Scribbles

We're Moving!

svjohnny — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 11:20:00 -0400

The lack of momentum to migrate this blog has pushed me to take action. So while I'm still fixing the new site, I'm announcing it now to give myself a sense of urgency. Please point your bookmarks and RSS feeds to the new site at jlscribbles.com. The URL speaks for itself. Thanks!

Firefox 3

svjohnny — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:44:00 -0400

Whaddya know, the latest incarnation of Firefox version 3 has just been released.

Go grab it with its new features and improved performance. Beware some of your favorite add-ons might not work yet on it, but its best add-on, Adblock Plus works like a charm.

Nappin in Napa

svjohnny — Thu, 22 May 2008 14:10:00 -0400

Napa Valley is horrible for allergies. Arriving in perfect timing for the pollen in full bloom, I sneezed at least as much I drank.

That's all I have to complain about my 2-day sojourn in amazing California wine country. After a rather productive week in the Bay Area, the brief time off relaxing in Napa was the perfect conclusion to my trip. Sure there was a lot of wine to taste and food to eat, but the theme of relaxing was well maintained. Think leisurely walks, naps, and massages. I didn't bother too much to visit many wineries. We took some suggestions from the inn-keeper and trekked between highway 29 and Silverado Trail for a bit of tasting and sight seeing. Clos Pegase stood out for its eccentric art-loving owner, who graciously outfitted the winery with his vast art collection. While I didn't get much into the paintings hung on the office walls, I fully appreciated the statues scattered throughout the grounds and the caves. We picnic'ed on the patio, enjoying the breeze and surroundings. While generous with art, they were somewhat stingy with their wines for the tasting, proffering less spectacular samples while hoarding the good stuff.

The name-brand slut in me couldn't resist stopping at Opus One, the Louis Vuitton of wines. For once I could relate to the hoards of women who dig LVMH. I even paid the premium price of $30 for the tasting - a single glass of the 2004 blend. Served in a Riedel glass by a French hostess, of course. I knew I was probably out of place the moment I walked in; some Japanese tourist had laid out several thousands of dollars worth of travelers cheques on the counter. He must have a lot of friends back home that need souvenirs. Quality wine, premium price.

Having my fill of nature and architecture, I wanted a good swig of grape. The final stop did just that. Jessup Cellers put up a tasting room in one of the Napa towns for the sheer joy of tasting, cutting out all the winery related sideshows. No tours, no vines. Simply a store front with bottles of oenoholic goodness. The host poured me at least 6 delicious reds, and offered to open up anything more I wanted to try, all complementary. I enjoyed their wine the most, preferring their flagship brand over Opus One.

Ending on a string of high notes, we stopped for a late lunch at a classy Vietnamese-fusion restaurant on Main St. The chef, Anna Lien, played host while we gobbled down the yummy food. Not taking away anything from Ubuntu's unique and delicious veggie fare, Anna's presence makes her cozy place stand out in the superb dining environment of Napa.

French Laundry will have to wait until next time.

Blog Migration

svjohnny — Wed, 21 May 2008 19:56:00 -0400

Posts have been sparse lately due to my recent efforts to migrate this blog. It's taking a lot longer than expecting, having to manually edit a lot of old postings and links to move the content to the new location. The work involved in setting up the new site is also dragging my time from writing coherent postings about my life.

Why am I moving? Well, the blogware software I'm using on this site hasn't been updated in ages. Being a technophile, I hate being restrained from using some of the newer features in the current world of blogging simply because I bet on the wrong horse 3 years ago. So rather than stick around, I'm willing to do the work of moving to a different system... Wordpress for you curious.

Unleash the Power Within - Fireteam

svjohnny — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:28:00 -0400

Had the pleasure of volunteering at Tony Robbin's UPW event in LA a few weekends back. Lots of stories to tell, but for now, leaving you with a snapshot of me in front of the pyre - where we shoveled the hot coals for over 3000 people to walk on.

LA Convention Center Barbecue

MBA Goggles

svjohnny — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 19:20:00 -0400

My beef with an MBA / Consulting experience is having to see the world through the prism of business practicality. Every commercial establishment, most commonly restaurants, gets scrutinized under this new view, and it takes away from the experience. Granted, many people who walk into an extremely crowded restaurant will wonder about the how lucrative it may be, making comments about how much money is made. Plenty of times I hear my grandmother harp about the excessive profitability of a restaurant in relation to its prices and underwhelming service, all with a tinge of jealously. This perfectly normal human behavior has unfortunately been warped for me, for the worse. I feel compelled take it to the next level, to perform quick arithmetic on number of customers, average costs, hours of operations, and whatever to find out the total amount of dough being raked in. Then I think about the margins, costs, competition, efficiencies, and the next thing you know, I have in my mind a half-baked business case worked out. Of course that would all be incomplete without a recommendation, such as how to streamline processes or it being too late to enter this market. (Tip of the day: The luxury frozen yogurt market will soon be saturated, so please don't venture out there expecting Pinkberry-esque profits) The damnest thing about this compulsive behavior is that I care very little about money, especially other people's money. I just want to have a good time and enjoy the experience, not try to solve business problems. I think the solution is to put on some different hats: the social conscientor that thinks about the happiness and enjoyment people are getting; the health fanatic figuring out the averse health costs from fast food joints; the art snob judging decor and ambience. That should be fine, as long as I don't summarize my results in powerpoint.

