They Wanted Callum Monks

They Got Bradley Branning

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L-o-S

A colleague whom sits opposite me, received a long time service award today. Ten years, yes, a decade with the company. The date she started with the company, I had left school and was in my third month at college. In the decade that has followed, I completed my A Levels, went to University and also got the first two years of my career (somewhat questionable description) kick started.

During the mini celebration at midday, the discussion soon moved to the other 'long termers' on our floor. GH confirmed he had been with the company twenty eight years. My colleague, J, came in with a quick insightful comment. "You do realise that you have been with this company longer than some people have been born?" There was laughter all around. I had realised that with my twenty seventh birthday literally around the corner, I was one of the handful to have been alive less time than GH had been an employee.

When I was younger, I dreamt of these moments. Well maybe dreamt is the wrong word, looked forward to. I remember my Dad's boss got a gold engraved cigarette lighter for five years service and then a gold pen for a few more, eight perhaps. I have always wanted to work for the same company for a considerable amount of time. However, the modern working life has little place for loyalty and we as people do tend to get restless. Who really wants to stay in the same company for a considerable amount of time, let alone the same actual job. The benefit of larger corporations is there are opportunities that present themselves on a regular basis. I suppose, it is also very important to be good at what you do. Large corporation do eventually get rid of the deadwood (even if it takes a little longer). What am I trying to say?

I would love to be able to blog here in ten years time (in some kind of description) and celebrate ten years with my employer but I am not naive. I am realistic and know that I may be lucky to last half that? Why? Well I think that the reality is I will want a new challenge and who knows my personal circumstances may have well changed. (I live in hope).

Final Day Frenzy

It was crazy as I expected, but I did eventually get out the door. As with all these things it is a rush to get everything done before the end of the day plus there is the extended lunch to say goodbye and wish me well in my new job. Although I was quite disappointed that by a twist of fate there were no members of the development team in (off sick or on holiday). Just the way it goes I suppose.

It was also all rather sudden when you consider I had two weeks off work before my final week and my colleagues were not informed until a few days into my holiday. Thankfully there was only a one month notice period in my contract, I am not sure how I would have filled out three months.

How do I feel after nearly four years service? Happy with the overall experience and how much I learned about a completely unknown industry. Thankful to the role lady luck played in dropping a fantastic manager and colleagues on the helpdesk which became the Dream Team. Not only this but the fact that I made some long term friendships, even with those on the "other side" of the sister company. However, I do feel a sense of emptiness. A sense of what could have been, what could have been achieved. If circumstances had been different, if the ship had sailed a different course. Never mind now, there is no point crying over spilt milk. I must concentrate on the future and my new role, new company, new colleagues and ultimately new lifestyle.

A close friend once remarked to me that the biggest regret of his career was staying in the same job (but more significantly same employer) for too long and the detrimental affect it had on his future aspirations. I did not want to make the same mistake, I had to move on, not just for career development but for my own personal development. It is time for the duckling to leave the nest.

On To The Next Rung

I knew the day would eventually come along; when I would leave my current job but I never thought it would be in such circumstances. I suppose these things never pan out as planned. The official communication was sent out today but things have been moving very fast since the verbal offer was made to me on Tuesday 5th August via the telephone.

At times I have woken up and had to pinch myself, am I really leaving and going to this new company. It will take some time to sink in but with a start date around the corner (8th September) and my new boss already sending me work during my week off to my personal e-mail address, I feel myself hitting the ground running.

How do I feel? Apprehensive but in equal measure very excited, a new challenge, a change of scenery and a fresh routine. But am I ready? No, of course not! What I'm looking forward to most is a clean state. Being able to start "all over" as the Americans would say is such a great feeling or rather release. Although on the other hand having to 'prove' myself once again is going to be interesting to say the least.

It is really difficult to describe but when you wait so long for something to happen and then finally when the wheels are in motion, you feel a little taken back. There are plenty of things I need to get around to sorting out, one of which is the future of this blog. I will no longer be able to write so candidly about life in the workplace as I have before. Perhaps this could become a weblog for up-and-coming analysts. Ultimately I want it to become a useful generic resource, rather than the pointless waffling it has tended to be in the past. Stay tuned.

The Measure Of A Man

What is the true measure of a man? Some say it is the level of shine in his shoes. Others say it is the quality of the suit he wears and I tended to agree until quite recently. Being out and about and meeting various customers and other business people in general I have discovered a new item. The watch.

Sure, it may just be another piece of jewellery with the main role of telling you the time of day but I feel it has ultimately a bigger purpose. It is there to make a statement.

