Over the last month or two, I've found myself uncomfortably busy.
We had an engineer on our team resign, and I ended up picking up all his
accounts. This was fair, as I'd been complaining for months that I didn't have
enough to do. But it fast turned into a "be careful what you wish
for" kind of deal, as the new accounts are very high maintenance, and I've
resumed traveling more than I prefer.
However, the vacant engineering req has now been filled, and it
looks like some relief is in sight. I've begun establishing some limits with my
new account teams, and begun restricting the calls I'm willing to take in order
to free up my calendar for actual engineering work.
For example, a call I'm willing to take: "Discussion
surrounding network requirements for the deployment of multi-site on-demand video
solutions." A call I'm not willing to take: "A discussion of periodic
payments based on the financial vehicle used to purchase this project." In
my experience, implementation teams will suck me into every call they schedule,
regardless of the applicability to my actual job function. So I have to ensure
they'll take "no" for an answer, if the answer is applicable.
I still have a bit of trouble with some of my newer sales teams in
that they don't know how the sales process works at our company. This means
they assume that sending me an e:Mail will result in the magical manifestation
of a bill of materials, a professional services contract, a scope of work, and
a financial vehicle for them to present to the customer without them having to
perform any of the mundane tasks associated with this work. Note: This is not
their fault when all they receive is the "go do it" training. But I
do expect them to learn and remember when I provide guidance.*
So I'm getting more of a handle on my professional life, and I
hope to reduce my travel, as well. I dislike not getting a chance to spend time
with that dude I live with - I kind of like him. And the fuzzy head-case, too.
___________
*Because I'm a bloody optimist, that's why. Shut up.
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