Busy Good Friday Easter

svjohnny — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 18:47:00 -0400

Bustling week occupying myself with all sorts of activities. Aside from work, I spent some time in speculative day trading in the crazy financial markets. Don't ask me how I fared... Now entertaining guests in the city, following my tournament bracket, and preparing to fly out to LA on Saturday. But what has been particularly gratifying is catching up and reconnecting with friends. PGuy has been settling in and it's been good to be around to bounce ideas off each other, be it talking about Wholefoods or furniture arrangement. Anyhoot, before I take off from NY, want to wish you all a good weekend, be it religious, a break from the stock market, following college hoops, or just relaxing. I suppose for me it'll be all of the above.

Blistering Cold

svjohnny — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 09:13:00 -0500

My boy from Halifax has been burning us Cali boys for complaining about the cold, but yesterday I got seriously chilled. Trekked out last night to Flushing, aka NY Chinatown, to visit the cousin and family. I had been out of NY for so long over the past few months that I didn't have any time to see them recently. It was really good. It's always wonderful to interact with young people and feel like you've been able to connect, perhaps even dispense some advice.

Continuing my old-man-ness, the cold weather last night (and this morning) utterly destroyed me. It was fine during the day, but at night, the massive winds just took everything out of me. My cheeks started to hurt from the cold burn, and then became numb. My fingers went from indoors toasty to frozen popsickles in 3 seconds. Not fun. Almost made me wish I were in Cali.

Ah, Cali, where I was just a while back to spend CNY, look into some ventures, and celebrate the birthday of a good buddy. We had our usual tom-foolery of gambling, and of course mahjong with the family. But also had the chance to do a bit of touring downtown LA. I enjoyed MoCA a lot. It's smaller than the usual NY museums, but quality work no less. (And yes, it's spread across three locations so it's unfair to compare). Such a great time and most definitely warm. Going to make another trip back at the end of March so mark your calendars if you feel like meeting up in sunny SoCal.

Angel's Flight - Please whisk me away from this cold!

18-1

svjohnny — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 00:25:00 -0500

Enough of the imperfect failures known as the New England Patriots. Wow, what a night in NYC. Just got back from the wild celebrations off of Times Square. It was a peaceful crowd, but the cops still regulated with their horses and metal fences. Most of the cars drove by honking while the crowd cheered them and traded high-fives. I was lucky enough to be in NYC during this amazing night, sure beats being in Paris after the World Cup...

Race and Gender

svjohnny — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 15:42:00 -0500

I tend to avoid talking about politics on my blog due to its contentious nature. But in observance of Martin Luther King Jr day, I'd like to share some brief thoughts on race and gender in the US. Given my immigrant background and fondness for diversity and all things international, this has always been a topic near to my heart, and has certainly contributed to my huge appetite for following politics. But lately, this topic has gathered a lot of attention from people, beyond the usual cliques of political junkies, power interest groups, and self-serving corporations. The upcoming presidential election, and the race for winning the party nominations has stirred up a level of excitement and involvement in politics that I have never witnessed. And I'm loving it. To have discourse over this, no matter where one stands, will benefit the country and the world. Whether justified or not, the American people have been perceived as ignorant and culturally retarded. The headlines and stories are contributing to people becoming more aware of the struggles of minority groups and to put value in the strength of diversity.

Without injecting any grandiose ideas of my own (they're all taken or spoken for), I'd just like to say that I'm happy to see the country making progress towards racial and gender equality. But don't mistake gratitude for complacency. We're lagging far behind many other societies, and that's just unacceptable for a nation that has so much influence over the entire world. And for the young people out there, get out and vote. You may miss the upcoming primaries, but it's never too early to sign up in time for the November presidential election. Make a statement for your generation, otherwise risk letting older folks determine your future in all areas of life, from the environment to education. Do your part in making your society and world better reflect your values.

Farewell 2007, Hello 2008

svjohnny — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 14:43:00 -0500

Happy New Year!

It's been an interesting year, with a lot of ups and downs. While the intensity hasn't matched 2006 at INSEAD, the changes and happenings have been much more pronounced. It's my personal philosophy to reflect with an attitude of having positive growth and gratitude. I have grown (mentally) a lot, and I couldn't have done with without all the support and love from everyone in my life. Thank you all for that. And more importantly, looking forward, I do so with great aspirations and cheer, demanding myself to give back to you in my own little ways. What this means for this forum is more updates and sharing of the humble insights to my life, and hopefully entertain you along the way with the interesting tidbits of my days.

Wish you all a spectacular year to come, where you take life into your own hands and make it bring about fulfillment and joy.

