in a fit of particularly intense procrastination, i thought i had found a way out of the vicious cycle of irrelevant google searches. inspired, i typed in 'how to stop procrastinating'.
it brought me to a website that made me examine the underlying reasons for procrastinating, fear, anxiety, being overwhelmed, and such psychological insights. i had never examined it in such depth. what i thought was simply: 'i don't feel like doing it' was in fact due to underlying fears and anxieties. it was a revelation.
at the bottom of the page the website asked for a donation if the information was helpful. helpful? it was my new bible! the donation? i'll do it later.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Blogging Dangerously by a Published Author
the frustrated writer types words into a field, then hits 'publish'.
instantly he is gratified. now i am a published author, he thinks. a dream accomplished in mere minutes.
'the daily outsource' floats through his dreams. a forum where he gets to be witty and cynical about outsourcing. how could people resist it allure? oh how they would flock to his little corner of the internets. and he would rival those cute cats with their abhorrent grammarz.
waking up particularly proud of himself. he looked down at the world from his bed. then he got up which made looking down at the rest of the unpublished world even easier.
he briefly worried. his site would be overcrowded. the internet would have broken under the massive strain of people trying to read his witty repartees on an obscure (though very relevant in today's economy) process: outsourcing.
page views: 2
his and his mom's.
whatever. van gogh never sold a painting.
but at least he had paint to eat. the writer starves, because he is too good to turn his back on his trade. he has too much to tell the world about outsourcing. but there is no paint to eat. he must make to with licking motherboards. BZZZZAP!
good thing he is consistent. and at least he's a published author.
there are so many amateurs out there.
instantly he is gratified. now i am a published author, he thinks. a dream accomplished in mere minutes.
'the daily outsource' floats through his dreams. a forum where he gets to be witty and cynical about outsourcing. how could people resist it allure? oh how they would flock to his little corner of the internets. and he would rival those cute cats with their abhorrent grammarz.
waking up particularly proud of himself. he looked down at the world from his bed. then he got up which made looking down at the rest of the unpublished world even easier.
he briefly worried. his site would be overcrowded. the internet would have broken under the massive strain of people trying to read his witty repartees on an obscure (though very relevant in today's economy) process: outsourcing.
page views: 2
his and his mom's.
whatever. van gogh never sold a painting.
but at least he had paint to eat. the writer starves, because he is too good to turn his back on his trade. he has too much to tell the world about outsourcing. but there is no paint to eat. he must make to with licking motherboards. BZZZZAP!
good thing he is consistent. and at least he's a published author.
there are so many amateurs out there.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Wanted: God
It is God's will they say.
God's will we die. God's will we are murdered. God's will cities are destroyed. Eventually, he intends to kill us all.
Thank God the FBI is finally taking action.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
nomadic wisdom
i was talking with a girl in a bar and she said something that stuck to me.
"wisdom lies in traveling," or something along those lines. it was one of those mundane conversations where all of a sudden there is an epiphany staring you in the face. and it never leaves you alone again.
and i take her words to heart. not that i believe every wandering nomadic hobo has lessons to impart. but you should at least try to listen to the hobo, he may tell you something very important, like to watch out for that truck.
"wisdom lies in traveling," or something along those lines. it was one of those mundane conversations where all of a sudden there is an epiphany staring you in the face. and it never leaves you alone again.
and i take her words to heart. not that i believe every wandering nomadic hobo has lessons to impart. but you should at least try to listen to the hobo, he may tell you something very important, like to watch out for that truck.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
[insert poetic reference to rebirth]
[insert obvious philosophical statement]
and so the time has come for me to part
[inset cliche about taking the path less traveled by]
the contractions of destiny have begun to push me out of the [czech] womb that has been my [safe] haven
[insert referral to lessons learned]
no longer will a graciously take what is forced into me through my umbilical chord
[insert assertion of freedom]
life is too long to remain in the womb and the amniotic fluid begins to stagnate.
rot sets in.
and like a recently expelled fetus
i will cry my lungs raw.
[insert new job]
and my soul will be silenced once more.
and so the time has come for me to part
[inset cliche about taking the path less traveled by]
the contractions of destiny have begun to push me out of the [czech] womb that has been my [safe] haven
[insert referral to lessons learned]
no longer will a graciously take what is forced into me through my umbilical chord
[insert assertion of freedom]
life is too long to remain in the womb and the amniotic fluid begins to stagnate.
rot sets in.
and like a recently expelled fetus
i will cry my lungs raw.
[insert new job]
and my soul will be silenced once more.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Outsourcing 102 – Client relationships
The last couple of entries have been served a la outsourcing: light. all the fun and games of outsourcing and none of the serious issues.
the relationship between client and provider in outsourcing is more complex than in most other methods of service delivery.
the extra complexity results (among others) from the fact that outsourcing deals work both for the client and with the client, being both co-worker and customer at the same time. providing an excellent service is often reliant on the cooperation and performance of the client themselves. the truth is that no matter how much effort the client has to put in to the process before it is handed over to the outsourced part and no matter how mutually dependent both areas are, it is extremely difficult to create the perception of unity between client and the outsourced part. in the standard client to provider relationship there is no need to create this sense of unity.
there are a couple of important factors in establishing a good client-provider relationship.
