm glad I could do it. Quite a sanity-saver.

I'm digging in to a supply chain / business optimization course right now so I'll be chewing on more numbers and formulas for a little longer.

I'm posting this and then going to kill some time on iTunes or something...

Cover Bands Don't Change The World

2007-01-25T19:30:00.000-05:00

I heard a great quote this week. I was listening to a new podcast and the content was about being creative and solving problems. The quote was mentioned in this context and really is true. I can't begin to tell you how I can relate. Going down the same path is comfortable for us but seldom gives an original view.

One of the best things I used to do before I started my MBA ( and it sucked up all my spare time) was just to reflect for 20 minutes in the early morning. I found as I skipped this time, new ideas were hard for me to come by.

I'm going to try and get started again this week just to regain my sanity during the next 24 weeks. Wish me luck.

Getting ready for the next class.

2007-01-21T20:46:00.000-05:00

I'm pretty happy with the end of my finance class. Pretty tough as I still hate the math part. I understand the concepts and was pretty happy that I could run all the calculations and make sense of it all.

Hopefully they still have accountants for the heavy lifting though.......

Starting a course on supply chain right after this one. Not even 24 hours off. Got to stay on track to make my deadline ( self-imposed of course).

Press on..

26 Pages Later!

2007-01-20T14:28:00.000-05:00

In my attempt to finish my MBA finance class paper early I find myself blearly eyed but satisfied with the 26 pages. No one will ever accuse me of being Warren Buffett but I'm cool with that.

It really brought the class together and I certainly learned a great deal. Looking forward to relaxing the rest of the weekend before turning in the paper.

Halo anyone??

WACC, CAPM & the lightbulb time of my MBA

2007-01-17T07:41:00.000-05:00

I have been spending a great deal of time this week preparing for my final paper in a finance MBA class. I was up late last night and early AM this morning to crunch numbers for an acquisition case study I'm doing.

Every time I think I'll like math I find out that, no. I don't. Still don't, probably never.

I was certainly lost at C. Jean Shepherd fans will understand that one....

But early this morning I crunched and crunched and think I finally made sense of it all. Now I have to develop the paper due in 5 days. It is only about 20 pages so it should go quick. Once my thoughts are in order I can really run with it.

That is it for today.

Work Life Balance?

2007-01-15T07:21:00.000-05:00

I have been reading a great deal about the whole work life balance thing and it seems like some focus on the "balance" notion and that for each part of work you add, then you have to remove something from your life part ( or vice-versa).

I don't believe that has to be true. As a remote worker I find the incredible power of flex-time is often overlooked by those that work from home ( or the field). This was the basis for my "checkbook theory" concept of deposits and withdrawals but this does not always mean equality. It is more of a general notion of equity between the often warring camps of work and home.

Overall each of us has the power to make those types of flex-time accomodations but feel tremendous guilt about doing it. I've been doing this for years and even I feel that tinge of guilt at times.

I had prepared my year end review just before Christmas ( yes we write our own reviews and submit them to our supervisors) and it really made me consider this past year in a positive light. I traveled less, earned more and was generally happier about my career and career prospects than ever before. I'm 4 courses away from finishing my MBA and obtaining one of my major personal goals.

So I consider the effort in 2006 ( substantial) and the reward ( substantial). I have squeezed out many of the fun things but gained so much more. I am looking forward to Saturday mornings in my workshop ( I am a woodworker) once my MBA is done. That is one luxury I look forward too along with more family time.

We'll see how it goes.

What a difference a day makes!

2007-01-14T15:30:00.000-05:00

I pushed early this week and finished my school stuff for the week yesterday. Just gotta check on a team project but the hard part is done for this past week. Now I am enjoying a day off ( mostly) just to hang out and catch up. Hopefully I can really press on this week for my class final paper ( due in 7 days).

I spent time relaxing, watching Steve Job's keynote speach from MacWorld on my iPod and noting how he really can deliver a pitch. That is a topic for another day because if he is forced out due to the Apple stock questions that is more damaging to Apple than anything ( I think).

I'm a new blogger so I've been hunting around for some good blogs and hope to post a list soon.

That's all for now!

One Week To Go!

2007-01-13T11:21:00.000-05:00

OK, so I have about one week left in this course and then the remaining ones should lighten a bit. So I consider the next 7 days as my final push and then I get a bit of a breather. This MBA program has been tough on my time but I've learned so much. I'd briefly considered extending for a concentration but think that may be too much right now so I'll stick with the general MBA.

I've really liked working with all my teams ( we change every 6 weeks) so I learned how to settle in and get things done quickly. A good set of skills to have in this mobile / virtual / matrix world...

Sometimes it does seem like my head will explode...