Happy Thanksgiving!

svjohnny — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 12:15:00 -0500

Want to wish everyone a wonderful holiday before I brave the crazy traveling to La-La land. Hope you all get to see family and loved ones. And don't forget not to eat too much :)

MIA

svjohnny — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 14:14:00 -0500

Whoaaaaa, my poor blog has been woefully neglected. The good news is that I'm still here, just running around. After wrapping up my last project in Berlin, I took some time off in LA, and now find myself traveling between NY state and Latin America. I had the pleasure of working in Sao Paulo and Mexico City for a few days over the past 2 weeks. I will apologize for not sharing some nice photos of these amazing cities due to my lack of adventuring there. But that will be remedied since my Brazilian visa will allow multiple entries and I imagine to be called into duty for another trip in Latin America soon.

Sudden Fall

svjohnny — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 04:17:00 -0400

After weeks of marshy summer, I landed yesterday in Munich to rain and cold. Not freezing cold, but chilly enough to lament not packing anything suitable for say, the typical San Franciscan evening. And though my sole jacket is feather thin, I'm grateful that it's rainproof. It offered me the luxury of taking the subway to the office this morning midst dreary passengers and bleak clouds. I don't mean to be glib when I call my commute a luxury. After five months of neck-breaking pace, there's something comfortable about waking up to gray skies, hopping on public transport, and making one's way to the office like the usual 9-to-5-ers; a sense of normalcy that's been sorely lacking. I couldn't suppress a smile seeing my colleagues wrapped in their sweaters instead of Florida's humid embrace. Part of my glee was sharing their comfort in waking up in their own sheets, perhaps tangled in the limbs of a loved one, or at a minimum, having access to their full wardrobes. I'm loving this change of season, perfectly marking the transition from the current endeavor to the next.

Screaming Partners

svjohnny — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 05:44:00 -0400

Not the bedroom type, I wish. The ones on top of the consultancy pyramid that yell to express their displeasure.

The Steering Committee meeting is occurring right now as I type this. The first one of our project, it's like the first midterm, except with larger consequences. The outcome will decide many things for many people: political jousting among committee members of the operating company, the direction for the remaining 3.5 months of the project, the promotion considerations of consultants and project leader, bonuses and raises, career development of everyone on the team (client and consultants), serious business. So serious that one can't smile.

Last night as we finalized the backup slides of the presentation, I got yelled at for smiling. Technically speaking, the scolding was directed at me "laughing." Some background before the climatic vocal spanking: two Sunday's ago, I left my comfortable apartment in NYC to Munich to work on said critical presentation with the team. As we labored all week, the partners on the project would give us very direct and insightful input, often interspersed with yelling. One of the comments involved the representation of the logic flow on one particular slide, with me and partner disagreeing on whether it should be a square or an arrow, purely cosmetic. We went back and forth but didn't really come to a conclusion. Quite frankly, I didn't care that much, because the content was agreed upon. On Friday evening, our project leader sent out the entire presentation to the Steering Committee members, for their review before today's meeting. Come Monday, I realized that we didn't incorporate the change and mentioned this. Both PL and I decided not to change it because we didn't want to explain during the meeting that no content was changed, merely the shape of the figure surrounding the text.

Fast forward to last night, as I finalized the backup slides (the detailed explanations of the presentation to respond to anticipated questioning), the partner stormed in, pointing emphatically at a printout of the wrong shaped figure. I explained what happened and reiterated the PL's reluctance to make changes in the presentation after sending it out. I made the mistake of not looking contrite enough. Instead, I represented my argument with a pleasant, semi-smiling (definitely not my "how you doin'" smile) demeanor, nothing rude or improper. Simply my way of lightening the already high-strung mood. Oops, big mistake. "Stop laughing! This is not a funny manner. This is very serious business and I am extremely angry!"

Instead of arguing that I wasn't laughing, I got bailed out by a phone call from the PL, where I promptly requested (and received approval) for the change. Case closed, whew. In all fairness, I do like this particular partner a lot. He's emotional and passionate and he lets you know how he feels, so there's no second guessing in if he thinks you're a performer, or simply an idiot. And since I know this, I don't take his screaming too personal. But I do need to work on my contrite look.

INSEAD Anniversary

svjohnny — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 05:17:00 -0400

The class mailer has been flying with congrats, reflections, and suggestions for gatherings, all in celebration of our one-year mark post MBA life. Where did the time go? It still does feel like just yesterday when we were living the high life and indulging in excessive amounts of fun. The great thing is, despite being apart and spread all around the world, our bonds keep our friendships afloat.

To celebrate our cozy little network, I'm going to plug a few websites from my friends, where they are putting their energies and careers. First is FitFiend, an online community based on fitness and health. Sometimes you need some expert advice, other times you just need someone to kick your butt and take you to yoga practice. How can you say no to better fitness? The second site is Edun, an apparel company with a conscience, selling clothing made from Africa, from grower to sewer. Check out their spiffy site (also logo'ed in my affiliates section) with one of my classmates posing as the male model. Full disclosure: I take no monetary compensation from either site, although I may be accepting a drink or two from these friends who also happen to be based in NYC :)

Waking up in France

svjohnny — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 03:15:00 -0400

Ah, how life humbles you. After a seriously long travel and work day yesterday, I woke up early to catch the train into work. As I walked through the subway station, picking up breakfast, I thought smugly how comfortable I am being in Munich. Not speaking any German, yet being able to navigate the system with ease, I am truly the international business traveler. And on top of that, I'm taking public transportation, saving the world from unwarranted carbon emissions and my company from extra expenses. I even bought a 3-day pass, extra savings!

