My first week, post on-boarding, in the real world of work. This has not been that painful so far. I have my first deal, actually taking over from one of my clan (at least his surname suggests so) though we have not yet found the family tree intersection point.
The real issue is that this was a deal that was completed, the client put it on hold, and it is just coming alive again. My namesake is now on another deal, and so is handing over to me. This at least gives me someone to buddy up with, however I am going to have to be on my own sooner or later, and I know little about the client, nor its infrastructure, nor the account team, nor the very many new three letter abbreviations, aka TLAs, I will need to learn. It will all come in time I know, but sometimes team members do not have the patience with the new guy.
My other bit of work a mini project to get a new system populated with information for a bunch of different opportunities, one of which is my new deal. There is some irony in this because I have just spent two weeks being trained in the process, and now there is a new tool to run it. In truth, most of what I have learnt is useful, but this new tool will change the way we do our bit, and I guess being near the front of the queue of people who are learning how to use the new system will give me some kind of advantage over my more experienced colleagues. The challenge with this bit is that I am engaging with people on opportunities, and all I have is my classroom training, so I am asking "do you have a wotsit?" they are asking "what is a wotsit?", or worse, "ah, for our proposal, we did not bother doing one". What does the newbie say to that?
We are off to the New Forest tomorrow in the 'van. I have installed the new hitch on the it, so it fits on the new car, so it will be a new experience towing with the new car, and without the snake-bar (but with an Al-Ko hitch instead). Apart from the weather, I am very much looking forward to it. LO is out tonight at a leaving do for one of her teachers, so we are packing and leaving tomorrow morning.
On that note, I shall wish you a great long weekend, Happy Easter, whether the Jesus or the chocolate variety, or indeed if both. Speak next week.
Friday, 18 March 2016
Phew
End of training week two. Phew. Was gonna try and keep some "...ew" rhyming going there, but realise that would be naff.
I fell ill during the first day, and so spend a fairly miserable three days with a developing cold. Nothing life-threatening, though were I in any other situation I would probably have retired to bed.
I have really enjoyed the training. It has given me the basics of my role and my part of the business, which is nice, and I have met a number of peers from various roles, again all within my general sphere, which is doubly nice. This means I have some general knowledge to use in my role, and the beginnings of a network. I will now need to get out there to start earning an honest crust.
Today, Friday, I am taking a breather. I have done the first half of my expenses (an education) and have finished some of the training we did not cover in the course (also an education) and as I type this, I have been watching the weeks news show for NN. It is fairly light-hearted in style, but actually very informative too, and one item was on the new memorista technology, which by coincidence we used in our final presentation, to demonstrate the ultimate partnership with our client. You had to be there really.
These two weeks have really taken it out of me, and being ill has certainly not helped, so today I am just catching up on things and taking it a bit easy, ready for next week. The weekend is a normal one, with sporty things Saturday, and of course the rugby Saturday afternoon, but we are in Saturday evening, which I think is just what we all need. Sunday we do have "high tea" at A&E's, the third is a series of "Special Sundays". I suspect that my unwellness will mean I won't be drinking, so it should be fun, without the Monday morning hangover.
I hope you have a great weekend. Speak next week.
I fell ill during the first day, and so spend a fairly miserable three days with a developing cold. Nothing life-threatening, though were I in any other situation I would probably have retired to bed.
I have really enjoyed the training. It has given me the basics of my role and my part of the business, which is nice, and I have met a number of peers from various roles, again all within my general sphere, which is doubly nice. This means I have some general knowledge to use in my role, and the beginnings of a network. I will now need to get out there to start earning an honest crust.
Today, Friday, I am taking a breather. I have done the first half of my expenses (an education) and have finished some of the training we did not cover in the course (also an education) and as I type this, I have been watching the weeks news show for NN. It is fairly light-hearted in style, but actually very informative too, and one item was on the new memorista technology, which by coincidence we used in our final presentation, to demonstrate the ultimate partnership with our client. You had to be there really.
These two weeks have really taken it out of me, and being ill has certainly not helped, so today I am just catching up on things and taking it a bit easy, ready for next week. The weekend is a normal one, with sporty things Saturday, and of course the rugby Saturday afternoon, but we are in Saturday evening, which I think is just what we all need. Sunday we do have "high tea" at A&E's, the third is a series of "Special Sundays". I suspect that my unwellness will mean I won't be drinking, so it should be fun, without the Monday morning hangover.