It may be there to scream out, "I'm successful" or "I'm important" or even "I'm an extrovert!". There is a message there but it is not always easy to read. I wonder what my gold, rather simple Sekonda watch says about me? It was a gift from my friend Dave in November 2004. It is all about style rather than making a fashion statement.

The real question is though, which brand should I aspire to own? Omega, Swatch or the classic Rolex?

End Of An Era

The problem with eras drawing to a close is that you never truly appreciation their departure until long after the event. However, when you look at it in the cold light of day, eras are based on people and not on anything else. People come and people go but it is always a shame and surprise to see some people leave. Particularly when you get to the stage when you think you are on the verge of building something good. Or rather building upon on the most successful years for my business unit.

Nothing lasts forever, as difficult it is for me to comprehend and with change comes inevitably new opportunities. Something you would think I would relish? If I had been more involved in the process, perhaps I would be but I feel myself to a certain extent relegated and sidelined.

We have been here before? History does repeat itself! Within two months of joining the help desk, both the 2nd line analyst and my manager had resigned and moved on. The Operations Director had the burden to replace the manager and then build a new team. Not an easy task - particularly when the first preferential candidate turned it down at the eleventh hour after initially accepting. However, in a stroke of genius, the second choice (sloppy seconds?) turned out to be one of the best managers I have ever worked for. Three years later, I find the parallels starling but very different decisions being made for very different reasons.

The opportunity came around for me to say my piece and give my twenty pence worth and I duly obliged however I feel that the majority of what I said fell on deaf ears. To be honest, that does not bother me too much, the main part of the process was for me to vent my spleen and get the 'issues' out the in the open. I have to for once in my life be selfish and consider my own future and not that of my employer.

My Dad once said to me that the CEO of the multinational I worked for lost little sleep over the fact I was working extra hours on his forecourt in leafy Buckinghamshire. He was more concerned with the price of a barrel of oil and dealing with the next shareholders AGM. I was under this foolish notion that the man at the top would from to time to action think about the little people on the shop floor. It was a very interesting life lesson. It was perhaps the moment I started taking less pride in my job and it became just that a job and not a career move. I solemnly pray that in that case it will not be a case of history repeating itself.

Running On Empty

More and more I feel my life (well work which makes up a big chunk) resembles Groundhog Day. It is the constant cycle I find myself in, of getting up and dragging myself out of bed to getting ready, to getting into the office. Days are more similar than indifferent. Of course there is the odd venture out into the real world to see clients, attend courses and conferences but generally I find myself in the same place. Sat on my chair, tapping away on my laptop.

I find the gym a good release at the end of the day but that is only three out of five evenings. Plus there is only so much motivation and self estem the workout can provide. It is difficult to find any true motivation when you are ultimately just clock watching and waiting for 5.15pm to come around. Only to know that tomorrow it is the same cycle all over again.

This blog post is perhaps an early cry for help. I need a new challenge, I need to meet new and exciting people and more than anything else I need new direction and purpose. The main issue that needs to be resolved is will I find it here or elsewhere?

Narrowband

You would expect a worldwide brand such as Hilton to provide broadband internet access in all their room as a bare minimum. You would be wrong to make such an assumption. Even though in their literature it clearly states that you can find a broadband cable in the bedside desk drawer on in the wardrobe. I looked around but even with a cable, I could not see a socket it for it anywhere. My television came with a small remote keyboard but it did not seem to work (even though it had batteries inside). I really needed to check my work e-mail and also have a little web time to give in to my cravings. To begin with I connected up my work N73 and used good old fashioned dial up. I remember the number for our ISP at work and entered it in. It connected! Fantastic! However, it was only at 9.6KBps! Painfully slow and not ideal for web surfing, although I did sign into MSN for a few minutes. VPN connected but I was not able to connect the exchange server. OWA was a little better but it took forever to load up all the images for all the menu buttons. I opted to disconnect. There must be a beter way. There was. I loaded up the Nokia software and clicked on the Connect To The Internet button. A wizard took me through a process of selecting my mobile network. Once I clicked on Connect, I was instantly zapped onto the 3G network and had a transfer rate of 460.8KBps! This was great, I was finally able to check my work e-mail, log into Facebook and give the obligatory status update and also check a few other personal e-mail accounts.

In this modern world we live in, there has grown a certain expectation. When we book into a hotel, we expect certain things. A broadband internet connection (wireless or otherwise) is a neccessity, just like warm running water.

The Bravery Of Idiots Is Bravery None The Less

There was a sense of inevitablity when I was told. Even so, it still came as a bit of a shock. I bet if you had been there with a video camera, you would have picked up the surprised expression across my face. I knew it was serious, the moment I was taken outside for a "word".