The Perfect Home Office?

2007-01-12T17:14:00.000-05:00

As a remote employee I work from a home office ( and have for most of the last 16 years). I can't really imagine why you would need to go to an office these days. With high speed internet ( wifi of course), a cell phone and / or Skype, you can work from anywhere.

That being said I have not found the "right" layout and equipment for my current home office. So I'm going to treat myself to an office re-design soon. I build furniture as a hobby so I can cover the construction of it just fine but I've been browsing Flickr for home office ideas. All I can say is my office looks like a neat freak by comparison to many of them!

I keep telling myself that this is the "year of the Aeron" so perhaps I can finally just get one.

I am on a constant search for the perfect home office so I keep looking for ideas wherever I can find them!

Little Minutes

2007-01-12T08:29:00.000-05:00

Ok so I'm waiting for one of my machines to restart so I'm using my "little minutes" to post before I dig into prep for a day of conference calls. Sometimes I enjoy then ( I'm a remote employee) and others ...not so much.

My mother ( a supreme multitasker) used to say "use your little minutes". I would not come to understand this until I was much older but it has paid off. It really means to have something to do in all those "little minutes" in between things like while you are on hold, while waiting in line at the store or your computer to reboot (apparently applies to windows users only).

I frequently juggle two computers, two phones and many tasks during the day ( I have a split role at the company doing sales and marketing both) so it definitely means a bunch of little minutes can add up.

I must admit it does feel like there is too much to juggle sometimes so you have to prioritize between urgent and important ( and nice to have but not either).

Holding on, 2 more weeks and the scales tip!

2007-01-10T16:45:00.000-05:00

Since this is a life-work balance experiment, I've been considering that balance this week. Pretty much work and school but this class ends in just under 2 weeks so I hope to gain some breathing room. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel ( it is 6 months or so) but I can see it.

I've been pretty pleased that this whole MBA thing has proven to be very applicable to my job ( in sales and marketing). It has really thrown my precious balance way out of whack. In fact, during the Christmas holiday I was off work and school for a week. I got up early ( out of habit) to do schoolwork and there was none. It was a hard adjustment, weird.

I'm determined that this work-life balance thing include quality of both and not just quantity but only time will tell.

iPhone...really

2007-01-09T20:24:00.000-05:00

I read the news that Apple really will release the iPhone this year. Guess I'll be saving my money for that... Also Apple becoming Apple Inc and not Apple Computer. Smart move in my book, becoming a poster child company for the digital lifestyle.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Windows machines ( all 5 of em). But I'm thinking a Mac is in my future. Can't wait til home media servers really work cause I'm going to get one.

Can't wait...............

Dispensing some Indispensable Stuff

2007-01-08T14:35:00.000-05:00

I enjoy reading and learning about the topic of leadership and motivation and how it applies in the business world. Too often there are too many "managers" and not enough "leaders". I'm reading a good book these days called "Becoming an Indispensable Employee in a Disposable World" by Neal Whitten. It is quite good and is written in a workshop type format. A really good quote in the book attributed to someone named George Crane ( I have no idea who he is) says"

"There is no future in any job. The future lies in the man who holds the job."

I like this quote for the forward facing nature of it. This takes a possibly negative idea ( that of no job security) and spins it into a positive solution for the future. I've read so many business books that preach the mantra of "lifetime learning" as a way to always stay fresh.

I'm a believer. Beginning my MBA was easily the most positive thing ( and one of the hardest) I've done in the last several years. It really provided me the motivation and ability to throw off the blinders and be open to new ideas and concepts.

Hopefully a good "future" lies in this man.......

Just plain waaaaaay out of balance

2007-01-07T15:47:00.000-05:00

I've had the luxury of some reflective time recently. During that time I've been considering my desire to start this blog to capture some comments on balancing work with life. Man it can be a drag. But on the upside it has been tremendously good too. This past year has swung pretty far away from what most people call "fun" but the payback has been pretty good.

I'm currently working on my MBA and work full time plus spend time with my family. It isn't anything different than what thousands of people have to balance but it feels pretty good to look back on the personal accomplishment of it all.

So that's it for this one....

The Roots of Checkbook Theory

2007-01-03T20:37:00.000-05:00

I am starting this blog to explore the whole concept of work-life balance. I believe it is rooted in a basic concept of deposits and withdrawals between all those involved in your life. I consider these to be recorded in a "checkbook" of sorts and the entire thing revolves around the balance in this checkbook.

I think sometimes you have to make deposits and sometimes you have to make withdrawals. The key is to never go too far in either direction.

It may not be famous like "Game Theory" but "Checkbook Theory" works for me.

Hope to learn a bit about myself and others with similar ideas!