I hope you have a great weekend. Speak next week.
Friday, 11 March 2016
education, education, education
It has been an intense week of classroom education. I say week, it is four days, with Friday off to recover, and boy do I need it.
The training has been intense - 8.30am starts, usually going on to around 7.30pm, but it has been really good. There was just a mass of information to offload on to us for these first four days, and that obviously means death-by-Powerpoint to a certain extent, but we did get to practice each bit as well, and to be honest it is the only way to get through the material. Next week we will have some information to absorb, but we will also be spending much longer working on our proposals. My boss will be judging the final presentations, so I want to be good.
I am loving the fact that I am actually getting high quality training for my role. This is not something that is always there, it certainly was not available at Starfleet, so I am making the most of it and really getting stuck in.
I did have a slight embarrassing Tuesday evening, when about eight of the group went for an Indian, and I managed to fall asleep near the end of the meal. To be honest, it was the perfect storm; I was very tired from the day's training, we did not get there until 9pm (i.e. an hour from my favoured bedtime) and, worst of all, I was at the end of the table, up against a half-height wall, the other side of which was the bar, so it was very easy for me to catch one the waiter's eyes, and ask for another pint. Thankfully one of my colleagues was driving, and he gave me a lift back to the hotel. To avoid any further embarrassment, and especially since my new boss would be present, I drove to the Wednesday night meal, which also started an hour earlier, so consequently there was nothing bad to write home about.
This weekend we have the usual morning of sport, and in the afternoon I will be attending my 'van to fit a new Al-Ko hitch to the van. This is needed because my new car has a standard swan-neck tow bar, pretty much defacto for any factory-fitted tow bar, but one that cannot take my snake-bar. This new hitch will therefore provide the anti-snake feature within the tow hitch itself. We need this to be done for Easter, when we plan to go away to the New Forest.
That's about all for this week. Have a great weekend, and speak next week.
The training has been intense - 8.30am starts, usually going on to around 7.30pm, but it has been really good. There was just a mass of information to offload on to us for these first four days, and that obviously means death-by-Powerpoint to a certain extent, but we did get to practice each bit as well, and to be honest it is the only way to get through the material. Next week we will have some information to absorb, but we will also be spending much longer working on our proposals. My boss will be judging the final presentations, so I want to be good.
I am loving the fact that I am actually getting high quality training for my role. This is not something that is always there, it certainly was not available at Starfleet, so I am making the most of it and really getting stuck in.
I did have a slight embarrassing Tuesday evening, when about eight of the group went for an Indian, and I managed to fall asleep near the end of the meal. To be honest, it was the perfect storm; I was very tired from the day's training, we did not get there until 9pm (i.e. an hour from my favoured bedtime) and, worst of all, I was at the end of the table, up against a half-height wall, the other side of which was the bar, so it was very easy for me to catch one the waiter's eyes, and ask for another pint. Thankfully one of my colleagues was driving, and he gave me a lift back to the hotel. To avoid any further embarrassment, and especially since my new boss would be present, I drove to the Wednesday night meal, which also started an hour earlier, so consequently there was nothing bad to write home about.
This weekend we have the usual morning of sport, and in the afternoon I will be attending my 'van to fit a new Al-Ko hitch to the van. This is needed because my new car has a standard swan-neck tow bar, pretty much defacto for any factory-fitted tow bar, but one that cannot take my snake-bar. This new hitch will therefore provide the anti-snake feature within the tow hitch itself. We need this to be done for Easter, when we plan to go away to the New Forest.
That's about all for this week. Have a great weekend, and speak next week.
Friday, 4 March 2016
Nearly a month
As the title suggests, or rather states very clearly and simply, this is the end of week four, so near enough a month, especially as I left Starfleet on the 5th February.
I am still very much liking NN. I acknowledge that this is the honeymoon period, but even those senior executive notes that in the other place, seems like a load of old guff, feels very relevant here. I like the tone of the messages, I like the general sense of getting things done. None of this is really so very different, so really it is how I am receiving it, which is exactly what I wanted and expected.
So, at the end of week four, where am I? I have been in to the office, on Wednesday, and will have to find a better route because the one I took was VERY slow, and the journey took 2 hours. The sat nav said one hour ten minutes, which rose fairly quickly to one hour twenty, which I think is what it should take, but I just went a bad way, with lots of bottlenecks of traffic. I will learn slowly the best route. Whilst there, I met with my buddy, who worked quite a lot with Golfy, so we had a good old natter about him, and do you know, he is not as bad as the graffiti says.