During this shameless self-congratulatory ego stroking, I noticed the usual electronic boards not displaying any train information. Hmm... what was going on? Well, other people were waiting, so it must be a glitch in the system. Everyone in Munich boasts to me how efficient and on time the trains here are. They're clean and reliable they claim. Twenty minutes pass while I study the train schedule, noting something amiss. Finally a train arrives and I pick up the words "Ostbanhoff", the other main train hub. Fair enough, I had to go there anyways, so I could take this one and transfer. We all get on and it is seriously crowded, Tokyo crowded. I've had smushed pastries before and I can settle for less pretty breakfast. At Ostbanhoff, I stroll to the other platform and notice a lot of confusion and still an undecipherable message on display. I decide to ask.

"There are strikes going on today."

Hmm... great. I leave the station and cab over to work, wasting a big chunk of time and arriving nowhere close to what I wanted. And to think, I could've just slept in and taxied the whole route. When you think your God's gift to the world, the powers above, through the ever hard working European work force, will put you in your place. The lesson is to be humble, accept being a slacker, wake up as late as possible, and just expense the damn cab fare.

Consultants Quarrel

svjohnny — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 17:38:00 -0400

What happens when consultants on the same project don't get along? Two stories: (all names fictional to protect their identities)

Back in February, I got into a tricky situation with one of my colleagues. Late Monday night, tired and stressed out, we were working furiously to finish next morning's CFO update. The other consultant on our team, Vladimir, asked the project leader about one particular slide that I had whipped up. The PL, being his usual reticent self, simply ignored him. Naturally I answered in place. Vlad brushes aside my reply and pushes the PL (now known as Leo) to respond. I felt a bit bemused, because it was my work, not Leo's. What did Vlad think Leo was going to tell him that I had not already? Determined, Vladimir pestered Leo on and on, finally getting a response. Predictably he reiterated my previous answer. Unsatisfied, the stubborn Vladimir now objected to the message of the slide and wanted a change. It was late and I was no longer entertained by the typical Vlad and Leo show, where Vlad asks for something, gets ignored or at best some grunts, and Vlad continues until Leo's patience wears thin enough to elaborate. Let's end this now I thought, so I told him we already considered his suggestion, listed the rationale behind each approach, and explained how we arrived at our decision. Here things got ugly. He glances at me, almost annoyed, barely acknowledges my explanation, and turns to Leo to resume the usual head-butt show. As if I had said nothing, he didn't respond to my points and went straight to the person making the final decision. I wasn't going to take that, so I loudly interrupted his questioning towards the PL, told him how rude it was to ignore me, and that my voice needs to be respected. Things got pretty awkward after that. Leo was taken aback by my outspokenness. The three of us quickly settled on a solution, but the atmosphere of the room became uncomfortable; Vlad and I just stopped communicating.

A few hours later, Vlad pulled me aside to a separate room and apologized. He expressed that it was not his intent to dis me, and welcomed future feedback for such behavior. He said that we have to work together as a team, and it wouldn't do for three people to be stuck in the same room for endless hours everyday while the uncomfortable situation festered. We shook hands and were cool. I was quite happy with the outcome; I expressed my feelings and we reached a good outcome. I also respect Vladimir for taking the initiative to smoothen things out to amend our working relationship. Kumbaya.

I wish I could say the same for myself. Last week, I found myself in a similar situation, where things got a bit ugly between me and another consultant. And even though I did nothing wrong, I didn't model Vladimir's grace in taking charge to sort things out. To my defense, I believe (and still do) that I was the person being wronged, but perhaps the larger reason behind my inaction was my weird detached existentialist mood last week.

Sabina and I have quite a good relationship. While on the same project team, our work doesn't overlap or interact much. Yet given the amount of chatter between us about all things, ranging from firm gossip to weekend trips, I consider us friends. Not everyone gets along so well within a typical team, and with a project the length of mine, five and half months, these friendships make the project a lot more enjoyable. While in Berlin last week, we conducted a week long working session with our entire project team that consisted over 50 participants. The days were long and strenuous, and more so for the consultants who had to prepare everything, guide the daily sessions, and summarize the results. Most of this occurred behind the scenes, earlier during the day and later at night when the clients aren't around. On Tuesday night, there was a scheduled social outing where everyone's attendance was expected. Unfortunately Sabina had a ton of preparation to complete for the next day. And being the control freak that she is, she decided to stay behind to finish. While the team enjoyed a night in a medieval chateau drinking beer and feasting on roast, she slaved away to ensure that workshop would run smoothly the next day.

