Today I was told I did not get the promotion.
I was told that I didn't interview well, which was apparently a surprise because I have a reputation for interviewing well, as I was told.
I walked into the interview certain I wasn't the choice for them, and blew the interview in the process. Who knows if I would have been the one, but I certainly would have been a better candidate had I not placed my head up my own ass.
How stupid am I?
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
More on Promotion
So we had our interviews for the recently opened assistant manager position. My coworker who applied to avoid having to work under the former coworker tells me that he was told during his interview that former coworkers withdrew. Our assumption is that he withdrew when he learned the better coworker had applied.
Initially, I had a reaction that I'd had the rug pulled out from under me. When coworker told me he'd applied, even though earlier in the week I'd talked to him about it and seemed to have his "blessing" and support, I felt a little screwed. Despite that, knowing this coworker, I don't doubt that his intentions were honest. He doesn't play games like some in the Lundberg state of mind, and I can usually trust him to be an honest guy.
Now, I can't help but wonder if his reason for applying was a ruse. However, I had indicated to a party who also knew of the situation that I was aware of what was going on, and that Lundberg's reaction was genuinely indicative that I had correct information.
Well, since the interviews are done, I can only wait to learn that I did not get the promotion.
I've been a very upbeat guy these last few years. In the past, I would have taken this situation poorly and fallen into a depression over it. I had that moment, for sure, but it hasn't lingered. I've kept myself positive through all this. But still, I can't help but question myself sometimes. Is being upbeat a good thing? Or am I just fooling myself?
Initially, I had a reaction that I'd had the rug pulled out from under me. When coworker told me he'd applied, even though earlier in the week I'd talked to him about it and seemed to have his "blessing" and support, I felt a little screwed. Despite that, knowing this coworker, I don't doubt that his intentions were honest. He doesn't play games like some in the Lundberg state of mind, and I can usually trust him to be an honest guy.
Now, I can't help but wonder if his reason for applying was a ruse. However, I had indicated to a party who also knew of the situation that I was aware of what was going on, and that Lundberg's reaction was genuinely indicative that I had correct information.
Well, since the interviews are done, I can only wait to learn that I did not get the promotion.
I've been a very upbeat guy these last few years. In the past, I would have taken this situation poorly and fallen into a depression over it. I had that moment, for sure, but it hasn't lingered. I've kept myself positive through all this. But still, I can't help but question myself sometimes. Is being upbeat a good thing? Or am I just fooling myself?
Sunday, September 13, 2009
And so...
So it turns out ANOTHER promotion opportunity came up last week. I was alerted by my Assistant Lundberg friend that it was happening, so I applied for it that evening.
I have a coworker who used to be an Assistant Lundberg at a different branch. When the branch closed, they moved the employees who were there to our branch. They gave that coworker a choice: severant's package, or demotion to a sales position. He's been with the company for about seven years, and enjoys the environment, so he considered taking the demotion. It was when he realized he'd make more in commissions and salary than he was as a Lundberg that he took the demotion. He's a great coworker, a little difficult to work with sometimes - especially when I was an Assistant Lundberg while one of them was out on medical leave - but I can work with him fine.
I had asked him if he was applying for the new position, and he told me he wasn't. He has other aspirations to move on to our business sales department, and has been working closly with that department for some time to get his foot in the door.
And then, yesterday, everything changed.
Coworker pulled me aside and told me that a former coworker, someone who had been transferred to a different branch when they needed to fill an opening, had applied to the new position. I was a Lundberg when the need to move someone came up, and we chose this individual because of the negativity he keeps around himself. He doesn't work well with others, he doesn't work well as part of the overall team, and he has a nasty disdain for the customers we serve. It was a win for us to move him somewhere else. And now, he's trying to come back with a promotion. How his being a Lundberg in our office makes sense is beyond me, but according to my coworker, he has the support of multiple Lundbergs and an employee from sales. These guys all go golfing together every week, so they're close buds.