I also met with three other new starters, two ex-Starfleet, who will be on the two weeks of training starting next week. I also met my boss' boss - who was actually my boss when I was interviewed, but in the intervening time got promoted, to be replaced by my now boss, who at the time was a senior version of me.
At home, things are fairly steady. One task that I need to complete before Easter is to fit a new tow hitch on my caravan, one with built in stabiliser features, since my old stabilisation device was a "anti-snake bar", which needs a different type of tow ball than I have (old style with a plate on which to mount the bracket to attach the snake-bar to the car). I had to do a fair amount of research, visiting the 'van twice just to determine what kind of attachment I have, and it is one vertical and one horizontal bolt, whereas all the videos I have seen assume two horizontal bolts. I also have a handbrake that would get in the way of some of the newer tow hitches with their long handles. The one I have found is for smaller, or rather lighter, 'vans, and its handle is all within the dimensions of the main hitch. It also has two horizontal holes, to fit most 'vans, but also one vertical one which should, I think, fit mine. I got it new of eBay for a good price, and the person was also able to advise that it would fit my fitting, so I am hopeful.
I plan to recruit E to help me, since he is very practical (that is not to say that I am not), but as importantly, he has a decent set of spanners, including a torque spanner. As this hitch is the only bit keeping the big white box attached to my car, I am very keen for it to be fitted correctly, and E is definitely the man to help ensure that it is.
Maggot 2's team was unceremoniously dumped* out the cup last week, so our season is over, though we plan to have friendlies regularly, and there will be a couple of tournaments and cups to play for as well. The friendlies are important, because as of next year we move from seven to nine aside, and there will also be off-sides, as well as the other team not needing to retreat to the half-way line for goal kicks. Typically, even the best teams are rubbish for half a season, since this really is quite a change for the boys, hence why getting as many nine-a-side practice matches in before the season starts is really good for us all.
I hope you have a great weekend, and speak next week.
================================
* I say unceremoniously because this is a team we have beaten, but they just wanted it more than us, so fought hard for every ball, and as a result we ended up panicking and booting the ball away, straight to their feet for the next attack.
I am still very much liking NN. I acknowledge that this is the honeymoon period, but even those senior executive notes that in the other place, seems like a load of old guff, feels very relevant here. I like the tone of the messages, I like the general sense of getting things done. None of this is really so very different, so really it is how I am receiving it, which is exactly what I wanted and expected.
So, at the end of week four, where am I? I have been in to the office, on Wednesday, and will have to find a better route because the one I took was VERY slow, and the journey took 2 hours. The sat nav said one hour ten minutes, which rose fairly quickly to one hour twenty, which I think is what it should take, but I just went a bad way, with lots of bottlenecks of traffic. I will learn slowly the best route. Whilst there, I met with my buddy, who worked quite a lot with Golfy, so we had a good old natter about him, and do you know, he is not as bad as the graffiti says.
I also met with three other new starters, two ex-Starfleet, who will be on the two weeks of training starting next week. I also met my boss' boss - who was actually my boss when I was interviewed, but in the intervening time got promoted, to be replaced by my now boss, who at the time was a senior version of me.
At home, things are fairly steady. One task that I need to complete before Easter is to fit a new tow hitch on my caravan, one with built in stabiliser features, since my old stabilisation device was a "anti-snake bar", which needs a different type of tow ball than I have (old style with a plate on which to mount the bracket to attach the snake-bar to the car). I had to do a fair amount of research, visiting the 'van twice just to determine what kind of attachment I have, and it is one vertical and one horizontal bolt, whereas all the videos I have seen assume two horizontal bolts. I also have a handbrake that would get in the way of some of the newer tow hitches with their long handles. The one I have found is for smaller, or rather lighter, 'vans, and its handle is all within the dimensions of the main hitch. It also has two horizontal holes, to fit most 'vans, but also one vertical one which should, I think, fit mine. I got it new of eBay for a good price, and the person was also able to advise that it would fit my fitting, so I am hopeful.
I plan to recruit E to help me, since he is very practical (that is not to say that I am not), but as importantly, he has a decent set of spanners, including a torque spanner. As this hitch is the only bit keeping the big white box attached to my car, I am very keen for it to be fitted correctly, and E is definitely the man to help ensure that it is.
