Normal Services Will Resume...

Wow, it's been 8 months... this is pretty bad for a blog!

In my defence, life has thrown some very interesting and at times difficult things at me this year. One of the best for my career though has been joining Kaia.  Everyone has a career move that either makes sense or is a complete mistake - I believe it's something that can teach you a lot though.  For all the negatives, I did learn some valuable lessons in regards to running a business, taking a risk and going the extra mile when you feel it's right.

I've joined a company that has the same frame of mind as my own - Kaia is very much similar to how I would like to do business, but its something more.  The thing that makes this company so different is the level playing field - we have no managers, no underlings no office politics - it's refreshing. I have always believed the best management method was to give people as much rope as they need to go and do what they need to - the end result has always been rewarding (Both the rope giver, and the one at the end of it) - for that I think I am very lucky.  It's not often you get to land on your feet and find yourself running well.

This mentality has enabled me to really push myself as an individual, but still feel connected to the company and an integral part of it. The proof is in the performance I guess, as the last 3 months I have outperformed the last 3 years in terms of output, sales volume and job satisfaction. (My own personal records have been beaten and I am pretty pleased with it!)

Since moving I've also run into a few problems with housing - both cases induced by really very bad Landlords.  The first decided that as the market appeared to be doing well he would sell - so we had to go.  I get everything sorted, and move the family to a new town, all in short notice but we do it.  This led to other problems, that ultimately just made us all unhappy.  As a worker (not just as a sales person, but anyone doing a job) it's really important to have some balance in life, and to be happy at home.

Sadly the balance was not there, so 5 months in and we move again.  This time, unfortunately we got struck by some really quite petty and moronic landlords.  We used an agency, that referenced us, took the deposit and had everything sorted. We were due to move in, then 2 hours before we get the keys the landlords decide they won't rent to us, and will not tell us why!  So... 1.5 days left in the old house, with nowhere to go. The answer? Resort to my normal method of dealing with stuff - solve it.

After visiting every estate agent we could, I finally found a property with a landlady willing to take us in, and we settled all the paperwork that afternoon. The next day, everything moved from one house 25 miles away and handing the keys back for 6pm. Result: Instantly more relieved and happy - despite the massive stress, the turmoil and upset those people put us through, we were happy.  We had achieved something that seemed pretty much impossible.

In between all this hassle, getting used to a new job and just not allowing myself a moment to reflect something quite amazing happened.  I noticed that my 7 year old was choosing to read a book, he was sat quite happy and instead of his usual routine of playing Lego or with his brother he wanted to read.  That's not too surprising, for a young boy of his age - the surprising thing was the book he was reading.  It's aimed at kids much older than him and he was reading it without help proficiently - its to my wife's credit that she has taught him to do that, but his "term" time has finished now.  He is doing it by choice, because he wants to get to the last book in the collection. (There are over 90 books, and he is now on the 6-7th one)

I think too often people forget to have goals, and forget why they start something in the first place.  Goals are important, without them we have no way of defining how good we are at something, or what we need to do to achieve better for ourselves.  Maybe once in awhile, we should all just sit and think what am I doing? What got me here? What is influencing my decisions currently and does it match up to what I wanted to do?

For the reader who hasn't guessed the motive behind this blog post, there is a lesson in this story - always keep yourself motivated.  If you have a goal, go for it. Do not stop, do not wait for others to catch you up and certainly do not take no for an answer - remember the reason you started and what the end goal is.  I firmly believe (with a lot of "life experiences" to prove it) that anybody can achieve anything if they really dedicate themselves to something.

"If you put your mind to it, you can achieve anything!"

The Rant. It was overdue, surely?

So.  This would be the rant, it's been festering like a nasty bite from a horrible little bug.

The one thing that I hate most within offices is "office politics" - in my view, it simply has no place in a cohesive and modern working environment.  For the most part, I do manage to avoid it - partly by working remotely and partly because I just don't rise to it.  That's the lesson today, if anything, avoid office politics like the plague.

The worst kind seems to be when you are getting stuck in the middle of something, something that you are not entirely privy to and yet you have on your plate to deal with.  The mature thing would be to just forget about it and move on, but I'm a stubborn type and like to dig and dig until I have uncovered everything I can.  It's probably one of my greatest and weakest attributes in one.

It would be great if we could all work in an environment that excludes this type of politics, where everyone is almost equal (clearly, not everyone will be always be equal, but I have seen companies that try really hard to emulate this, to some degree of success).  Imagine not having to second guess things? You would be free to focus and not wonder what people are really playing at, what are the end goals of your colleagues or superiors?  My wife informs me quite often, that's normal for an office.  Offices are essentially full of bitchy people that like to whine and moan, then go home and repeat the next day.  In some ways, I have been lucky to avoid that so far in my career.

As a sales person, it's important to focus on the positives, and to a degree just ignore and phase out the negatives - they don't help you sell.  However, there is a point where those negatives prevent you selling, and that's just bad for business.  You won't perform to your full potential.

Thats the point where the drawing board needs to come down, and everyone needs to hash it out.  I like to think of it as an imaginary boxing ring.

Next time you find yourself in the position where you are angry at work, or feel frustrated by management, don't be afraid to set the ring and go a few rounds.  Honesty goes a long way - if your employer is worth anything, they will find this refreshing and will engage with you.  You should be able to walk away knowing your employers care for your opinion (they may disagree with you of course) and you both walk away wiser and more prepared to do well the next day.

Clearing the air is the best way to resolve these office politics - otherwise they fester and ruin a perfectly good "thing".