Slowing down is secretly gathering strength

 

Yawn. It's difficult being an intern.

I suspect that most of the fellows are having a similar externship A experience (tick all that apply) : 
  • sink or swim in an alien work environment,
  • left to your own devices,
  • responsible for developing your scope of work,
  • and then making it happen.
These factors are particularly noticeable if you have come from a focused, driven environment where a packed schedule was handed to you (i.e.Babson).

It's difficult maintaining intentionality of 'gas pedal to floor' when you are also building the road in front of you and slightly unsure of which direction you should be heading.

The difficulty level increases if you first must develop a working relationship with remote co-workers several timezones away, before you are able to get anything done. But I suppose that's the cost of global, baby.

The end of week two is approaching and it's difficult to understand where that time went. (I'd love to say it was all head down, working at the coal face, but if I'm honest, it was probably equal parts jet-lagged haze, moments of insight and ultra procrastination.)

Yes, my project has been scoped out and progress through the exploratory work is well underway. But there's still the nagging, slightly guilty feeling that having a less than crammed diary is a naughty thing.


Still, the time spent chatting to colleagues and researching* on the internet should pay dividends later. Not forgetting the proven lack of link between R&D spending and profit.

*that's researching and not 'researching'.


Already I've learnt some valuable lessons:
  • How to organise global meetings. That includes how to deal with colleagues just down the hall who are managing issues that affect others distributed all over the globe.
  • How to exist in a 'open-plan, but not-open-plan' environment with a 'just-drop-in but not really' way of getting things done.
  • (Perhaps most interestingly) How to get others to scope out new marketplaces for you. (cryptic, but that's all I can say here.)

Today I am working on a 'Physical - Information - Mental Model' exercise for the business process I am looking at. Marty Anderson [Babson] would be proud.




When I grow up...
I'm going to need a really big white board in my office. The walls, floor and ceiling of my office will be writeable white board. Although not the step ladder, because it would blend in and that would just be silly.

 

Posted 13-Jan-2011 22:25 by David Toy
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