Maggot 2's team was unceremoniously dumped* out the cup last week, so our season is over, though we plan to have friendlies regularly, and there will be a couple of tournaments and cups to play for as well. The friendlies are important, because as of next year we move from seven to nine aside, and there will also be off-sides, as well as the other team not needing to retreat to the half-way line for goal kicks. Typically, even the best teams are rubbish for half a season, since this really is quite a change for the boys, hence why getting as many nine-a-side practice matches in before the season starts is really good for us all.
I hope you have a great weekend, and speak next week.
================================
* I say unceremoniously because this is a team we have beaten, but they just wanted it more than us, so fought hard for every ball, and as a result we ended up panicking and booting the ball away, straight to their feet for the next attack.
Friday, 26 February 2016
End of week three . . .
. . . and still only been in the office once. Planning a visit next week, to meet up with some new starters who are also ex Starfleet, and hopefully also to meet my buddy.
I have continued to educate myself. Passed the security exam, failed the managed workplace exam, and may try again if get the time. Only need to pass one major, and I did my Cloud exam successfully last week, so this is all gilding the lily, thought my buddy did mention that he had heard that the exces are considering making it a rule that we pass ALL the major exams, so maybe I do need to do it now, while I have the time.
Otherwise, not much to report. Maggot 2's team had a magnificent victory in the cup last Sunday, beating one of the best teams in the league on penalties. Our goalie has been making noises that he might not want to be a goalie any more, possibly due to the complete lack of action in the last few games when we have won with stupidly high scores. Having become the hero of the last game, I am hoping he may change his mind, especially as he is at the Brighton Academy as a keeper.
We have lunch for 21 on Sunday, as part of our social group's "monthly get togethers", and it will likely be fully of food, chat, and drink, and Sunday afternoon/evening and Monday may be pretty difficult for us all. Oh well, you are only young once, or so I seem to recall.
Have a great weekend, and speak next week.
I have continued to educate myself. Passed the security exam, failed the managed workplace exam, and may try again if get the time. Only need to pass one major, and I did my Cloud exam successfully last week, so this is all gilding the lily, thought my buddy did mention that he had heard that the exces are considering making it a rule that we pass ALL the major exams, so maybe I do need to do it now, while I have the time.
Otherwise, not much to report. Maggot 2's team had a magnificent victory in the cup last Sunday, beating one of the best teams in the league on penalties. Our goalie has been making noises that he might not want to be a goalie any more, possibly due to the complete lack of action in the last few games when we have won with stupidly high scores. Having become the hero of the last game, I am hoping he may change his mind, especially as he is at the Brighton Academy as a keeper.
We have lunch for 21 on Sunday, as part of our social group's "monthly get togethers", and it will likely be fully of food, chat, and drink, and Sunday afternoon/evening and Monday may be pretty difficult for us all. Oh well, you are only young once, or so I seem to recall.
Have a great weekend, and speak next week.
Friday, 19 February 2016
Another week under the belt
I am now a Spartan White Belt, and it happened by accident.
The online training I have been doing for just over a week was all leading up to me taking the core exam. This was as perplexing as the same questions at the end of each module, and I score 67% first time round, on a test where pass was 80%. With a bit more research and probably a little bit of luck, I then scored 87% second time round, and so had passed my core exam.
Next step was the to select a major - mine would be cloud of course - and with a couple of inquisitive mouse clicks, I found myself accidentally starting the exam. To be frank, I have clicked around so many sites and buttons and "go here for further information" links that I a bit punch drunk, so it was less surprising that you may first suspect that I was in the exam.
"Oh well," I thought, might as well at least have a go, to see what it is like, and where I would need to read up. Thirty minutes later and I had finished it, and with a score of eighty-something, which was a pass. So, as I said at the start, I am now accidentally a White Belt.
By way of penance, I am now wading through all the training that I only found after I had finished, which is training to prepare for this exam. It is long, but it is also useful, so I am not complaining.
On the home front, it is half-term this week, so picture caged tigers with too little to do, and you are close to the mark. We did take the Maggots to a Clip 'n' Climb" last night, and as they were the only two in their session, I decided to pay and join them. If you are not familiar, the picture below gives a sense (taken from the internet, not our actual one).