Ultimately we all have to have sense of selfworth and act quite selfishly on some occassions and this was one of those moments. Not for me or you, but for the individual concerned. I do not blame them, golden opportunities are rare particularly in this industry. However, I only feel a sense of what could have been. There was so much yet to be achieved, so much to get done.

The saying goes that as one door closes, another opens and if this does hold true here, then I am wondering who will walk in. A friend's comment was this is a great opportunity for you Andrew, to not just consolidate my position but prove my worth (and not for the first time). The circumstances this time around are very different and although my influence may be greater, the holes in my experience are clear for everyone to see.

Only The One Requirement

Professionally I am in a really strange juncture in my career. I have some experience but not near enough to move onto the next opportunity but by the same token I am perhaps too old to be slogging it out on a help desk. It is interesting to see the journey I have already taken in the past few years and staggering to think I am just four years into my career and there are sixty two (perhaps more) to go. [This would normally be the point I would link to my personal blog to cover work experiences prior to November 2004, but that is not entirely necessary!]

Instead I find myself wondering what the future holds. It would be extremely foolish and ungrateful not to appreciate the mountains being moved for my benefit. Maybe that comes across far too selfish, not for my benefit then, for my "personal development". Obviously I am not really in a position to divulge the details but changes are afoot. I would never been receiving this kind of special treatment at another establishment. Proof, that good solid service, loyalty and integrity are hard currency, particularly in smaller firms which tend to always have a large employee turnover (or is that just the perception from the outside). Throughout the past year, there have been moments when I have doubted myself, felt uncomfortable and even way out in the deep end but I have met most (but not all) challenges with a smile and determined outlook.

Having said all of that, I know I could have done better, much better. I have not just let myself down but my colleagues too. Some would say I am being quite harsh, considering the circumstances and the leap from support to the business intelligence arena. There is a saying that in life, there are no second chances. Maybe, just maybe I have got my second bite at the cherry.

What will I do? What will I change and more importantly how will I be judged? These for the time being remain somewhat ambiguous questions. Whose answers will be answered (I hope) over time on this blog. For the time being, I need nothing but willpower. Nothing more left to say but ladies and gentlemen, wish me luck!

Commit or Die Trying

The title for this post sounds like the title of some gangsta rap, hip hop album. It is in fact the observation a member of the developement team made to me today. I was explaining my fear of running DTS (Data Transformation Services) particularly on live servers. (Maybe fear is not the right word, maybe relunctance would be more appropriate) He gave the typical gun ho response. If all else fails, wrap that code in a transact statement and rollback! "Andrew", he started, "you got to commit or die...commit or die trying...". I wanted to laugh but he was dead serious.

In a way I am glad I am quite far removed from the crazy world of development. Over in the commericial arm of the business there are just a few things that matter. Client meetings, chasing po numbers and raising invoices. Oh, we do fit in a little bit of work in between all of that but generally if you can organise the above three or at least two you are on the right track. I am glad I do not have any sales targets but then again I'm not a salesman (or person) so why should I? Does mean I miss out on the sales incentive scheme though!

It always has been a battle between the commericial pressures and the technical reality of what can be delivered. I do not think that is anything new for my workplace, I think it is the same story for organisations big and small across the globe.

The Dream Team: One Night Only

When people leave your work place, you make a half hearted promise to keep in touch, to meet up and go out. It rarely pans out that way. The sudden realisation of going from seeing the person every weekday to merely picking up the odd status update on FaceBook is quite a bittersweet pill to swallow. They leave your local social radar and fall onto the fringes. However, I try and make an effort to keep in touch with some people. Some people you e-mail on and off, for a few months (or up to perhaps a year) after they leave but usually this pitters out as well. It is the rare few you keep in contact with and develop a friendship outside of work (which is usually better for both parties).

You can imagine my surprise this afternoon to get a call from Chris. Not sure why he was calling me (on my work mobile). I was due to see him on Saturday night for his birthday and once again next Wednesday for another colleague's leaving do. It was coming up to 4pm, I was in Newbury at a client site but leaving shortly. Concindently, Peter, my other ex-colleague from the helpdesk days was in Newbury as well. I explained I would give Chris a call back once I was in my car to arrange things. It was not exactly fair to be taking a personal call at a client site in the presence of said client.

While I do not miss the helpdesk, I miss working with these guys. It was a great team, everything just clicked and we worked like a well oiled machine. I might be overplaying it (just slightly) but it was a fun atmosphere. Subway on Fridays and silly games like trying to get as many songs by a particular artist into a support call. Classic moments. Now nothing but mere memories.

When everything is said and done, I look back and feel I am in someway responsible for the team disbanding in February last year. Perhaps I am, but nothing lasts forever, not even the Dream Team!