"Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny." -- unknown

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results - Albert Einstein

...jobs...
2000-12-13 - 01:45:41

On to other things!

They had this big conference call at work today. The whole East Coast was listening, hunderds of people..which is kinda impressive when you think about it. Anyway, the call was about announcing my company's path for the future and what a great year we've had and all that. Well, that's what we were told it was going to be about.

Instead it was pretty much a bombshell. We are totally reorganizing, not downsizing, but shifting people. Basically two layers of management are gone. *poof* Just like that, well come next year anyway. The people, which I aint one, in those postions are going to be absorbed either back into sales or into some other role, that whole part is still really fuzzy. Nothing in all this really affects me. I still sit at my desk and push the product, the lifeblood, that feeds this beast for which I work.

Well, that's not true. This DOES affect me and I'm not sure how to look at things. The good side of this 'realinement' is that senior people in the company are gettin moved closer to the salesforce and arnt bogged down with annoying 'corporate shite' anymore. Things like accounting and HR are all removed from the regions and put back under Corporate, where they belong. BUT like I said before, since all that crap is now rolled up under Corporate, they can cut out 2 layers of managment. It's one of those two layers I was looking to get my next promotion to. It's time to re-evaluate my career path.

I do not want to be on a desk as a careet. I'm good at it. I got a decent shot at being one of the top five sales people in my region, which is the whole northeast. Not to shabby since I've only been here for a year. I like what I do, mostly. Which is cool too, my last two jobs I hardly liked anything I did. I was running from 'food service management' when I tripped and fell into this job. People say you should always look before leap, but man...I had no idea what I was getting into when I stepped into this one.

Now I sit here, a year later and I wonder what to do next. I've gotten two fat raises this past year, a sure sign that I'm not the only one who thinks I'm decent at this. I've always had 'career path converstaions' *cough* sorry, managerspeak, that had me heading toward what was called an insidesales manager. I need to have another one of those funky converstaions, since that postion is gone, atleast in offices the size of mine.

I am confused and unsure. Frustration has grown alot on my part, I want off a desk. Theres not much left to learn for me, and so of the basic functions of it are really really starting to irk me. Well, just one. I wont get into it now or I will probably go on forever about it. The light at the end of my tunnel was, 'your almost ready to move up. You just need a bit more time under your belt.' Well, I'm not sure wheres next for me to move up to.

Perhaps I should switch paths and jump into outside sales for a bit and then off to location manager. I'd much rather NOT go outside, its not my style. Though, the more I think about it...I think it going to become my style. Do my time there, put up the numbers and make my case. I got a kickass record on the inside.

Theres so much shit going on right now, I dunno if I should press the 'what about me' converstaion now. Currently we have an insidesales manager, and come next year her job is gone and she doesnt know where she will be. Talk about an x-mass bombshell. "Your not fired, but your in limbo. Would you like some eggnog?"

I can't help where she is, though I do feel bad for her. I like her. She's only been with our office for a short time, but I will miss her. I hope something gets worked out where she stays with us. I need to bring up my path. I know where I want to be and now I need to see the road to get there.

"Should I stay or should I go now?

If I go there will be trouble...

If I stay there will be double!"

That's kinda how I feel. If I go to some other company, there will be all kinds of shit. What company? Would I have to move? (I DONT want to move this year. I lived in four states and had three jobs last year) Theres interviews and keeping things quiet at work. Theres the hard part of telling my boss, who I really like and I knew he honestly only wants good things for me. I've done job changes before. I've jumped ship with no warning. That's all trouble.

BUT if I stay, there will be double. I know where I want to go. I want into management. I want off the desk and away from that which irks me. I sit all to quite about things in the office that bother me. Petty things build like demented leggos until theres a tower I MUST knock down. I need to speak up. I need to voice my ideas and thoughts clearly and rationally. In the office, I'm the 'rock', the 'anchor', ect. I'm that guy who never gets mad, who never freaks out. I fix the problems, I get the job done and then I talk about what I did. I dont slam the phone or smack the computer or pound on my desk as so many others are wont to do. I see no value in that. I stay calm and do what I must do, right or wrong businesswise. I fix the customer first and then wonder about how much something cost. I have many loyal customers and a higher than average 'cost of doing business' associated with my desk. But in the end, I feel that my customers knowing I will move heaven and earth is worth the cost. I know I will get future orders and recoup my costs. But I must start to press for where I want to be. I know how to price, how to leverage stock, how to leverage the advantages of our stock, how to fix the problems, how to avoid and sidestep blame (not always a good trait, but hey...this is reality and my shit my stink but atleast I know how to cover it up).

Perhaps more on this to follow at a later date...