chaos

This is the third week I've been in my adjusted role, and life is good.

As much as I was looking forward to working out of our main office five days a week instead of being split between our office and working on site with one of our customers, I had some apprehensions. Was this the right move for the company? Would I make a worthwhile difference? How would I find the time to listen to new music without being able to sit in front of a database for hours on end? Would the person taking on my database role do well?

As much as I pushed for this change I still had to make sure it was the right move.

When we made the decision to go for it, I was excited. Except it took up most of my time for over a month, between hiring new people for our office as we grew, a new person for our database work, and then training all these people. I smiled the whole time, though. I knew the tough part was temporary, the reward on the other side was worth it, and I could do this. I just had to neglect my Internet world for a short while.

By knowing how things would likely be on the other side of this shift, I had enough purpose to keep pushing.Read more

Ever had to fly by the seat of your pants?

Winging it, or taking action without preparing for the situation you’re in, is both fascinating and frightening. In amazing moments, winging it will open up doors no one knew existed. Other times you will mishandle what you’re doing and it will blow up in your face, knocking you back 20 feet before your head smacks the ground and you utter a few choice curse words as you begin to get up and try to pick shrapnel out of your leg.

So why is winging it both great and able to create a near-death experience? Can’t we say “yes” or “no” to winging it?

Think of a situation (or three) where winging it was the difference between topping the world and mediocrity. Find any similarities, any constant factors? There are two to consider if winging it is an option or a path to disaster.Read more

For me, the most difficult aspect of managing a team is deciding when I need to let them do their thing and when I need to focus their efforts.

In college one of my professors loaned me a book on applying theories in quantum physics to management. What stuck with me was the section on chaos. The author described how an entire organization will structure itself if no one is given any guidelines other than “get the job done.” Since there is no structure employees find what they feel is the best way to communicate with one another and get things done. Some things seem obvious looking back, like having engineers, manufacturing, and design people all work close together instead of sending their changes back and forth to be rejected or approved by everyone else.Read more