This included the "leap of faith", which on paper looked like a fairly innocuous jump from a platform a couple feet up on to a handle about a hands-breadth away.but in person it was, I don't know, two hundred feet up and requiring a fifty foot leap. Okay, so I am exaggerating, but it was one of those things that looked doable on the ground, but when I got up there, I just could not do it, and had to take the walk of shame back down again. Maggot 1 did the same, only to then do it when Maggot 2 had a successful go. I say "successful", when in fact they did not jump for the handle, just jumped off, but from my perspective, that is as near as damnit, and I take my mountaineering hard-hat off to them.
We have an Indian extravaganza on Saturday night. LO has been cooking for most of the day, and has, on casual observation, used every spice and ingredient that has ever been used to make such food.
On that note, I shall bid you farewell, and wish you a great weekend.
P.S. Had a chat with BM earlier. Great to hear from him, and to hear his news.
Friday, 12 February 2016
End of Week One
So I have come to the end of week one. So far so good.
I drove to Bracknell on Monday, getting there just after 10am, and maybe because I was a little later than a usual day, it took just over an hour. I met my boss, picked up all the required bits - phone, laptop, badge - and had a fairly good day overall getting setup to be able to connect remotely.
For the rest of the week, I have been at home wading through the induction and onboarding information. It is the usual mix of videos, speech and text that is online training, and I have to say, so far it is pretty good. One generic video about "my career in NN" is probably the best two minutes of inspirational (yes, I know, not a word that one often uses in a corporate setting) messaging I have experienced in a very long time.
I am now starting the proper education phase. They have a program of work with stages of qualification, and I am currently leading up to the White Belt phase. There is strong wish in the organisation, according to colleagues, for everyone to be white belt. This gives us a basic understanding of the NN approach and point of view about the key topics in IT, so that we all talk with one voice, and present the same message. Again, as far as online training goes, it is pretty good and I am learning stuff, rather than being distracted to file my nails or something.
I have started to get a bit restless to be honest. I would rather be driving somewhere every day and getting stuck in, but a conversation with a colleague, also ex-Starfleet and a month ahead of me, said he had had similar conversations with other recent starters, and everyone has the same feelings that they want to get stuck in and make a difference, but that the organisation, and our managers, understand and expect that we will first be tucked away, getting ourselves up to speed. The mantra is, know your company, know your business, know your role. I quite like that, and as long as my boss is happy, then I am fairly content to bide my time, and get this "basic training" out the way.
This weekend is fairly normal, though Maggot 2 is on a birthday sleepover at a friend who is also the captain of his team, so he will be off to training tomorrow with them, and then on to watch Brighton and Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium as part of the birthday celebrations. It may be a match, Maggot 2 was typically vague on the matter, so I may go along anyway since I do enjoy watching them play a match. Last week the game was postponed because the manager of the other team refused to play us, and had written to the FA to say as much. It probably has something to do with the 13-1 drubbing of another Worthing team the week before, but not totally sure whether it gives the right message to the boys in either team. Hey ho, life in the junior ranks is, as I am finding, always eventful.
Have a great weekend, and speak next week.
I drove to Bracknell on Monday, getting there just after 10am, and maybe because I was a little later than a usual day, it took just over an hour. I met my boss, picked up all the required bits - phone, laptop, badge - and had a fairly good day overall getting setup to be able to connect remotely.
For the rest of the week, I have been at home wading through the induction and onboarding information. It is the usual mix of videos, speech and text that is online training, and I have to say, so far it is pretty good. One generic video about "my career in NN" is probably the best two minutes of inspirational (yes, I know, not a word that one often uses in a corporate setting) messaging I have experienced in a very long time.
I am now starting the proper education phase. They have a program of work with stages of qualification, and I am currently leading up to the White Belt phase. There is strong wish in the organisation, according to colleagues, for everyone to be white belt. This gives us a basic understanding of the NN approach and point of view about the key topics in IT, so that we all talk with one voice, and present the same message. Again, as far as online training goes, it is pretty good and I am learning stuff, rather than being distracted to file my nails or something.
I have started to get a bit restless to be honest. I would rather be driving somewhere every day and getting stuck in, but a conversation with a colleague, also ex-Starfleet and a month ahead of me, said he had had similar conversations with other recent starters, and everyone has the same feelings that they want to get stuck in and make a difference, but that the organisation, and our managers, understand and expect that we will first be tucked away, getting ourselves up to speed. The mantra is, know your company, know your business, know your role. I quite like that, and as long as my boss is happy, then I am fairly content to bide my time, and get this "basic training" out the way.