Coworker and I agree that working for this former coworker would be a living hell. And then, coworker told me he applied for the position, too.
Assuring me he was all in support of me getting the position, he told me that with the overwhelming support of Lundbergs, both from our branch and others, there was no way he was willing to chance former coworker getting the promotion over me. So, with his previous two years as an Assistant Lundberg, he applied for the same title and roll he once had at his previous branch to ensure that he did not have to work for former coworker.
I'm just about fed up with all this shit. I just can't catch a break, can I?
I have a coworker who used to be an Assistant Lundberg at a different branch. When the branch closed, they moved the employees who were there to our branch. They gave that coworker a choice: severant's package, or demotion to a sales position. He's been with the company for about seven years, and enjoys the environment, so he considered taking the demotion. It was when he realized he'd make more in commissions and salary than he was as a Lundberg that he took the demotion. He's a great coworker, a little difficult to work with sometimes - especially when I was an Assistant Lundberg while one of them was out on medical leave - but I can work with him fine.
I had asked him if he was applying for the new position, and he told me he wasn't. He has other aspirations to move on to our business sales department, and has been working closly with that department for some time to get his foot in the door.
And then, yesterday, everything changed.
Coworker pulled me aside and told me that a former coworker, someone who had been transferred to a different branch when they needed to fill an opening, had applied to the new position. I was a Lundberg when the need to move someone came up, and we chose this individual because of the negativity he keeps around himself. He doesn't work well with others, he doesn't work well as part of the overall team, and he has a nasty disdain for the customers we serve. It was a win for us to move him somewhere else. And now, he's trying to come back with a promotion. How his being a Lundberg in our office makes sense is beyond me, but according to my coworker, he has the support of multiple Lundbergs and an employee from sales. These guys all go golfing together every week, so they're close buds.
Coworker and I agree that working for this former coworker would be a living hell. And then, coworker told me he applied for the position, too.
Assuring me he was all in support of me getting the position, he told me that with the overwhelming support of Lundbergs, both from our branch and others, there was no way he was willing to chance former coworker getting the promotion over me. So, with his previous two years as an Assistant Lundberg, he applied for the same title and roll he once had at his previous branch to ensure that he did not have to work for former coworker.
I'm just about fed up with all this shit. I just can't catch a break, can I?
Thursday, September 3, 2009
A Promotional Note
The promotion I had for three months was the best time I've had with Innotech in five years. I accomplished much, and didn't have a chance to accomplish more.
An opportunity to get promoted this month to the same position but FULL TIME came up. I had good conversations with the Bob above my Main Lundberg, and even had a good interview. But Bob decided to pick someone else instead of me. Why?
Because Main Lundberg threw me under a bus.
Main Lundberg told Bob that I wasn't good at communicating with the employees. Main Lunberg couldn't tell the entire office that the building was on fire with soot all over his face, a wicked and smoky cough, and flames coming off of his clothes. He couldn't motivate a hooker to have sex. He can't talk to a microphone without it ignoring him. And somehow, I can't be my own Lundberg because I can't get my message across? And worst of all, am I supposed to learn it from HIM?
So I didn't get the promotion, thanks to my boss. I've never felt so violated in my life. I rode on Main Lundberg's coattails for the last couple years hoping that loyalty would pay off. He got promoted to Assistant Bob just before my interview, and then kicked me in the shin and left me to wallow in pain in his dust.
Thanks, dick.
An opportunity to get promoted this month to the same position but FULL TIME came up. I had good conversations with the Bob above my Main Lundberg, and even had a good interview. But Bob decided to pick someone else instead of me. Why?
Because Main Lundberg threw me under a bus.
Main Lundberg told Bob that I wasn't good at communicating with the employees. Main Lunberg couldn't tell the entire office that the building was on fire with soot all over his face, a wicked and smoky cough, and flames coming off of his clothes. He couldn't motivate a hooker to have sex. He can't talk to a microphone without it ignoring him. And somehow, I can't be my own Lundberg because I can't get my message across? And worst of all, am I supposed to learn it from HIM?