During lunch the next day, the topic came up of her staying behind. A few of the clients on her module team claimed to have no idea why she had to skip out on the festivities since they couldn't see much results from her extra efforts. The first few times I prepared agendas and thought out how a working session should progress, I was surprised by the amount of time and effort it took me. Of course I defended her. But other than explaining the energy behind the planning, I could not offer concrete examples of what she did because I wasn't part of the workshop. They still shrugged off her hard work despite my protests. I wasn't happy about it, but didn't find it a big deal it happens all the time. During projects, clients rarely feel that consultants add much value and often believe that they could've done everything on their own without the exorbitant fees. Fair enough, this perception, grounded or not, comes with the territory. At the end, they can judge for themselves whether it was worth it, and decide the next time around if hiring consultants is necessary. I'm not offended at all; it's just how it is.

Fast forward to dinner with the entire consultant team, this topic comes up. Typical consultant chatter, clients hate us, clients did this, blah blah blah. Under the assumption that most consultants share my lack of concern for being under-appreciated, and Sabina being more than a year more experienced than me at this gig, I brought up the lunch time conversation. Little did I anticipate her swift and strong reaction. She demanded the names these clients, those who could not clearly see the light. Well I wasn't about to reveal the names of these individuals. Already regretted bringing up the entire matter, I reaffirmed to myself the refusal to betray a personal lunchtime conversation. I couldn't allow this seed to bloom into the weed garden of mistrust and misery between us and the client team. When I gave her my reasons for not ratting people out, she become so incensed. She tried repeatedly to get the names and I would not budge. Eventually she vowed to confront the entire team about their nonrecognition of her efforts. A few of my colleagues tried to interject, and as I further explained myself, she abruptly cut me off with a “I'm not discussing this with you.” I told her that was rude and asserted my right to speak. (Hmm, is this a pattern? Something about the way I am that draws this kind of response?) Then she switches over to German and gets into a heated argument with the rest. The poor intern tried to jump in, voicing the same principle of preserving the trust of a lunch table conversation and was immediately mowed down with a “don't interrupt me” sneer. (Oh, this was all in German but was explained to me later on.) We didn't exchange a single word the rest of the night. Sigh, hell indeed has no wrath like a woman scorned.

At the moment, I felt pretty angry at being treated so rudely, unhappy with myself about bringing up the whole topic, and disappointed that my perceived friendship didn't encompass amicable disagreements. But I quickly reverted to the “I don't care about anything” attitude that possessed me last week. [Not sure what was the cause of it, but I simply stopped caring about everything. I still worked hard during the week, delivering good results, but the odd mood of feeling detached from life was pervasive and unusual.] What I should have done, was to take a chapter from the excellent Difficult Conversations book, and followed Vladimir's example by setting things straight. Be it friends or just colleagues, things can be quite uncomfortable within a project team. It really is a us versus client mentality and consultants share the bond of enduring long work hours, separation from friends and family, and lack of appreciation. When that unity disappears, we're each on our own.

Before I left Berlin, Sabina and I had a few awkward exchanges, but it was obviously not the same as before. And since I will be on my own again this coming week in Orlando, the difficult conversation will have to be postponed. Upon reflection, I can understand her reaction to the clients. She worked late that night while everyone else was merry making. She had been putting in extremely long hours since the project began. She had a few glasses of wine during dinner. Tempers flare and fatigue makes people snappy. I could say the same for myself, but the difference here is the criticism being directed at her. Maybe she felt her friendship was betrayed by my refusal to give up the names. All this conjecture needs to be cleared up. Since I made the boneheaded step onto the land mine, I'll have to dig myself out of the hole.

Sleepy Week

svjohnny — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 17:33:00 -0400

Happy June! Time sure flies. It's summer already.

This past week was the first time things slowed down quite a bit on this project. Being back in Orlando the last 3 weeks, the site of my first project, feels quite familiar and comfortable. My current project team is spread out all over the world and I happened to be covering Orlando all by myself this past week, giving me a lot of freedom and flexibility in my schedule. The result being me getting back to the hotel early (around 10) and catching up on sleep. I was quite surprised at how quickly I fell asleep on the plane ride back to New York, given the less intense week.

Being used to less than 6 hours of sleep a night, I still woke up quite early the past 2 days, despite not having anything scheduled. Today however, I went back to nap and found myself awake late in the afternoon. While I lament the lack of productivity and exploring the city, I don't mind giving myself a chance to catch up a bit on the slumber front.

Have a week of client team work ahead in Berlin, so will fly out in tomorrow afternoon and arrive back in NYC on Friday evening. Since I rarely work for more than 2 hours on the plane, there will be a nice nap for me on the way back. I expect the project to maintain this level of lower intensity so I can regain some semblance of life and health.