This weekend is fairly normal, though Maggot 2 is on a birthday sleepover at a friend who is also the captain of his team, so he will be off to training tomorrow with them, and then on to watch Brighton and Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium as part of the birthday celebrations. It may be a match, Maggot 2 was typically vague on the matter, so I may go along anyway since I do enjoy watching them play a match. Last week the game was postponed because the manager of the other team refused to play us, and had written to the FA to say as much. It probably has something to do with the 13-1 drubbing of another Worthing team the week before, but not totally sure whether it gives the right message to the boys in either team. Hey ho, life in the junior ranks is, as I am finding, always eventful.
Have a great weekend, and speak next week.
Tuesday, 9 February 2016
Day Two
I had my first day yesterday at NN Head Office. I was met by my new boss, who seems like a good egg - Welsh, ex-rugby player who now plays badminton because of his knees, so an almost doppelganger to me, an English ex-football player who now plays tennis because of his knees.
This re-birthing thing is pretty frustrating. I needed to get my photo done for a badge, and to register at the IT place for my laptop and headset. My boss was on calls, so showed me where to go and sent me on my way. Unknown to us both was that my visitor badge did not let me through any of the doors. Assuming it was a fault, he let me out of the one door needed to go down the stairs to get to reception, to get a card that worked. Of course, visitor cards are not meant to work, since we are meant to be accompanied at all times. In the end the reception woman let me through one door for my boss to meet me from the other way, except the place to meet was not fully or clearly communicated, and I was in one place while he was in another. Anyway, he did eventually find me and then he gave me his badge to get to all the places I needed to visit.
My laptop was pulled out of its box, and then needed a couple of hours to build, so I went off for some lunch, had a wander round the building to get a sense of the place, with my newly issued badge, and whilst doing this I innocently followed a person in to an area that I was not entitled to enter, and subsequently could not get out again until a nice lady let me follow her out. And she hardly knew me.
As those in my situation always chant, I cannot learn less.
The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. I got all my logins sorted so that I could dial in from home, and I was handed the onboarding presentation with my two week schedule of stuff to read, complete, setup or otherwise interact with so that I get to know the place.
My learning curve just now is so vertical it may even be leaning back a bit. But I am loving it so far.
This re-birthing thing is pretty frustrating. I needed to get my photo done for a badge, and to register at the IT place for my laptop and headset. My boss was on calls, so showed me where to go and sent me on my way. Unknown to us both was that my visitor badge did not let me through any of the doors. Assuming it was a fault, he let me out of the one door needed to go down the stairs to get to reception, to get a card that worked. Of course, visitor cards are not meant to work, since we are meant to be accompanied at all times. In the end the reception woman let me through one door for my boss to meet me from the other way, except the place to meet was not fully or clearly communicated, and I was in one place while he was in another. Anyway, he did eventually find me and then he gave me his badge to get to all the places I needed to visit.
My laptop was pulled out of its box, and then needed a couple of hours to build, so I went off for some lunch, had a wander round the building to get a sense of the place, with my newly issued badge, and whilst doing this I innocently followed a person in to an area that I was not entitled to enter, and subsequently could not get out again until a nice lady let me follow her out. And she hardly knew me.
As those in my situation always chant, I cannot learn less.
The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. I got all my logins sorted so that I could dial in from home, and I was handed the onboarding presentation with my two week schedule of stuff to read, complete, setup or otherwise interact with so that I get to know the place.
My learning curve just now is so vertical it may even be leaning back a bit. But I am loving it so far.
Saturday, 6 February 2016
. . . and it's goodbye from him
My final day was, as anticipated, a damp squib. I dropped off car, badge, laptop and phone SIM at Head Office, and then walked to the station for the train home. It was like being born again; no car, phone, job or anything else to do that day, going via the local suburb which is one of those "there but for the grace of god go I" type of grim places.
From this point, it is onward and upward.
Monday, I will start to plug in to my new organisation, going to Head Office to get all my acoutrements for working life. I cannot wait for it all to start. Had a nice LinkedIn email from an ex Starfleet colleague who now works at NN, telling me that both the organisation and our shared boss are excellent, which is just what I want to hear. He also said "to give him a ping when I get setup", which is nice, as much for the familiarity of the term "ping" as for the kind reaching out to a newbie.
