I have been at my new company for a little more than a month now and continue to learn more each day. I stumbled across something last week that impacted me more the longer I dwelled on it and I thought it important to share.

We use #slack at work for all internal communications and there are several channels that cover a variety of topics. This ranges from marketing info, sales data and the most important channel of all… random.

This channel is exactly as it sounds. You can post whatever you like in here as long as it is not offensive. People post pics of cute dogs, random news stories and funny memes.

However, there is a deeper element that I have come to appreciate.

I work for a geospatial data collection company and our platform allows our users to create apps that can meet their specific needs when it comes to data collection.

If a utility company wants to document where streetlights are located they can create an app to do so. Want to track where poachers are operating in the African bush? We have you covered with an app. What if you want to track and document something a bit less serious, say what type of booze you are consuming each night?

Bingo, that’s right. Some enterprising individual in our company created an app on our platform that can track what drinks you consume. You can include a picture, your location, 1-5 star rating and any comments you may have on the drink.

However, they took it a step further. After documenting this event how can you tell the world, or in this case our company, that you consumed a wonderful beverage? Simple, you link it to the random channel in #slack and every time you create a log it sends that info to be posted on the random channel.

Each night I get to see what my team mates are consuming and the various comments people post. How does this tie into culture? It is a purely voluntary action on the part of those submitting posts. It’s not pushed by management or tracked. It’s a fun way to interact with your colleagues after hours, while enjoying the comfort of home.

Not a bad way to end the night, in my opinion.

Image credit: Slack

I wrote on this a bit last week.

When it comes to open floor plans you have the ability to break concentration pretty quickly.

Maybe you ask a work-related question, or you see someone walk by who catches your attention, or it could be the other meeting occurring five feet away that draws your attention.

All in all, it can add up to a loud and unproductive environment.

That said, there is another issue at hand: the collective focus of our country.

I have political leanings (most folks do), but I don’t address them in this forum.

However, I have found it is very difficult to focus with the hyper-political environment we are in right now.

The latest on Trump, Supreme Court nominees, and international trade dominate the conversations. Even at work, I have found it can be a minefield to even poke into certain topics. How do we overcome this?

One thing I have started doing is actually turning off the news and not keeping up with every little change to the topics of the day; it can be a bit freeing. At the same time, I am not in a position where I can be completely ignorant of what is happening.

I have also found that there is common ground among my co-workers on how divisive it has all become.

And it is a lot harder to push your politics on someone when they are standing right in front of you. The shield of anonymity is gone.

I have found that reading negative press also has the added effect of making me less productive.

I focus on the negative and it goes into my head. What good is all that?

So maybe next week we can focus on the positive and move forward?

Most of us get presidential alerts on our phone now, but we can also turn them off.

Image credit: VirtualWolf

If you have been following then you saw I took on a new role recently. So far the role has been great and very fulfilling. I have begun diving into what my role is, have started taking ownership and also learning the quirks of my co-workers.

Something that is quite new to me is the fact that I no longer have an office and am in a more open office floor plan setting. It has made me think about how do I like to work and interact with others?

A couple of positive points about working in a more open setting. You always have someone to talk to, it enables easy collaboration and quick huddles with your team to address a challenge.

I also like to hear my colleagues on the phone (we do inside sales), not to listen in, but to get a sense for what best practices look like when I hear them. I have also found that I tend to be a bit more focused on my work when others are around. I can pop on my headphones, listen to music and get into the flow.

There are some definite downsides to an open plan. No privacy. I don’t have a ton of personal calls during the day, but it does happen I have to go out to the elevator bank or a conference room to speak.

Instant collaboration…about fantasy football. Quick way to get out of the flow. And for every best practices call there are a ton where you want to smack your head for hearing something so dumb being said.

And if your headphones are missing then I hope you can grind through and block out the conversations around you.

I don’t have an answer on what is better for an office space, but I do appreciate that my company has break rooms, conference rooms and quiet areas to take calls or work if needed. I can go lounge on a couch if I want and do some work, no one is going to say anything.

So in the end I am satisfied. I get to enjoy my work, go to our onsite gym and drink unlimited amounts of La Croix.

Image credit: Mike_fleming

I recently made a career change that, so far, has been extremely positive.

I have been in the tech space for some time and enjoy it. However, I think I carry a bit of baggage when I go to new companies.

