Beyond 254

I Accept the Job, BUT Here's my Two Week Notice!

Last week, I found out that we hired a new guy in our department, but then discovered in the same sentence that he resigned! I thought to myself, how hilarious, I find out about the new guy the same time I hear about his resignation. I found out from others, that he had enough of this office. Granted, he only started in August. I told my co-worker, our department heads did not even send out an announcement back in August about the new addition to our group. Since the people in our department are spread out among two locations, communication is key. But, unfortunately for this company, communication is seriously lacking. This goes back to the problems of poor communication (Check out blog post - Poor Communication: Breeding Ground for Confusion). Management does a horrible job of communicating important information to the team. That is why this department runs in a "reactive" instead of a "proactive" mode.

The resignation of my team member gives me hope for the day when I can turn in my resignation letter. Until then, I will continue to Focus on One Good Thing. The one good thing at this place is that the comical antics will definitely keep me laughing!

Comfort Is The Enemy

A while back I heard Farrah Gray author of "Reallionaire" state that "Comfort is the enemy of achievement." As I pondered that statement, I said to myself that is so true and reflected on my first job out of college.

I worked for a Fortune 500 company out of college as an IT Consultant. The company treated us well, we received bonuses and the salaries were great. We also went on yearly company retreats at lakeside resorts. I thought to myself, I never want to leave this company and I settled in and got COMFORTABLE. Since everything was going so well, I thought to myself why give up a good thing. But sometimes when God has better plans for you, a trial or test will come your way that will jolt you out of that comfort zone. My trial came in the form of a layoff. Sometimes experiences can push or force you into your true destiny. Being pushed out of a company that I enjoyed was devastating, but now that I look back, if I stayed, I never would have realized my passion to start my own company. Being an entrepreneur never entered my mind when I first started out in the workforce. The company I worked for had great pay and benefits, so why would I leave. I am now thankful for that experience, because if I was not laid off, I would not have realized my dreams and passions.

Tip of the Day: Do not curse your trials. Thank God for your setbacks and learn from them, because it could be his way of moving you to your destiny.

Is High School Really Over?

Sorry I have been so behind on my blog postings. I am working on some new changes for Beyond254 that I will be unveiling within the next couple of months, so I have been really busy. But, I wanted to take time to comment on an article I just read today on a Wall Street Journal Blog called "The Juggle." The title of the article was Meritocracy or "Mean Girls." How Important is Office Popularity? The article really spoke volumes to me, because this explains the environment at my current workplace. As I was reading this article, it felt like I was reading about my company. Also, I read some of the readers' comments and it mirrors what I am going through. The gossiping,  jealousy, back-biting and back-stabbing is very common where I work. Also, swearing is commonplace. The management team in my department does not even try to hide the fact that they play favorites. I remember after working at my current company a few months, we had a team dinner with one of the clients we were working with. I do not drink, so naturally I did not order a drink with my dinner. After the dinner, I went to the restroom and a female manager followed me. While we were in the restroom, she questioned my choice of not drinking and then she said something that totally shocked me. She said, "You do not drink, how are you going to fit in with the group?" I was so stunned I could not even come back with one of my sarcastic one liners. I was literally speechless!

I really feel that high school is never over. It is amazing to me that some adults can be so immature and let pettiness cloud their judgment. I guess that is why starting my own company is so important to me, because I want to be free of these toxic environments. So, what are your thoughts? Does this sound like your office environment? Let me know, I would love to hear from you.

Tip of the day - To cope with my toxic environment, I have found a few good, like-minded people on my job that I interact with. Also, whenever I feel that someone is trying to pull me into a toxic conversation, I try to change the subject or find an excuse to walk away. Until you can escape, just bear with it, try out these tips and just know that one day you will be free of this environment.

15 e-mails, 6 people and 1 meeting

I spent all day today and the later part of the previous work day trying to get one meeting scheduled. It all started with an issue regarding one of the systems we use that is maintained by another company. One of the end users contacted me in order to set up a meeting. What should have been a simple task, mushroomed into a nightmare of bureaucratic red tape. It took around 15 e-mails in order to get this meeting scheduled. The other company had to correspond with several other people in order to get the meeting set up. In addition to the madness of checking other calendars, nothing could proceed until we updated the issue log. As I watched the e-mails go back and forth, I thought to myself "Ah, Corporate America at its finest!"

Maybe I Spoke Too Soon

Just when I thought the drama was over, more turmoil developed from that horrible project I just completed. Another component to this project, which we are still working on, started taking on a life of its own. This component was not supposed to be as stressful as the first phase we just completed. The first phase was more complex and difficult. Even after accomplishing a major hurdle, the end users on this project would not let me enjoy a little bit of peace and success. Some of the end users started complaining today about not having enough meetings for the second phase and just when I thought all the chaos was over. Sometimes these people make a mountain out of a mole hill. It goes to show you that in Corporate America, there is always something. Of course, anything you do will have challenges, but at least when you are your own boss you are involved in something you enjoy. When you are doing something you love, the challenges are not as frustrating. When you are working at a job you hate, the challenges can be very difficult to deal with. I bring a book of scriptures that I read whenever I get frustrated. It helps keep me uplifted. Of course, the challenges are still there, but it helps me deal with them a little better.