The final few days at Starfleet were really pretty good. Relaxed (for which you can read "did not do a lot") and full of lots of nice words from various friends and colleagues. A bit like at funerals, you only really get to hear (obviously not personally in the case of the funeral, but others get to hear your amazing life) what everyone thinks after it is all over.
This weekend there is not much to be done. Today, Saturday, is the usual sport-fest for the junior male members of the Scobi clan. Tonight it is a quiet night in, a beer (for the older male member of the Scobi clan) - now that Dry January is over - and a film chosen by the Maggots.
I will update you next week with my first week at NN. Until then, have a great weekend.
From this point, it is onward and upward.
Monday, I will start to plug in to my new organisation, going to Head Office to get all my acoutrements for working life. I cannot wait for it all to start. Had a nice LinkedIn email from an ex Starfleet colleague who now works at NN, telling me that both the organisation and our shared boss are excellent, which is just what I want to hear. He also said "to give him a ping when I get setup", which is nice, as much for the familiarity of the term "ping" as for the kind reaching out to a newbie.
The final few days at Starfleet were really pretty good. Relaxed (for which you can read "did not do a lot") and full of lots of nice words from various friends and colleagues. A bit like at funerals, you only really get to hear (obviously not personally in the case of the funeral, but others get to hear your amazing life) what everyone thinks after it is all over.
This weekend there is not much to be done. Today, Saturday, is the usual sport-fest for the junior male members of the Scobi clan. Tonight it is a quiet night in, a beer (for the older male member of the Scobi clan) - now that Dry January is over - and a film chosen by the Maggots.
I will update you next week with my first week at NN. Until then, have a great weekend.
Friday, 29 January 2016
One more week to go
My work here is nearly done, and it feels good to be able to take my foot off the gas slightly. We are in that lull after the initial rush to release the proposal, but before the subsequent "how much?" fallout from the client once they have reviewed it.
We are quite looking forward to this fallout phase since it will different from what has gone before; what has gone before would be a discussion where the onus is on us to win their trust and understanding to "do the deal", so the power was more with them. This time, they really really need us, and so while they do not actually fully realise that yet, they will, and so the power in these discussions will be shifting more towards us. Rather than us turning up with our turnkey solution for doing the thing, like I think they are expecting, instead we are turning up asking them what their plans are, and what they will need for us to support such a plan. They have so far been unable to provide any detail on their approach, which means our proposal is highly assumptive based, which means it is commercially sound, but in any practical sense, not fit for purpose.
They have been a bit slow to share, and so should not be too surprised when we are unable to give them a viable response. The next month (after I have left) will therefore be a series of interactions to get the detail Starfleet require to be able to fully respond, and the longer the client plays silly buggers, the longer it will be before they have something that they are able to sign. As teacher often said, it is their time they are wasting.
At home, we have a fairly normal weekend. Sport features large, as does a likely Sunday dinner at my parents as a farewell meal, likely to include my sister and her family also. Now that my dad has the all-clear, they cannot wait to get back to Spain and away from this cold, damp weather. They fly next Thursday and we will miss them, but it will be good for their bodies and their souls to be back in to the bowling, the warm and the Mediterranean lifestyle.
I now have the plan to return my car, laptop and access badge on Friday morning at my local office, at 11am, so from around 11.15am, I will be faced with nothing more taxing that a walk to the station, a train trip home, and then the rest of the day and weekend to prepare for my first day at NN. I cannot wait.
I hope you have a great weekend, speak next week.
We are quite looking forward to this fallout phase since it will different from what has gone before; what has gone before would be a discussion where the onus is on us to win their trust and understanding to "do the deal", so the power was more with them. This time, they really really need us, and so while they do not actually fully realise that yet, they will, and so the power in these discussions will be shifting more towards us. Rather than us turning up with our turnkey solution for doing the thing, like I think they are expecting, instead we are turning up asking them what their plans are, and what they will need for us to support such a plan. They have so far been unable to provide any detail on their approach, which means our proposal is highly assumptive based, which means it is commercially sound, but in any practical sense, not fit for purpose.
They have been a bit slow to share, and so should not be too surprised when we are unable to give them a viable response. The next month (after I have left) will therefore be a series of interactions to get the detail Starfleet require to be able to fully respond, and the longer the client plays silly buggers, the longer it will be before they have something that they are able to sign. As teacher often said, it is their time they are wasting.