So I didn't get the promotion, thanks to my boss. I've never felt so violated in my life. I rode on Main Lundberg's coattails for the last couple years hoping that loyalty would pay off. He got promoted to Assistant Bob just before my interview, and then kicked me in the shin and left me to wallow in pain in his dust.
Thanks, dick.
1:1.2
So my "1:1" meeting (that's "one on one" for those not suffering from familiar with corporate lingo) went completely different than plan.
The meeting was intended for me to set my goals for the month of September, as well as discuss my performance during the month of August. Normally in these meetings, I would have to face three months worth of performance. Because I had been temporarily promoted from May through July because one of the Assistant Lundbergs was out on medical leave, I didn't have a three month review to deal with. What I DID have to deal with was a sorry month of performance for someone who had been "out of the game" a little bit. I was not looking forward to having to answer for that month.
As I sat down with the Assistant Lundberg, I told him straight out that I thought my goals for the month were crap. I told him that I didn't entirely agree with the pre-formated process that every employee is to use when dealing with a customer. I told him that none of my coworkers were following the pre-formated process and are only pretending to follow it in order to get the Main Lundberg off our backs. I was brutally honest. Of course, it helps that this was the Lundberg I can talk to. In fact, I'll now refer to him as Mike B.
Mike B is the one manager I can work with. He's the one manager I can be frank with. And so, I had no problem venting my frustrations to him.
Of course, it helps that Mike B feels comfortable enough to bitch about our Main Lundberg with me. And so, he did. We bitched it up for a little while, and didn't really get to my monthly goals until the very end.
However, I did stick my neck out a bit. In my three-month experience as an Assistant Lundberg, I developed a theory about how to fix some of the low morale and general disatisfaction within our office group. Granted, we can't kill off the Main Lundberg, so another theory was developed.
I decided to ignore the customer-facing pre-formated process we're supposed to use. There's value in what it's saying, but the way the Main Lundberg wants us to follow it doesn't make any sense. So, I came up with three simple ways for the sales and service force to accomplish the goals of the pre-formated process piece of crap:
1) Find something you believe in concerning our products and share it with our customers. Testify of it's usefulness. Let your passions come out. BELIEVE IN SOMETHING OUR PRODUCT DOES, NOT JUST WHAT IT IS.
2) Know the customer. I want each of the team members to discover some snippet of information about a customer. I want an Assistant Lundberg to be able to walk up to one of the customer-facing employees and learn something about their previous customer. I don't want to know anything about the product we provide them. I want to know about their Aunt Glynis, their job, their first kiss - WHATEVER, I just don't want to know which Innotech product they use or how they use it. My intention is for the sales and service teams to KNOW THEIR CUSTOMER.
3) They need to think on their toes. If a customer tells you they don't want some product, give them an answer to why they might. This plays off the first thing I want the team to do: come up with a reason TO want the product - don't just give up when the customer says no. We all need to THINK QUICKLY.
So, after giving Mike B my speech, I got volunteered to present some of this tomorrow in our office meeting.
Great.
Still... maybe someone will listen.
The meeting was intended for me to set my goals for the month of September, as well as discuss my performance during the month of August. Normally in these meetings, I would have to face three months worth of performance. Because I had been temporarily promoted from May through July because one of the Assistant Lundbergs was out on medical leave, I didn't have a three month review to deal with. What I DID have to deal with was a sorry month of performance for someone who had been "out of the game" a little bit. I was not looking forward to having to answer for that month.
As I sat down with the Assistant Lundberg, I told him straight out that I thought my goals for the month were crap. I told him that I didn't entirely agree with the pre-formated process that every employee is to use when dealing with a customer. I told him that none of my coworkers were following the pre-formated process and are only pretending to follow it in order to get the Main Lundberg off our backs. I was brutally honest. Of course, it helps that this was the Lundberg I can talk to. In fact, I'll now refer to him as Mike B.