By that I mean I have had employers in the past who were truly miserable to work for. I dreaded going in each day and my motivation was very low.

When I look at new companies I tend to carry that frame of reference with me as I interview. I consider the culture, how would I like the boss, how do people act in the office?

I have been interviewing for a few months now, at a variety of companies, and I have seen a few that make me want to run!

I’m in sales and whenever I hear a company say that they don’t have a process in place and just want somebody who’s hungry, I think red flag.

Obviously you want to be engaged and hard working in sales, but I have found that organizations that have no formal process in place are just flying by the seat of their pants.

It’s hard to define success, there is little support for you and if you don’t hit your numbers you are out right away.

I also spoke with a company that recently received an influx of VC money. As a result they have hired 70+ sales people all at once. Big red flag! How do you manage that? What metrics are defining success? How many people are on quota? None of that could be answered, so I stopped that interview process right away.

At the end of the day I found a company that is doing some really cool things in the GIS space. They are growing, own their IP, have a huge customer base and the co-workers are truly kind and passionate about their roles and product.

The benefits were awesome, but at the end of the day I asked myself, could I be here for 8 hours a day and still want to come back the next day?

For me the answer was yes.

Image credit: Bs0u10e0

I have been exploring a few options lately when it comes to my career. While I am not unhappy with my current role I realize that the potential elsewhere is greater.

This has led to some interesting thoughts as I look into different companies and teams. It is almost like a career day at school, you sit there to hear about different paths and imagine yourself in the role.

I read an article one time that stated its hard for a company to convey culture during the interview process, instead, they lead with salary and benefits.

This makes sense to a degree, but as a candidate, you end up dealing with asymmetric information. Sure there are sites that give job reviews but we all know that when you really dislike a job you will write a review. Lukewarm about the whole thing? Probably not writing a review one way or the other. So how can we overcome this information gap?

As I have matured a bit in my career (mature is loosely defined, by the way) I have started resorting to reaching out to a trusted friend or business acquaintance. I like to hear about their personal experiences and their viewpoints.

One way I do this is by reaching out to those I respect via LinkedIn or on the phone. I prefer hearing someone describe something and listen to their tone while they say it.

Why do I do this? If I trust someone then I feel that they will have my best interests in mind.

If I reach out to a random site online that have company reviews, then I really do not know if they have my best interests in mind. They could be bitter or they could just have an employer encouraging positive reviews.

How do you evaluate?

Image credit: Hiking Artist

Today I was driving and my car burst into flames.

I wish that a hook to get you interested, but it’s the reality of what happened.

It made me think about some things as I watched the fire department spray my car down. (The image above is not my car.) One was, am I driving a safe car? The second thought was, how can I better myself so I don’t have do face this again.

Life will always give ups and downs, but can we prevent tragedy?

I find that the current state of affairs in tech are really trying to prevent tragedy and perfect our world. Facebook wants to prevent election tampering. Tesla wants to automate cars. Uber wants to increase safety of riders. Amazon wants you to order an item and receive it same day.

They all are seeking to alleviate pain and make our lives easier.

Is that what we want? I do.

However what is the cost? I’m not sure yet but I’ll let you know.

Good news. I’m safe, my car is towed and I can write another day.

Image credit: Jason Bolonski

In a previous life I had a title of Customer Success Manager at a tech company. As the name implies, I was tasked with ensuring the desired outcome for our clients was met on every level.

Sometimes clients just wanted to be heard and I was a therapist. Other times there were specific business criteria that had to be achieved and I felt like a CFO that was building my case to deliver to the board.

One thing was clear though. Success meant different things to every client.

My title no longer carries that tag line of CSM but the desire to exceed customer expectations continues. As I am in a client facing role (and can’t imagine it otherwise), success is still top of mind within my interactions.

However, I sometimes wonder if I am truly achieving it and what is the measure for success?

We have all been delayed at airports. You fly more than once in your life and it happens. Typically I don’t get too upset, because a lot of it is out of the hands of the crew. They don’t want the delay either.

However, there are a variety of ways the crew can deal with it. I have seen some that ignore the issue and hope it goes away. Pro tip, it doesn’t. I have also seen crews decide to make it a party by giving out extra snacks or drinks.

Same situation, different outcomes.