At home, we have a fairly normal weekend. Sport features large, as does a likely Sunday dinner at my parents as a farewell meal, likely to include my sister and her family also. Now that my dad has the all-clear, they cannot wait to get back to Spain and away from this cold, damp weather. They fly next Thursday and we will miss them, but it will be good for their bodies and their souls to be back in to the bowling, the warm and the Mediterranean lifestyle.
I now have the plan to return my car, laptop and access badge on Friday morning at my local office, at 11am, so from around 11.15am, I will be faced with nothing more taxing that a walk to the station, a train trip home, and then the rest of the day and weekend to prepare for my first day at NN. I cannot wait.
I hope you have a great weekend, speak next week.
Friday, 22 January 2016
There's something in the air
I am beginning to get excited. Earlier in the week I had a call with my new manager, planning my first week, which seems to be something like:
turn up, no earlier than 10.30am on first day, get all your stuff, then go home for rest of week to get all your induction training completed. In the meantime, within a couple of days I will get a mentor, one on an active deal, and if I understand it right, I will be bag-carrier for them by way or getting some exposure to the organisation and the processes.
Now, I am not making any grand assumptions or assertions over the differences between Starfleet and NN, though as a first impression, I am quite liking it. It is good that they do not adopt the "throw them in the deep end, and we will keep those who don't drown" approach of my incumbent, it is good that they will give me some induction, and finally, and most importantly, it is good that they will have me paired up with an experienced colleague within the week.
So, that seems to be shaping up nicely.
In my current role, I am nearing a turning point. My big deal is at a stage when the hard work has been done. We are polishing and buffing, trimming and adjusting, but all fairly controlled. I also now have someone to which I can handover the solution when I leave, which coincides with when the real negotiations will start. I plan to hand over to him early next week, and he will be in the saddle and I will be supporting as necessary. I am therefore taking a moment to catch up on reading, clearing my expenses, taking off any personal documents from my work laptop and generally getting myself in a good and clean place to sever my connections, and give up my assets.
This weekend, we are mostly doing our own thing. Football is off both days. We are also out to supper at A&E's on Saturday evening, and as I am still on a dry January, it will be an interesting evening, since E particularly likes a drink.
I hope you have a great weekend, and speak next week.
turn up, no earlier than 10.30am on first day, get all your stuff, then go home for rest of week to get all your induction training completed. In the meantime, within a couple of days I will get a mentor, one on an active deal, and if I understand it right, I will be bag-carrier for them by way or getting some exposure to the organisation and the processes.
Now, I am not making any grand assumptions or assertions over the differences between Starfleet and NN, though as a first impression, I am quite liking it. It is good that they do not adopt the "throw them in the deep end, and we will keep those who don't drown" approach of my incumbent, it is good that they will give me some induction, and finally, and most importantly, it is good that they will have me paired up with an experienced colleague within the week.
So, that seems to be shaping up nicely.
In my current role, I am nearing a turning point. My big deal is at a stage when the hard work has been done. We are polishing and buffing, trimming and adjusting, but all fairly controlled. I also now have someone to which I can handover the solution when I leave, which coincides with when the real negotiations will start. I plan to hand over to him early next week, and he will be in the saddle and I will be supporting as necessary. I am therefore taking a moment to catch up on reading, clearing my expenses, taking off any personal documents from my work laptop and generally getting myself in a good and clean place to sever my connections, and give up my assets.
This weekend, we are mostly doing our own thing. Football is off both days. We are also out to supper at A&E's on Saturday evening, and as I am still on a dry January, it will be an interesting evening, since E particularly likes a drink.
I hope you have a great weekend, and speak next week.
Friday, 15 January 2016
And . . . relax
Quick update on my week:
- Love the car still. In fact, if it is possible, love it even more
- Still dry (but may be celebrating tonight, so having 1 day off)
- Work is good fun, if hard work, but getting some great experience and now have a person to handover bid deal to, so that means I will slowly fade out over next couple of weeks
- Weekend is fairly standard: sport AM, chores (clear loft and shed, other dull bits if DIY) out in the evening. Not sure if Brad and Angelina are coming down for going out, contacting them tonight hopefully
- Dad has had his op, all is well, now they are wanting to know when they can fly, to get back to warmer weather
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