Preface

So...Hello World.  I've been considering this idea, to read 100 of the supposed 'top rated' contemporary business and development books and to document the journey gonzo-journalism style to see if they have any impact on my day-to-day as a cog at 'MegaCorp' which is what I will refer to as the massive multi-national place of my employment from here forward.   This documentation will be anonymous, so I can be as honest as possible but also I'll likely have to fudge some details because my role is global in this giant corporation, and well..... it's a small world we live in. My company has offices in nearly every city and while I'm lower management I control a global tool and I am well known amongst my colleagues across all regions.  Though I assure you, I'm not super important or anything.  Nothing like that.

Honestly, today is kind of somber, and I decided it was a good place to start given the events of the day.  It's Friday night now, and I was told nonchalantly by my boss on our regular Friday check-in that a team member of ours is being 'let go', restructured, reorganized, shifted etc.   Why do they think these new terms make it any easier to communicate that someone has been fired?  As an employee of MegaCorp for going on 11 years now I should be used to this type of occurrence - but I never am.  It always makes me nervous.  It always makes me super conscious of anyone who may be watching and considering my own work as possibly dispensable.  I think it makes all of us more focused and more nervous.  Regardless of what anyone chooses to call it, it is uncomfortable and awkward for all involved.  I feel so bad for our Director, for being charged to have the conversation because I am sure it was not his decision to let my colleague go.  I'm fairly certain I know exactly who made the choice and demanded the change.  Is it progress?  Only time will tell.

Regardless of this sad day, it wasn't a huge surprise to me to hear that my friend and colleague was being let go.  And often when others are let go, it's typically a situation where it was apparent to those of us working closely with them of a possible ....(ineptitude?).  I feel awful, like a terrible person, for even writing that.  But it's true, when someone is laid off, let go, restructured....if I worked with them directly,  I can usually imagine why the particular decision was made.  Generally, it's because they were not effective in their work, or they were not focused,  or were not reachable when needed.

This team member of mine, we'll call him "Mark" because that's not his name.   He has been, and I hope he will continue to be, a confidant of mine.  He and I are/were sort of unique and odd to the organization in that we are based in the US, while our direct leadership is in Europe.  I think the main issue for him was one of a failure in communication and as a result a consistent delay to meet deadlines.   He was given a large task to spearhead a project in our Americas region, and well.... the Americas team were set in their ways, wanting to continue to do things on paper instead of using the tool Mark was managing.  The tool Mark was managing is readily used in our Europe-Middle East-Africa region, and in Asia Pacific region.  Americas was new to adopt the tool and ultimately Mark failed to sell them on the importance or benefit of using it.  As a result,  he ultimately failed to meet the global deadlines more than once.   I think it comes down to - Mark wasn't a good leader, or speaker, or salesperson - even though really, my team does not 'sell' anything, our line of business is considered "shared services".  Mark was dependent upon others to turn things in so he could make his overall platform deadlines, and those people that he was dependent upon didn't see the value in cooperating.

So here I am, bummed out for Mark, who has become a friend in the past 3 years we've worked together. I've had more than a few glasses of wine tonight. My condolences are for his family (he has 2 adorable toddlers), and for his new journey of finding a new position.  And at the same time, I'm fearing the scrutiny of my own possible weaknesses. Since there has been a focus on my team, is leadership focused on how effective I am also? So I've returned to this vague idea I had a few months back to read 100 business books as a development project. Perhaps whatever weaknesses I have can be explored while I review the ideas and suggestions of our business giants and visionaries.

Let's see where this leads us. I do not have a time deadline, but I did read 62 books last year. My corporate journey, beginning 11 years ago, came directly out of academia when I was a grad student. I failed to complete a PhD program (on purpose... I decided it wasn't for me) and I'm honestly still a huge nerd. I'm predicting that I could complete this project in under 2 years, though the goal should be quality over quantity. Also, I may need an occasional break to reading some trashy novels or mysteries or new best sellers between Dale Carnegie and Jack Canfield.

My current title is Manager/Sr. Analyst. It will be interesting to see how that changes when I finish my review for book #100. I hope, because I've held my current title for almost 3 years now that I can advance to Associate Director next. Or maybe this project will have no impact at all.

Stay tuned...