Back Officed

svjohnny — Wed, 30 May 2007 20:02:00 -0400

To give you some idea as to what goes behind the scenes in our firm, let me describe some of our back office functions. We have team assistants (still proudly called secretaries in Germany), a graphics pool to pretty up our PowerPoint, training department to plan and coordinate training programs, staffing to ensure we're always overworked, people development / hiring to keep the pipeline of indentured servants full, the typical Dilbert-esque IT, and the knowledge base (KB) department, the subject of today's lesson. An understaffed and overworked team of roughly 8 people, the team provides an essential function. With the power of the Internet, news services, and databases full of past project learning's and consultancy voodoo (aka methodology) at their fingertips, they wield the responsibility of supporting the busy-bee consultants by performing research and providing relevant information.

For my current project, we are researching and analyzing the competition. Naturally, my project leader suggests we lean on the folks down in the KB for some support. The idea is having them collect all the past news articles related to the industry and the competition over the last few years, and dump them on a shared drive. That way, when we consultants feel bored in our stress-less, 9 to 5 day jobs, we can generate much "ah-ha!" insight while reading through this material. Heck, some of us even prefer to read said articles on long international flights instead of other useless tasks like watching movies, reading fiction, or the unmentionable activity known as sleep. So much time on a plane and so little to do. So why not ask our supportive staff to facilitate us, or more precisely, why don't I take the responsibility of making it happen?

Several weeks back, I put the wheels in motion. I made the request and KB gladly accepted. But after generating hundreds of hits on the search query, they decided that it was unfeasible, and they had no alternative solutions. I thought about it and settled on a compromise: just provide the headlines of every article along with the full text of a very small subset of the articles, using their good judgment on which ones to download. So in the many cases where I get bored on the plane, I can read these articles, and when I eventually plow through them, I can scan the headlines and pick the interesting ones out for future download. Ingenious!

Somehow they didn't think too much of my solution and my request got lost. But project leaders don't get where they are with poor memories. Some time last week, after our fearless leader expressed disappointment to the consultant about the lack of progress on this, I was inspired to action. I pushed hard to get this completed, but my urgency was dashed. The reply I received with the refusal was, "we're too busy." Summoning my boundless patience, I acknowledged their burden and agreed to wait. But they would have to reserve capacity to support me in the following week. I don't care how many knowledge base hours it would take, just reserve the necessary time for me and mark it down on the little calendar back in Munich.

Today, I receive an email indicating confusion and lack of direction. Of course my month-long request is unclear, especially since I lack the fine skill of clear communication. So I called, to convey, explain, and articulate. They told me it couldn't be done. I pushed back. They said it didn't make sense for them to do it, and that I should do it myself. I pushed back again, and they finally relented, but it would take days. Fine, I already had them reserve the capacity for me last week anyways.

Within 45 minutes, an email arrives, proclaiming that it was done. I was pleasantly shocked and as content as a caffeine-wired consultant could be. Alas, naive me, setting myself up for disappointment like that, believing before seeing. I checked the work, it wasn't complete. They only downloaded the headlines but not the articles. Once again, I called and listened to their bewilderment at my unusual request. "Why retrieve some articles, and which ones? How would we know what you want to read?" I brushed aside the concerns and insisted that we absolutely needed it. They weren't happy and dubiously expressed the utility of my request, even complaining that their previous good work (all of 45 minutes worth) was all for naught! Not true and I didn't care, "Just do it!" The skeptical and very reluctant KB promised it would take days, weeks even. But since they were so kind, they offered the possibility of working evenings to support such an unreasonable demand. I had already reached the point of indifference, as long as it was in the works.

To my astonishment, around 8pm Munich time, I got an email saying they were done, and they really were. They must've worked really hard, like 3 hours straight. So twice in one day they over-delivered by under-promising the delivery times and exaggerating the effort involved. And though I am grateful, just a little, that they finally completed the project, even working very late by German standards, I am left with the sense of dissatisfaction. I'm incredulous at the requisite explaining, bargaining, begging, demanding. How about some support without the hem haw? Life is just too short. Good thing there's always time on the plane.

Two Quick Reasons Why NYC is better than Munich

svjohnny — Fri, 18 May 2007 09:38:00 -0400

I just love being back to this wonderful city. Sure, comparing NYC to Munich isn't even a fair fight and I could probably write a book on it, but I will just share two quick reasons, revelations during my morning commute to the office. The first being the subway. Yes, it's dirtier here, but I like it that way. It's cheaper ($2 USD vs 2.3 Euros) and it's just gritty. Riding the yellow line down Broadway feels more grounded and less snootty than all the S-Bahn, U-Bahns with their clear time schedules and trains full of people decked out in full business attire. And the best part of it, walking out of the station doesn't mean being caught in a trail of second hand death that simply can't be avoided. It's amazing how people in Germany must light one up as soon as they get of the train, leaving behind a wake of the poison they require to get them through their miserable days. In New York, people just grab a coffee.

Which leads me to the second reason - cup sleeves. What a concept, something to prevent you from burning your hand while you carry your hot beverage on the German rail system. While I am grateful for the Starbucks in the main train station downtown (the first Starbucks I've bought something from in Europe), they just don't have cup sleeves. I simply can't explain why not. And since I'm griping, the soy milk in Europe sucks. Silk needs to get into the market over there somehow. The watered down stuff just doesn't cut it.

