Missed opportunity
It started late afternoon on Thursday. My manager needed to see me as soon as I got her message. I wasn’t sure what was going on but I always feel like the kid being called to the principal’s office. I’m not sure why I’m being called in but it’s probably for something bad I did. (Even though I can’t think of what it is I did.)Anyways…
A project in Florida was going badly and they needed someone to go turn it around. I’m usually the first person that gets asked when they need someone to travel. For me, it’s usually “Yes. Oh by the way when and where?” In this case they wanted me specifically since I’ve worked on this kind of project before.
We talked about it a little bit and we both came to the same conclusion: Due to my managerial responsibilities, I won’t be able to work on this project. She needed to find someone else to go. It would have been a few weeks of long days & high pressure. But I thrive for those challenges: (I’m just crazy that way) It breaks up my routine. Keeps things fresh. Gives me a lot of practice thinking on my feet.
I was disappointed but I knew I couldn’t go. The group I’m overseeing requires supervision and the customers always have questions and requests that need to be addressed. My manager and I were both disappointed that no one in that group would step up and run the group. It’s a shame, there are 2 senior people in that group. There’s no reason 1 or both of them couldn’t step up. They’ve been around long enough to know the standards and policies. They’ve also been around long enough to know who to call if they have questions. They’ve chosen to do just enough to get by AND to have bad attitudes.
Since our conversation, she's had a difficult time finding someone to go. That's sad. These kind of projects are a good challenge, give you good experience, give you the opportunity to travel, AND give you good visibility (if you're into that sort of thing).
posted by ChowderHead @ 10/15/2006 12:39:00 PM
3 Comments:
Wow. I wish I had a job that involved travel. That would totally kick ass, now that my son is grown, and I can can be gone and not worry about things.
Jim: Some people love business travel. Others dread it.
I personally love it. Like I said: It's a challenge, I learn a lot, I do a lot, I get to think on the go, meet people from different cities/offices. I feel it's a nice change of pace & routine. I've met some really nice people throughout the country due to my travels.
AND the best part….. I get to see places and eat at nice restaurants on the company!!!
There are negatives: Lots of hours, pressure to execute, lots of visibility, miss out on personal events (b-days, anniversaries, etc..).
I don’t get to travel as much as I used to. It was nice to get away for awhile. Drive a different car, go a different route to a different office in another town.
Now that your son is out of the house maybe you could look into a job with travel opportunities.
What a bummer! I also enjoy traveling and wish I could do more through my company. *sigh*
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