Work, life and things in between – Day 4: It takes a village!
A whole lot of people, common goals, stamina, sheer determination, a great deal of humour, the ability to care for each other in the process and usually one or two kind souls who bring muffins and bagels in the morning from time to time: That is what I call a village.
When I think about it, the 18 months that preceded the sale of our division were pretty much a frantic, non-stop, survival reality show. The business was losing money beyond the definition of acceptable, the board had given up on us, the Executive committee was irritated at our inability to turn the ship around and our clients were squeezing us for everything we had.
Our saving grace was that the economy was in the tank for everyone. As tough as conditions were at work, the employees had nowhere to go and for the most part, were still very committed to “the cause”. So, we all hung out together and took that division from loss to profit and from the ugly duckling to the desired bride and sold the damn thing.
Make no mistake, the toughest part is not to convince the buyer, it is to get to a coherent unified view from within and then present it. Every single time. It takes a village to make it happen.
Due diligence is not for the faint of heart. It is real hard work! Think of it as the last 12 hour deadline on the sale of your house which would stretch for 18 months, constantly negotiating, digging out new data, requesting more info, etc.…
While we were doing that (meeting with potential buyers and going through every turn and twist of internal data) we continued to support over 3 million employees and retirees around the world and implemented new systems and services also around the world and did so while conducting a major restructuring where we off-shored a large portion of the business and downsized our North American footprint significantly.
Not what you normally refer to as your typical day at the office.
My part of the deal was managing change (did I luck out or what??) and all Human Resources related issues and not to boast but on a good day there were fifteen a dozen.
This roller coaster came to an end on June 1st, (of 2010) and my own job ended on September 3rd, The time in between was to allow for a smooth transition. Of course, smooth is what I had in mind when I started out on this journey. Sometimes, though, life is like a box of chocolate to quote Forrest Gump and “you never know what you’re gonna get”!
I am now facing a new phase of my life.
My dad has always taught me to learn to love what I do instead of only wanting to do what I love. Controversial statement I would say, not one I tried on my kids, but nevertheless, the one I grew up with. It served me well as I had to sustain a pretty demanding schedule of time and commitment for a good stretch of my life.
Today, I look at my children and how they pursue their own passions, and seek to do what they love.
What if they were right and my dad was wrong? Read on.A whole lot of people, shared goals, stamina, sheer determination, a great deal of humour and the ability to care for each other in the process: That is what I call a village.
When I think about it, the 18 months that preceded the sale of our division were pretty much a frantic, non-stop, survival reality show. The business was losing money beyond the definition of acceptable, the board had given up on us, the Executive committee was irritated at our inability to turn the ship around and our clients were squeezing us for everything we had.
Our saving grace was that the economy was in the tank for everyone. As tough as conditions were at work, the employees had nowhere to go and for the most part, were still very committed to “the cause”. So, we all hung out together and took that division from loss to profit and from the ugly duckling to the desired bride and sold the damn thing.
Make no mistake, the toughest part is not to convince the buyer, it is to get to a coherent unified view from within and then present it. Every single time. It takes a village to make it happen.
Due diligence is not for the faint of heart. It is real hard work! Think of it as the last 12 hour deadline on the sale of your house which would stretch for 18 months, constantly negotiating, digging out new data, requesting more info, etc.…
While we were doing that (meeting with potential buyers and going through every turn and twist of internal data) we continued to support over 3 million employees and retirees around the world and implemented new systems and services also around the world and did so while conducting a major restructuring where we off-shored a large portion of the business and downsized our North American footprint significantly.
Not what you normally refer to as your typical day at the office.
My part of the deal was managing change (did I luck out or what??) and all Human Resources related issues and not to boast but on a good day there were fifteen a dozen.
This roller coaster came to an end on June 1st, (of 2010) and my own job ended on September 3rd, The time in between was to allow for a smooth transition. Of course, smooth is what I had in mind when I started out on this journey. Sometimes, though, life is like a box of chocolate to quote Forrest Gump and “you never know what you’re gonna get”!
I am now facing a new phase of my life.
My dad has always taught me to learn to love what I do instead of only wanting to do what I love. Controversial statement I would say, not one I tried on my kids, but nevertheless, the one I grew up with. It served me well as I had to sustain a pretty demanding schedule of time and commitment for a good stretch of my life.
Today, I look at my children and how they pursue their own passions, and seek to do what they love.
What if they were right and my dad was wrong? Read on.