As the veil is lifted between brands and consumers, it become easier than ever to vocalize your displeasure.

This has had the effect of highlighting those brands that are nimble and responsive and those that double down on the trashcan fire by pouring gasoline on it.

I’m looking at you United Airlines. #notafan

But what does success really look like? There are KPI’s, surveys and referral programs. In the end, success has many forms, but for me it comes down to this.

Was I happy with the interaction? Would I talk to a friend positively about said company?

That’s it. I know it’s hard to quantify, but, in my heart, those two  questions are the key to success.

Image credit: Hiking Artist

I have a guilty pleasure that has persisted for years. My wife is well aware of it and actively encourages the habit. I’m an avid watcher of The Bachelor and all of the spin offs. When I first saw it with my wife years ago I could not believe how vapid and inconsequential the show was. I truly did not care about the outcome, thought everyone participating was a fool and hated myself for wasting time watching it.

However time heals all wounds. The premise of the show is simple. One woman or one man has around 30 suitors to choose from. Over the course of the season they whittle it down to one with the hope that the relationship ends in true love.

I know, absolutely ridiculous. However if you watch more than one season you start to see some of the same people. They bring back fab favorites, others get second chances, villains and heroes are established. It’s essentially a giant soap opera and becomes hilarious to watch.

One thing I have noticed is the idea that choice can be a double edged sword. We may not all have 30 people pining for our heart, but we do have an abundance of choices.

We have career paths to choose. If you are hiring there is always another candidate; if interviewing, there is always another opportunity.

You walk into some restaurants that have everything from pizza to burritos and you can’t think, nothing quite hits the spot.

Choice can immobilize us.

Why are we left feeling empty after these abundance of choices?

I think part of it is a state of mind. If you always think there is something better down the road then you’re never satisfied with your current situation.

There is always more money, a better title, a better life.

As a former Marine I lived a life for some time where we were told to, “embrace the suck”.

We didn’t have a choice and in the absence of choice there can be peace and freedom.

I don’t have a single solution, but I know the choices will only increase.

How will you choose to live?

Image credit: Jason Taellious

 Today I conducted my quarterly Business Review with the leadership at my company and I can tell you I’m happy it’s over.

It’s not that I don’t enjoy them, it’s just that they can cause undue stress on everyone in the office for weeks on end.

You build your deck, rehearse your script and try to prepare as best you can for the unexpected questions. After it’s over you breath a sigh of relief.

As I went through my review today I was prepared and looking forward to it. I crave feedback and I don’t receive a ton of it from my manager, so this was an opportunity for me to receive some much needed responses.

At the end of it I discussed some initiatives that I wanted to pursue and they green lighted two of the three, not bad in my book.

After it was all done I realized that I would actually prefer to have these more often. I read that Goldman Sacks has continuous feedback and it helps associates see where they stand in real time. Maybe that’s a bit much, but more than once a quarter can be good as well.

How do you approach this exercise at work?

If the leadership is positive than I think it’s a good thing. I have seen it skew to the negative, though, when you have a demanding boss.

Are these events even needed? In sales I think so because you have a business to run. Does that apply elsewhere?

To set the record straight I have been married for a number of years now and am very happy with my wife. I have not dated in any way since our courtship and am quite frankly a poor judge of what the current scene looks like. The closest I get to dating at this point are interviews for new jobs and roles.

A lot of people equate interviewing jobs to a sales cycle. You need to qualify the opportunity, determine next steps, and get to a close.

I actually agree that interviewing is very much like a sales cycle. However I also view it as trying out a new relationship.

Work/life balance is more of a blend. You need to know if that job you take will be flexible when needed or support you in your goals. Do you see yourself settling down with them? Have they mistreated others in a similar role before?

Essentially, when we read review sites, ask around and conduct an interview we are trying to determine if it’s a right fit.

I was taught a good lesson recently that we need to show a company what we can bring to the table, not just what the company can do for us. I liked that statement a lot and it reminded me a bit of when President Kennedy spoke about what you could do for your country.

So as a happily married man, interviewing is the closest thing to dating that I can think of in corporate America. (And I am not naive to think dating doesn’t happen in a traditional sense, just not going down that road here).

What are your thoughts on all of this? Am I on the right path with my system or can it be refined?

Image credit: scott.fuhrman