The Prodigal Daughter

7 years into my departure from my hometown and another 4-and-something into my consulting continuum, I have returned home. Though I have been in Sibiu at some point or another over the years for holidays, now it will be different. Working from home and going to the office in my town already feels strange. It is a matter of professionalism to deliver the same value to the client, as if it were in any other city in the world. However, working from the desk I used as a high school student and maybe seeing my old friends in the evening has a perfume of a long-awaited rendez-vous.

Given that I will be mainly involved in work, please follow the Twitter updates on the right-hand side – it might be that they will give you more insight, since I will not be able to write on a constant basis.

Cheers!

Complexity of women rediscovered

Conversation with our program manager yesterday:

PM: You must understand this is a complex client: the deadlines are changing, the scope of the project is changing, the deliverables are changing...
The Sundancer: That's why they say women are complex...

Reconsideration of telephoning and Twittering

This morning I dreamt of my former project manager telephoning. I rang her up in the afternoon to tell her and she was glad. Maybe I’ll reconsider my hostile attitude towards telephoning, as it seems to make people happy to hear each other’s voices from time to time.

In trying to make communication more fluid and step up to the times, I have included my twittering on the right column. Enjoy!

Viata de carton pe roti

Uitasem sa va povestesc: ieri m-am blocat in metrou. A treia oara in ultimele cateva luni. Asta dupa ce plecasem special mai devreme de acasa, ca sa fac impresie. Am ajuns in statie, unde niste sarmani stateau prinsi dupa usile metroului, alti sarmani se uitau cu jind la cei prinsi, de parca ar fi sa se afle in locul lor. Dupa vreo cinci minute de asteptare, anuntul fatidic: Va rugam sa va dati jos din vagoane, trenul este defect. Na super, imi spun, sa vezi acum invazie pe peron. Si da-i si ies oamenii din vagoane. Am mai scris despre cum arata vagoanele de metrou din Bucuresti, de zici ca mergi la Auschwitz. Ei bine, nu v-ar veni sa credeti ce puhoi de popor s-a putut revarsa pe peronul care deja era plin. Imbulzeala, coate, calcare pe picioare... tot setul.

Cum sunt o persoana optimista din fire, imi spun: Acum pleaca trenul asta de pe peron, vine urmatorul, asa ca totul va fi bine si ajung si eu la birou la timp ca sa imi salvez onoarea. Da de unde. Am mai stat douazeci de minute sa poata misca trenul si inca vreo cateva ca sa vina urmatorul tren – evident plin cu oameni stresati de faptul ca fusesera tinuti in subteran mai bine de jumatate de ora. Fericiti, dadeau telefoane.

Ce am hotarat in urma incidentului:
1 – Tre sa am grija sa nu mi se mai strice iPodul cand se blocheaza metroul. E plictisitor.
2 – In viitorul previzibil o sa incep sa merg cu bicicleta la birou.
3 – E mai bine sa plec tarziu de acasa, daca si asa intarziu.

Despre salutul cu spatele

Cateodata ma dezamagesc oamenii. Ma astept sa reactioneze cu maturitate la cate o veste, fara sa se gandeasca doar in termeni de castig sau de pierdere personala. Sa se gandeasca pe termen lung - sa inteleaga mecanismele care au stat la baza unor decizii. Poate ca o fac, insa in felul lor propriu, care bineinteles ca ramane criptic pentru mine.

Sa pierzi frumos inseamna sa reusesti sa treci de tine si sa vezi plusurile pe termen lung ale oricarei situatii - fie ea defavorabila in prezent, si chiar daca la nivel personal implicatiile sunt dureroase. Oricine poate sa intoarca spatele si sa lanseze afirmatii pe care ulterior sa le imbrace in alte si alte haine, doar pentru a le deforma sensul peiorativ initial. E nevoie de tarie si de vointa pentru a nu te lasa dus de val.

PS: De cateva zile ma simt ca pe vremuri, cand realitatea parea sa fie un vis permanent :-)

Baby it's you
You know that it's you I'm thinking of
(Smokie, Baby It's You)

The Good and the Better

Most people in business think that the key to being successful is sticking to facts. Though I couldn't disagree with the profoundly Cartesian era we are living in, I still prefer solving more difficult situations by handling them with care and understanding.