Morning commute: NYC - 2, Munich - 0.

Atlanta Brain Tonic

svjohnny — Sun, 13 May 2007 15:27:00 -0400

Speaking of mental relaxation, I came across this photo I took back in Atlanta at the Coca-Cola Museum. Back in the day, Coke was marketed as some kind of medical elixir. The museum described the evolution of its marketing campaign over the years.

Relieves exhaustion and who knows what else

So about Atlanta, in which I got to do some sightseeing during my last week. Was also lucky to visit the Georgia Aquarium, the largest one in the world. The highlight being the ginormous whale sharks, but one of my personal favorites are the penguins.

What are we doing in Hotalanta? Need a Coke to chill out...

Kick Off Week

svjohnny — Sun, 13 May 2007 14:59:00 -0400

Resting up in my hotel room in Munich right now. This past week we held the main event, the kick off for our clients in Berlin. 40+ people from various geographies flew in for 3 days to learn about the project and start their participation. Being understaffed, our consultant team assumed a fair share of the workload, ensuring the smooth running of the events. My daily schedule consisted of 5 hours of sleep, and then running around all day between prepping presentations and agendas, attending meetings, explaining the project, advising the client leader, analysis work, and requisite social events for team building and client entertainment. It's definitely been the most work I've put into a project so far. The huge positive is that it's also been a tremendous learning experience for me, and not me slaving away at inane work. The good news is that help is on the way and we're expecting another consultant to come on board; the bad news is I doubt the workload will decrease as a result.

In my feeble attempt to balance out a little more life during this period, I'm sandwiching a trip to LA in the upcoming 3 weeks that I'll be working in the US. It's been quite a while since I've been home to see the family and especially grandma. Some hugs to be doled out are in serious delinquency. Speaking of which, it's Mother's Day, so don't forget to give your mama a fat enthusiastic one along with some appreciation.

I feel that my fatigue is palpable in my writing and I apologize for that since I always strive to be a source of energy. I will say though, that my mood is generally good and I'm not unhappy or anything. What I feel is much needed though, is some kind of mental massage. It gets a bit lonely in these hotels on Sunday nights, and it's not like one can always hang out at the bar for relaxation.

Backlogged

svjohnny — Sat, 05 May 2007 15:38:00 -0400

Damn my updates are so infrequent! Been stressing a lot lately at work, flying back and forth between the States and Joy-many. The team has been overworked because, um, to put it nicely, the scope of the project was not in line with the initially assigned resources. So I'm covering about 3-4 people's worth of work right now, and it ain't helping my personal life or health at all. The good news is help is purportedly on its way. Pray for that for me. Anyhoot, I'm still alive and kicking, thanks for asking. And if you're considering a consulting gig while balancing a personal life, well, you've been warned.

Week Zero

svjohnny — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 16:18:00 -0400

So I was called to duty here in Germany for my latest project, one that will involve lots of traveling back and forth between Munich, Berlin, NY, and Orlando for the next 5 months. This week, designated Week Zero, is the implementation of a great idea that I have not experienced in my previous projects. This time is scheduled for the team to perform the necessary prep work before the project starts - quite the treat for both consultants and the clients. I would argue that this should be standard practice, and perhaps is so in other firms, considering our utilization rates (percent of consultant time that is billed over the course of a year) appears much higher. With more allotted downtime (unbilled time that is), we can spend more effort in the necessary ground work.

For me, there is the additional hurdle of getting used to living and working in Germany. Since I lack the infrastructure of an apartment, knowing how to get around, etc, I've spent a lot of energy working on these things. The last few days I've learned to somewhat navigate the subway system. My daily 35 minute commute consists of 3 train changes and 10 minutes walking. I've also been re-introduced to the hated notion of supermarkets closing at 8pm. For the most part, Germany and France are not consultant/INSEAD lifestyle friendly. Even leaving at an extremely respectable hour of 7:30 pm, I end up dining on quick carbo-heavy meals from the small train station shops. Sure I could enjoy relaxing European dinners, but that would kill my productivity for the night.

Coupled with my vacation in Asia, my constant movements between hotels force me to learning to live out of a suitcase. Still, I grumble at having to pack and unpack constantly. Even though I am happy to return to Fonty tomorrow night (to conduct all day interviews the following day), it's yet another instance of packing, flying, and waking up in another unfamiliar bed. Thank goodness it's the same timezone.

All in all, my current project seems very exciting. All the involved parties from my firm appear enthusiastic, committed, and extremely talented. I should be able to learn a bunch and enjoy knowing two new cities, Munich and Berlin. My final evaluation results and feedback sessions will wrap up in the next two weeks and I'll share the results and key learnings then. :)

Back to Work

svjohnny — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 12:10:00 -0400

I'm still alive! Just got back from my vacation in Singapore and Beijing, here in Munich on a new assignment. Lots of catching up to do on the blog front. Some pictures to follow.

