Review

Think, ponder, shuffle, dissect, ponder some more, and then open yourself to a conclusion. In all areas of life we subconsciously run through our behaviors and histories to help decide what's next. Could be simple or complex, but what is next? I know for sure the next few months will be cold, snowy, and gray. It's January and February in the land of 10,000 lakes and this affects the moods of all us "Oh yahhh" folk up in this great state. Spring is clearly the next thing to look forward to, but that's just the weather...

Lately the "Next" has been the issue with my career. I'm a good worker, but if I decide to stay in what I'm currently doing I have to engage some things differently. I need to treat some people differently, work a little differently, and expand overall. Hopefully I will. Hopefully I will believe and embrace what I need to. However, in this mental review of my career recently, I found my self literally giving three employee reviews and receiving one myself. Now where my employees are concerned I have three distinctly different people. One male, two females, and each with an agenda. One agenda is to simply work and exist, another is to maintain a subtle amount of drama in her life and in the workplace, and then finally we have the murkiest agenda of all... the selfish-low self esteem- arrogant-tell you what you want to hear kind of agenda. I'm officially done with that one. I will do what I must to interpret the things she cares not to know. And, I will do so daily.

As for me my marching orders are clear: Focus on the projects that matter, not the others. Delegate differently. Speak up more. Believe, have faith in the company. And, put my stamp on those projects of matter. Now is the time... I think that statement always means something different then the intentions of the soul uttering it. I think the desire in stating "Now is the time!" is to emphasize ones movement and passion towards something. But, this something... Is it what lives on a priority list of a department of a business. Or is there purposeful implication that you might mean "Now is the time for something else!"? I tend to think it's both.

The "Next" is I fight again. But, if that fight ends and the next fight looks, smells, and sounds the same as the good fight you just had. Well. Then I say "Now is the time to move on.". It's a tough belief. You're constantly wondering "If I fight, make it out of this with the vision of what it should be then I didn't give up. I didn't fold. I did it.". I really hate that part. That can be a worse kind of murky. The kind that keeps you bound to a belief that may or may not be the real challenge. I think I'll start saying something different... Maybe "Oh well." is all I need? I tried, and the only thing better then trying at something over and over again is trying something new.

So that's it. I'll try it again in 2010 and if it doesn't work I'll simply say "Oh well..." and try something new. Because you can't review the new, you can just try it!