It's OVER!

Sorry, I have been distant this past week, but the project at work that was giving me a lot of grief is finally OVER! This is a very important project that will generate plenty of revenue for the company. But, it was a logistical nightmare to manage, because it touched so many departments. I had meetings upon meetings trying to coordinate and keep people informed, because if these people are left out of the loop, even for a second, they start complaining. I am not going to lie when I say that most of these people got on my nerves. Like I mentioned a couple weeks ago, in False enTITLEment, dealing with directors can try your patience. At first, I thought it was only me that was getting aggravated by these people, but my senior director was also annoyed with their constant whining. I was relieved to know that I was not alone. Of course there will still be follow up work for the next few weeks, but at least I am over the main hurdle. Now I can breathe again. It was really tough at times, but I can finally say that I have gone through the storm.

Tip of the Day: Sometimes when dealing with tough projects, instead of taking it day by day or hour by hour, you might have to take it minute by minute. Just be present in the moment and focus on getting that task completed. You will find out by the end of the day, you have somehow completed everything you set out to accomplish that day.

FEAR

After the announcement last week of employee pay cuts and the possibility of more layoffs, fear could have taken hold of my emotions. Instead of letting fear grip me, I decided to celebrate. I decided to celebrate the great and wonderful things that are ahead of me.

Fear can paralyze you and cause you to remain stagnant. This stagnation comes as a result of not being able to think clearly, because fear clouds your vision. After the pay cut announcement, I decided to accelerate some of the things that I planned on pursuing later this year. Instead of letting fear over take me and hold me back, I decided to become fearless and move forward. To be honest, I have not given the impending pay cuts much thought, because I know that the best is yet to come. I mentioned earlier that I decided to celebrate the next day after the announcement. I went out and bought a custom-made, double chocolate cupcake and celebrated the abundance and good times that are coming my way. I feel very confident and at peace. In addition, I feel that many good things are going to happen this month that will help me toward my ultimate goal. I know that I will reach my goals, because I did not allow fear to stop me from moving forward.

Tip of the Day: Worrying will not accomplish anything. Instead of focusing on the problem, focus on the solution.

Being Tested

During these last few weeks, I have been stating how things are getting better since I had a shift in attitude. The books I have been reading have helped me change my outlook on things and taught me how to handle tough situations. Well these last couple of days, I have gone through a testing period to see how my new attitude can stand up to difficult situations.

Yesterday, I had a major disagreement with one of my colleagues on a conference call. The stress on this particular project was building up for the last couple of weeks and it finally came to a boiling point yesterday. After the call, I was "totally done" and I had enough. We had another call later that afternoon and I was still frustrated after the call earlier that day, that I kept quiet. When I went home yesterday, it was very hard for me to get my mind off of work, but I did not complain about the situation to family and friends. Later that night, I prayed and went to bed thinking that this was behind me. Well today, early this morning, I got hit with more bad news, our company announced pay cuts for all employees. All I could do was chuckle to myself and just be thankful that we did not get laid off. Just when I thought it was all over, I heard that the colleague that I "butted heads" with was still complaining (behind my back of course). Due to all the stress from yesterday and today, I decided to have a long lunch. After I ate, I noticed that my stomach felt queasy. So to top this day off, I became ill later this afternoon. Even though I went home early, I still managed to attend all my meetings. On the way home, something happened, it seemed like that negative energy was broken. It feels like it literally broke off in small pieces and flew off my body. I felt free. I was able to forget about all the problems from work. Yesterday I had a hard time shaking things off, but today, after all these troubles, I started to feel a sense of peace. Even now, as I write this, the anger and fear are gone. I am not angry at my co-workers and I do not feel a sense of fear about the upcoming pay cuts. I know that better days are ahead and God has a wonderful plan for my life.

I feel these troubles came in order to "test" me and apply all the knowledge that I have learned. How can you have a testimony without a test? Also, these situations help push and propel me to my destiny. Now I have an even stronger desire to escape Corporate America. One of my goals is to do some freelance writing. I intend to start doing some freelance writing; in addition I plan on looking for contract work. These are small steps to help me move toward my goal of escaping Corporate America.

Tip of the day: When you go through troubles and stress, you will experience some anger and discomfort at first, but do not wallow in it. Negative energy will hinder you from seeing things clearly. If your mind is clouded, how will you know what direction to take to reach your goals and dreams?