1. drive - take the extra step - do NOT push back to enforce the procedures. procedures can be out-dated or certain situations may have changed. it takes for ever to change the procedures. use common sense to find work-arounds if the procedures are not working. you will not get punished for doing more work than necessary (perhaps make it clear that u are making an extra step and are willing to make it) if you are cooperative and the client knows this they will be much more willing themselves to cooperate and put in more effort to make your life easier. of course there are always assholes, but remember the client is not being an asshole, they just want to have the results they expected when they signed the deal. they want to exceed at what they do, and consequently expect us (the outsourced area) to exceed at what we do. however underpaid and over-worked we may be.
the deal where i work also gives assignments to an additional third party. and in some processes we are the link between to departments of the client. the problem is that sometimes these departments disagree with each other and we are in the middle. so no matter what we do we manage to piss somebody off. do not take resulting frustrations personally. indicate you are doing the best you can and understand their frustration.
2. communication- in any relationship, whether business or personal communication plays in the star cast. it demands to be mentioned in the credits before the title (just like angelina jolie or anthony hopkins and sadly also jim carrey).
in outsourcing, you represent the client. let them know what you are up to. after all, you are undertaking actions in their name. it's only fair they should know what they are.
although this step may be simple, it's easy to neglect the communication. often people wonder, "is it really necessary to inform them of this tiny detail?" to be honest. it is not. but the client will appreciate being kept up to speed and it will ease whatever doubts they have. and it is good for the client to be doubt free. and they will love you for it.
3. honesty - there may come a time when you are tempted to lie to your client. after all, how are they going to know. morality has nothing to do with being honest with the client. it is just good business. the benefits are as follows, if it is bad news, the client knows that you are aware of it and are taking steps to fix it. if you do not tell them and they discover whatever you lied about (and they will), if they do not realize you were lying (which would be very bad) then they will think you were ignorant of the situation (also very bad). remember ultimately to the external customer there is no difference between the outsourced part and the client. whatever you lie about will eventually become evident to the client. it would be best if it came from you.
another reason to be honest is because as stated earlier, ultimately, the client wants the outsourced area to do well. they may have suggestions and solutions to provide you. they may even take that extra step for you if they feel you deserve it.
remember to use common sense though. honesty should always be tempered with tact.
after writing this piece, i considered changing the title to Obvious 102, but from experience it is evident that these simple rules are not always considered. my former boss included, but we were able to mend what the boss relentlessly tried to destroy adhering to the tenets described above. besides, something must have happened to make him my former boss.
the relationship between client and provider in outsourcing is more complex than in most other methods of service delivery.
the extra complexity results (among others) from the fact that outsourcing deals work both for the client and with the client, being both co-worker and customer at the same time. providing an excellent service is often reliant on the cooperation and performance of the client themselves. the truth is that no matter how much effort the client has to put in to the process before it is handed over to the outsourced part and no matter how mutually dependent both areas are, it is extremely difficult to create the perception of unity between client and the outsourced part. in the standard client to provider relationship there is no need to create this sense of unity.
there are a couple of important factors in establishing a good client-provider relationship.
1. drive - take the extra step - do NOT push back to enforce the procedures. procedures can be out-dated or certain situations may have changed. it takes for ever to change the procedures. use common sense to find work-arounds if the procedures are not working. you will not get punished for doing more work than necessary (perhaps make it clear that u are making an extra step and are willing to make it) if you are cooperative and the client knows this they will be much more willing themselves to cooperate and put in more effort to make your life easier. of course there are always assholes, but remember the client is not being an asshole, they just want to have the results they expected when they signed the deal. they want to exceed at what they do, and consequently expect us (the outsourced area) to exceed at what we do. however underpaid and over-worked we may be.
the deal where i work also gives assignments to an additional third party. and in some processes we are the link between to departments of the client. the problem is that sometimes these departments disagree with each other and we are in the middle. so no matter what we do we manage to piss somebody off. do not take resulting frustrations personally. indicate you are doing the best you can and understand their frustration.
2. communication- in any relationship, whether business or personal communication plays in the star cast. it demands to be mentioned in the credits before the title (just like angelina jolie or anthony hopkins and sadly also jim carrey).
in outsourcing, you represent the client. let them know what you are up to. after all, you are undertaking actions in their name. it's only fair they should know what they are.
although this step may be simple, it's easy to neglect the communication. often people wonder, "is it really necessary to inform them of this tiny detail?" to be honest. it is not. but the client will appreciate being kept up to speed and it will ease whatever doubts they have. and it is good for the client to be doubt free. and they will love you for it.
3. honesty - there may come a time when you are tempted to lie to your client. after all, how are they going to know. morality has nothing to do with being honest with the client. it is just good business. the benefits are as follows, if it is bad news, the client knows that you are aware of it and are taking steps to fix it. if you do not tell them and they discover whatever you lied about (and they will), if they do not realize you were lying (which would be very bad) then they will think you were ignorant of the situation (also very bad). remember ultimately to the external customer there is no difference between the outsourced part and the client. whatever you lie about will eventually become evident to the client. it would be best if it came from you.
another reason to be honest is because as stated earlier, ultimately, the client wants the outsourced area to do well. they may have suggestions and solutions to provide you. they may even take that extra step for you if they feel you deserve it.
remember to use common sense though. honesty should always be tempered with tact.
after writing this piece, i considered changing the title to Obvious 102, but from experience it is evident that these simple rules are not always considered. my former boss included, but we were able to mend what the boss relentlessly tried to destroy adhering to the tenets described above. besides, something must have happened to make him my former boss.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
