Think About the Way, Part 2

One year ago today, right about this time of the morning, I went off to the local portrait studio and got some Lebenslauf photos made. I was still in that shock mode of having just been laid off, but the experience (aside from some negative feedback on my tie) was good, things went well, and it turned out to be a really nice day.

The next week, I picked up the photos, and soon had them posted in the various professional networking sites, etc. Soon after, I went on a shopping excursion to rectify the tie situation, and over the next couple of months, I received one or two comments about the photo. A professor of mine from school actually sent me a quick note indicating that he was always shocked when he looked at my photo, though hopefully not because of the frightening look I have on my face. I think he was trying to say that he simply was not used to seeing me in professional attire. I can easily say the same...

I was quite fortunate to find a new job despite my photo, though I do accept that culture in Germany is such that they expect to have a look at you before deciding if they want to talk to you or not.

At any rate, I took a couple of moments over the past two weeks to think about the progress I have made in the job I started seven months ago. In Februrary, I certainly indicated that I expected things to be challenging, and I would certainly be earning my pay. Very true statements indeed.

The learning curve has been steep, but until last month I really felt that I was progressing nicely. Suddenly, though, a few twists and turns popped up, along with a few pitfalls (roughly the size of the grand canyon) and politics (ooh! fun!) and I found myself stumbling a bit recently.

Two weeks ago, I spent a week with one of my suppliers in Budapest, and by the end of the week, I thought I had the visit had been effective. However, as I stood at the boarding gate in the airport waiting to go back to Germany that Friday afternoon, my boss called me up to tell me that the following week HE wouuld be visiting the site, along with another senior colleague of mine. He suggested that I get travel arranged to return to Budapest the following Monday, which I hastily did just as we all settled on the airplane.

Initially, I was a bit insulted and humbled. How come my boss and colleague arranged to visit my repair site without telling me? Why did they wait so long before indicating their plans?

Throughout last weekend, I thought about the task at hand, and why the situation was such that reinforcements were needed. By the end of the weekend, I did come to terms with the fact that I certainly wanted the support and assistance. I recalled the time several years ago, when I was on the other side of the business, when the customer kept bombarding me with visits, etc, and how stressful the time was then.

Now, on this side of the business, I have a much better understanding of what my customer was thinking at the time. Furthermore, as I am now the customer, I realized that this additional visit to the repair site with additional resources was very much needed.

So, this past Monday evening, I landed in Budapest, got to the hotel, met up with my first colleague, and our boss arrived soon after. We had a chance to talk about the way things were going, and both colleagues pointed out that this was a business interest, and did not have as much to do with a feeling of "no confidence" in my abilities.

Well, the week was tough, extremely challenging, and I learned a lot, not only about how my supplier operates under pressure, but additionally how my boss operates, and not least of all, I learned a lot about myself: how I can improve my approach to the supplier, how I can better handle things internally within the team (knowing full well that I am somewhat isolated from my colleagues in the UK), and how I must simply not get too senstive when the constructive criticism comes through. You see, despite the claims that visit from my boss did not have anything to do with a feeling of concern about my own performance, if you looked closely at the situation, you would realize that indeed, this had something to do with things.

At the first of the week, I was a bit frustrated, since my boss walked into the site, and listed a bunch of concerns, all of which I had personally discussed with the supplier on my visit the previous week. There is nothing worse then feeling like you are ineffective in your position, even if you are doing the right things.

As the week went on, I recognized that the reiteration of the messaage my company needed to deliver to the supplier was extremely necessary. Though the days were long, I took a few minutes each evening to stand outside the hotel lounge and just look out over the Danube, appreciating the scenic view of Budapest as I noted where I could take the appropiate steps in my own professional development. In a way, I am glad that it happened halfway through my first year with the company. I now have a much better understanding on how I need to get to the next level with my suppliers.

Yesterday morning, I boarded an early flight back to Frankfurt, and was glad to be back home. Sure, the workday was busy, but when I finally logged off for the day (er, evening), I took a bit more time to think about how things were going, and are going.

During a brief chat yesterday, I was reminded of my personal interpretations: imagination, visualization, and realization. Throughout the afternoon and evening (and even in my dreams last night) I continued to concentrate on these concepts. Food for thought, if you will.

The quick, somewhat comical example I could use would be:
Imagine that your football club plays the worst game of their lives, then visualize them getting totally blown off the pitch by one of the strongest teams in the game, then realize that I am talking about the Arsenal-Man U result from a couple of weeks back, and there you have it.

This morning, I sit here listening to the Trainspotting soundtrack while I finish this piece, and remember why the film has always been one of my favorites.

And the soundtrack is bloody brilliant, too.

see you out there
bryan