For my part, I believe in us all being humans in spite of all and having the ability of grasping states of matters much better when they are explained on a one-to-one level. Contrary to what you may think – people do understand, even if they are in high business and wear a neck tie that may parachute them miles upwards from where you stand. Just state the facts, state the effects, state your mindset and the way to a solution will ensue. Much harm is done nowadays by the stiffness in procedural matters – things are simpler than that. Granted, some arguments may crush the other and bring you to what you wish for... but on the long run, they will not keep your relationship running.

So instead of going for the better all the time, stick with the good for a change. This might be the solution for things to work out best.

Well, excuse me, guess I've mistaken you for somebody else,
Somebody who gave a damn,
Somebody more like myself.
(Jewel, Foolish Games)

Jet Plane style

"I believe that when we're born, we're all give exactly one unit of self-worth. No more, no less. No one can take it away; no one can add to it. Sometimes, though, we've forgotten we have it and we need to recover it. Self-worth is a story, just like feeling unworthy is. So go ahead and declare yourself worthy.'"

From Rules for Renegades by Christine Comaford-Lynch (2007: McGraw-Hill: New York).

Know what to buy: IBM vs SAP

The consolidation on the IT Business Intelligence market goes on: after SAP bought Business Objects one month or so ago, today I read IBM agreed to buy Cognos in a 5 bn USD transaction. Interesting evolution - I am curious what else there is left for HP to buy, if they want to stay in the game :)

Hey Eugene, stop worrying!

Flashes of light like the Pink Martini concert in Bucharest last Saturday make up for even the longest nights staying awake to work. The silence as the ensemble were performing classical music, molten with South American or Japanese music (“Taya Tan” was unbelievable!), all sounding so European, so continental, made me love the “Portland, Oregon” band even more. It was not only the music that thrilled me, but also the atmosphere – they were there to entertain, and we all could feel that. They sang with such passion and longing, that the music touched us all and made us feel warm inside.

My thought for the evening was that, if we all would be as passionate about what we do as Pink Martini about what they are singing, perhaps the world would really change starting with us.

PS: I saw Dr Strangelove yesterday. Must see for crazy people who like odd comedy movies.

Hey Eugene do you remember me?

Im that chick you danced with two times through the Roofers album Friday night at that party

(Pink Martini, Hey Eugene)

I really love my job ;)

A few days ago my boss reminded me he was reading my blog (and enjoying especially the song lyrics... :) pfblaaa). So should I be asking for raises and such online in future? :D

Seeing the world through imperfect eyes

The underground station provides – besides the eternal stress of jumping in the hot and crowded train wagon before the others do – lots of opportunity to observe the people and to learn the discipline of waiting. While waiting, you can do lots of things. Starting with the thoughts on how the day will look like, on to impossible fantasies such as teleporting to work and a general strike against the underground union, you can picture everything. There are people who are so sick of waiting that they wander around and talk to themselves (hoping to be heard by others) about the inability of the government to regulate public transportation. Then there are some fancy looking and important seeming yuppies who mainly study their clothing in the mirror. Most of them have a very preoccupied and at the same time hollow look about them. There are women in their thirties who look so tired and unhappy that I always get horror images of the life they must be leading, lacking in beauty and excitement or so beautiful it can't stand up to the grey underground station.

The only thing that unites us in our total carelessness towards each other is that we all are tired of waiting – for the train, for the day to come, for the future to arrive. For some, the hope has not vanished and the hungry eyes still devour every new frame they discover, for others the film is repeating itself endlessly, and their perfection lies in being ideal paranoid androids...

So long, Jimmy, so long.
Though you only stayed a moment,
We all know that you're the one.
Singing,So long, Jimmy, so long.
Sure we're glad for the experience,
We miss you now you've gone.
We're just swimming in your soul 'cause,
We all wish we wrote this song.
Life goes on.
(James Blunt, So Long Jimmy)

The enemy who is close to us

In the morning I go to the office with the Bucharest underground. It is a terrible experience everytime, especially if I arrive at the station after 8.00am. Loads of people in suits, smart dresses, some of them with ear phones, are waiting for the train. After seeing it is full, they still insist on entering the waggons, so that inside you have a constant temperature of about 35 degrees C, exquisite for catching all sorts of microbes. Above all, this morning time of getting to the office is when I am physically closer to more people than comfortably acceptable, some of them trying to consolidate their "position" of about 1 square inch by pushing others aside, sticking elbows in the others' shoulders and turning the music in their ears to a maximum, so they don't see or hear the hate in people's faces.