Sticking it to the RIAA

svjohnny — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 14:11:00 -0400

I usually don't make political statements on this space, but if you happen to share my dislike of the RIAA and constant whining and lobbying to keep their near monopoly and Congress-granted right over obscene profits, then vote with your wallet, all $0.99 worth on iTunes. This is only for today, so check it out and send them a message.

Hired Guns

svjohnny — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 16:39:00 -0400

Less than two weeks left on my project here in Atlanta, just me and my trusty Russian colleague. Our project leader left for a 2-week vacation in Mexico last Friday. We're not mad at him for chilling on the beach while we slave away here, after all he had it planned for ages and the project received an unexpected extension. In many ways, I prefer it this way because I have the freedom to run things my way.

Last Thursday we held the major meeting of the project, what we call the Steering Committee meeting. Think of it as finals for consultants. A group of senior level executives, the CEO, COO, CFO, and all divisional VPs in our case, get together to hear about our progress and our suggestions. Under this kind of scrutiny, the true personalities of partners, project leaders, and consultants reveal themselves. Our project leader frantically modified and added content to the presentation according to individual meetings with these executives, trying to satisfy all the constituents ahead of the meeting. The downside of this is that we don't do the actual presenting; the client team leader here presents to the committee while we provide the support. And changing slides 5 minutes before the meeting can make any presenter nervous. The overwhelming workload leading up to that meeting drained us for sure. I counted out of the 16 week nights since February leading up to the meeting, we've left the office past 11pm 11 times, 7 of which past midnight. I have been told that the typical projects here are not as demanding from the work lack-of-life perspective, so this would be an aberration. My first project would confirm this. Nonetheless, the non-stop work set us up to expect a bit of slowdown.

Originally we thought the remaining two weeks would run out rather calmly, mostly focusing on hand-off to the client so they can continue to run things smoothly after our departure. Then the funny thing happened, we find ourselves saddled with additional work. In the past few weeks in my interactions with clients, I've noticed an increased number of remarks on how adept we are at making slides. Lo and behold, in the past two days we've been asked to help work on various presentations to the real higher ups back in the German HQ. All this on top of our existing tasks. I suppose it's natural for the clients who pay the big bucks for our services to expect this, even if it goes beyond the scope of our original project. And they've gotten used to seeing us work at all hours, so they figure dumping more on us shouldn't be a problem. The sad truth is we slide monkeys on the lower rung have no real say into this, leaving it to the partners to stick up for us. In all fairness, we've been instructed not to push ourselves too hard for the extra work. And in full disclosure, I somehow managed to get out of the office at 7:30 last night. Walking out into the parking lot and seeing a few more cars other than mine, breathing in the fresh air, and the realization of having a full night of my own ahead almost brought a tear to my eye. Good times.

Planes, Trains, Taxis

svjohnny — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 11:12:00 -0400

Sometimes life is a like and Steve Martin and John Candy movie, albeit often without the humor. Having spent my first winter in New York with next to zero weather disruptions, yesterday I endured the brunt of the late snow storm wacking the city in March. When I arrived at Atlanta airport at half past six and walked up to the departure billboard, the flights to New York flashed "canceled" across the board. Not a good feeling. The woman at the Delta counter was very kind when she heard about my predicament. At first she suggested routing me through Cincinnati, but quickly nixed that idea when she realized there was only 1 flight out of there to NY, and if that got canceled, I'd be stuck. She then found me a connection via Washington DC, the nation's capitol.

I hopped on the plane to DC, my first time there. Needless to say, all flights from there to NY got canceled as well. Thank goodness for corporate credit cards. I called Amtrak and booked one of few remaining seats on the train to NY. From the airport, I took a cab to Union Station. The weather there was pretty miserable as well, so I couldn't see much of the city. On the way to the station, I caught the Washington Monument, you know, the big phallic symbol of US world hegemony. Chauvinistic penii aside, I find the city an interesting place with tons of history, more than compelling enough for me to return for a proper visit.

Riding the Amtrak was another first for me. (Yes, I am so West Coast, deal with it.) The train ride turned out to be quite pleasant. There was a power plug in the cabin I sat in, and I was able to get some work done while listening to some tunes. The bad didn't come until I arrived in Penn Station around 3pm. One could see why the flights were canceled; snow, rain, sleet, slush all around. It was dirty, ugly, and down right nasty. And that didn't help for those waiting in the taxi line for 45 minutes. Having grown accustomed to Atlanta's 60+ degree weather, shivering in line under freezing rain after the day long travel detour was simply miserable.

In the cab I decided to skip the office, considering I'd only be there for 1-2 hours, and for what, turning in expense reports? I went straight home, committed to staying there, and opted to call into whatever remaining meetings I had for the rest of the day. Thank goodness for hot tea and local food delivery.

Total travel time door to door: 10 hours. Total sleep time: 1 hour on the plane. Total Steve Martin Ironic/Miserable Moments: 45 minutes. Total time in the office: 0.

March Madness

svjohnny — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 10:25:00 -0400

Quite an apt description of all the recent happenings and today in particular. Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone! Finally feeling the iron grip of work on my life loosening a bit, so I will allow myself to be swept away by college basketball fervor.