Mike B is the one manager I can work with. He's the one manager I can be frank with. And so, I had no problem venting my frustrations to him.
Of course, it helps that Mike B feels comfortable enough to bitch about our Main Lundberg with me. And so, he did. We bitched it up for a little while, and didn't really get to my monthly goals until the very end.
However, I did stick my neck out a bit. In my three-month experience as an Assistant Lundberg, I developed a theory about how to fix some of the low morale and general disatisfaction within our office group. Granted, we can't kill off the Main Lundberg, so another theory was developed.
I decided to ignore the customer-facing pre-formated process we're supposed to use. There's value in what it's saying, but the way the Main Lundberg wants us to follow it doesn't make any sense. So, I came up with three simple ways for the sales and service force to accomplish the goals of the pre-formated process piece of crap:
1) Find something you believe in concerning our products and share it with our customers. Testify of it's usefulness. Let your passions come out. BELIEVE IN SOMETHING OUR PRODUCT DOES, NOT JUST WHAT IT IS.
2) Know the customer. I want each of the team members to discover some snippet of information about a customer. I want an Assistant Lundberg to be able to walk up to one of the customer-facing employees and learn something about their previous customer. I don't want to know anything about the product we provide them. I want to know about their Aunt Glynis, their job, their first kiss - WHATEVER, I just don't want to know which Innotech product they use or how they use it. My intention is for the sales and service teams to KNOW THEIR CUSTOMER.
3) They need to think on their toes. If a customer tells you they don't want some product, give them an answer to why they might. This plays off the first thing I want the team to do: come up with a reason TO want the product - don't just give up when the customer says no. We all need to THINK QUICKLY.
So, after giving Mike B my speech, I got volunteered to present some of this tomorrow in our office meeting.
Great.
Still... maybe someone will listen.
1:1
In a few minutes I'll be going into a meeting with my Assistant Lundberg to discuss how much I sucked as an employee last month.
I'm tired of being measured by what my customers decide they do or do not want from my company.
And referring to a meeting as a "1:1?". Come on! Call it what it is: a test of one's employee soul.
I'm tired of being measured by what my customers decide they do or do not want from my company.
And referring to a meeting as a "1:1?". Come on! Call it what it is: a test of one's employee soul.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
A Blog is Born
I am a regular blogger. I've seen my blog range between a few family members a week to 60,000 readers in a month. I found that having family and friends read my blog was difficult enough, but having an ex wife and work people reading my blog makes blogging more difficult. I practically stopped blogging because of the lack of anonymity.
I can write voraciously at times. But I find my writing neutered when I can't even complain about something at work without my boss knowing about it, and I can't complain about my ex-wife without causing problems for my kids. So, at the suggestion of my second wife, I've created this blog so I can write with passion instead of writing with worry.
I might bitch about someone. I might praise them. I might say "fuck." I might say "love." The point is, I can write whatever I want.
A few basics:
First, I will change the name of everything. For instance, my name is Mike.
Second, I will simply work for Innotech. I know, it's a lame Office Space reference, but it works.
Third, even my mom's name has been changed. Her name is now Mom.
Fourth, if by some chance you know who I am, either on purpose or by mistake, please please please keep my secret safe. If you were to divulge my identity you would, quite quickly ruin my life. I would lose my job (Innotech searches their employees' blogs every day), I could lose my kids (the court would not look too kindly on me bitching about my ex-wife), and I could lose my sanity (I'm here to get things off my mind). If you've been given the privelage of reading this blog, it's because I need an audience that does not include Mom, Lundberg from work, or my Ex.
I promise to be outspoken and honest. I will not hold back. I will speak my mind (as I used to do so freely). I will write until I can't write any more.
For those of you who stumble upon my blog, please, get the word out. I write to be read as well as to get things off my chest. The more the merrier.
Thank you for reading.
Mike (TRM)
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