And you can be sure that if you're feeling right

A daydream will last long into the night

Tomorrow at breakfast you may pick up your ears

Or you may be daydreaming for a thousand years

(Lovin Spoonful, Daydream)

Sweet sweet sweet....

At some point in your life, after being smothered in the childhood thrills of knowing and controlling everything that goes on around you and indulging in the belief everybody tells you everything (count in the part where friends would come and whisper in your ear “Do you want to know a secret”) -- silence falls. You hear little to nothing from others, so you have to create your own secrets and stories, and plans.

And yet, sometimes these plans don't come out quite as you had drafted them. People around you will make sure you will have more obstacles than initially thought of, they will try to keep you from your stories and your dreams. Perhaps it is legitimate that they do so – it is all but legitimate to claim another person's life, when you love her and want what is best for her. How do you manage to merge these two, though? How do you lead a happy family life and follow a great career without hurting the one you're with?

It takes great strength to try and follow both - and sometimes you just wonder if loss is worth what remains behind. But I guess it's all up to what you really wish for in life.

Sugar wishes don't change what is real
Or how it feels in the bad times
For whatever is he is mine all the time
And we'll get by with our troubles
(Macy Gray ft Erykah Badu, Sweet Baby)

Smart or very smart?

My boss said something today that intrigued me: "There is a distance between being smart and being very smart". Humm. Great - but what is that distance and how do you measure it? Or at least, how do you quantify a person's smarts? (Do you even want to?)

"Smartness" is about situations, not people. Think Forrest Gump.

Examples:
A very bright informatics student is "very smart" in class; in his behaviour towards his girlfriend he can be less than smart.
Someone who makes money for his own benefit is smart; if he can bring business for more people, he is very smart.
An implementation consultant is very smart in his area of expertise but can only deliver a smart answer in other ERPs, for example.

That girl's a different girl today
Said that girl's a different girl to her you kissed last night
You couldn't have done that on a Sunday

Last night what we talked about
It made so much sense
But now the haze has ascended
It don't make no sense anymore
(Arctic Monkeys, From the Ritz to the Rubble)

Eighty Percent of Success...

Last night I sat up until 12 to finish a training presentation for a training and I ended up very angry, because the person who had initially designed the training support was extremely careless. I had to stop and re-do formatting, correct grammar mistakes, align the English slides with the Romanian slides and bring some life to the presentation. Given that there was quite a lot to do, someone had obviously lost patience at a point, done some changes, but got bored to apply them to all slides. However, this confused the focus of the presentation and led it to a collection of individual presentation, with a swaying central theme.

Indeed, does re-arranging Powerpoint slides have anything to do with strategy, or does it connect more to professionalism and to the necessary education to do things in a right way? Can anyone be a good professional without paying attention to details and without trying to see a red thread in every document or idea flow he or she issues? Should we really be concerned with these insignificant details?

I think that with no order in your head there can be no order in your thoughts - and chaotic creativity is less valuable than a controlled creativity. I also believe that in order to be really good at anything you must be good at mastering yourself as a part of the system. If the system requires you to conform, then do so and be different while doing it. However, do not let this affect yourself or others. In your professional life, non-conformism may only be applied within certain boundaries, without meaning to say that this impacts on your freedom or personality. This is the meaning of true professionalism – when you manage to comply to the rules, without giving the impression of conformism, but at the same time to not cease to re-invent yourself.

One always forgets that freedom comes from the inside; this is especially true for young professionals, who think they can change the rules in no time. In order to bring about change in a company, one needs to first understand and obey the rules, identify improvement points and bring up the change from within, by consistently following a unitary path. This also goes for an "insignificant" Powerpoint presentation.

PS: I owed you this from an earlier post: the best conflict management method is to show up and stand up for yourself.