Lessons Learned From Dilbert

For the past who-knows-how-many years, I have given my father Dilbert themed gifts at every holiday for him keep at his desk. Whenever I went to buy one of these calendars or books, I would read a page or two, trying to understand what he thought it was so funny about a comic strip that sounded exactly like his stories about work. (I never understood his stories about work, let alone thought they were funny, but my mom would just tell me to shut up and buy it for him.)

*For those of you who do not know who Dilbert is, he is a comic book character created by Adam Scott based on a typical white-collar corporate engineer working in an environment full of corporate jargon and meaningless meetings with other ridiculously stale and corporate people. It basically a satires technology, workplace, and other company issues.*

Moving on...

After beginning work in the corporate arena myself, I went back and read some of the comic strips my dad kept after his retirement and was soon rolling on the ground laughing. I thought it was hysterical probably because now I understood the key reason why my dad thought it was funny...because it's so closely related to the real topics of communication and management people must deal with everyday at work--almost scary close. And sometimes, it's just easier to laugh at it then to beat yourself into submission over it.

Well, while the comic is funny, it does teach some good lessons on at least NOT how to act in the workplace, and that I can find informational as well as useful in winding down from a nearly 11 hour work day.

So, watch this movie and enjoy the fact that at least for the next 12 hours you don't have to deal with this.

I'm Bad at Keeping My Balance

I am generally known in best terms as "energetic" and "up-beat," but the fact that I am writing this blog post at midnight on a Tuesday will testify that these days I am what some would politely called "stretched thin."

Work/Life balance hasn't really been in issue for me, since I was and the typically student that went off to college for four years and did the whole campus thing full time. Of course I had a little part time job at the school newspaper, but that would never get in the way having fun...err...I mean studying.

Well, here I am yet again, exhausted at midnight, trying to complete my coursework for the master program I dropped everything for to move up here and pursue. And, yes, since I have been working full time now for quite a while I told myself I would just do that too. No one told me how difficult this would be.

However, I read this article on NPR tonight that gave me a little hope about the work/life balance some employers are offering their employees. It speaks to the needs of the modern family when it comes to deciding how much time you're really willing to spend at the office...or maybe at school...when you have a lot of other stuff on your plate, like family and school.

Anyways, check it out. I promise I'll write a more enthralling blog post next time, but until then...

Keep it Classy :)

Work in tee minus 7 hours, 49 minutes, 32 seconds and counting...

Genie In a Bottle

We all the know the old myth of the genie in the bottle and the three wishes. It was a fascinating story in that something so powerful as a genie was subject to the confines of tiny bottle. And on top of that, once you let it out you became its master and would be granted three wishes. It was always a popular story because who doesn't want to get everything they ever wanted for from a magical blue dude that really knows how to crack a one-liner.

Well, if I learned anything from Robin Williams and Alladin, it is that you have to be careful what you wish for, because you never can be sure how it will  turn out actually having everything you ever thought you wanted.

It's a good fable with a good lesson, and it's one that has recently been a great metaphor for the almighty world wide web and the international communication revolution it has brought to citizens and corporations alike. Who doesn't want to be able to have everything you ever wanted, said or created at the click of button, or that you could communicated with any of the millions of people around the world in a matter of seconds through a tiny screen you can take anywhere.

As this wish is becoming ever more true with each new app, registered facebook user, and technology upgrade, apparently many governments and corporations are starting to think they go more than they "wished" for. Recently, google co-founder Sergey Brin has characterized the internet as that "genie in the bottle," in an interview with The Guardian. Only these days, the once free and open internet is being attacked on multiple sides from governments censoring content and regulating data, to the entertainment industry pushing SOPA and PIPA legislation to shut down piracy websites. Even the technology corporations themselves, like Apple, Facebook, and Google included, are imposing restrictions via their separate and incompatible platforms.

As Brin puts it, it seems "I thought there was no way to put the genie back in the bottle, but now it seems in certain areas the genie has been put back in the bottle," he said. However, the effects of trying to control something as large and collaborative as the internet could prove to be difficult as best, if not entirely pointless and impossible at worst.

You see, this wish has simply gotten too big to control. As one chinese activist remarks about his country's attempt to control internet in his country, "In the long run, they must understand it's not possible for them to control the internet unless they shut it off – and they can't live with the consequences of that." And I believe him.

My only question then is: "If you use your second wish to undue your first, what will you final wish end up being?"

Professional Demeanor - My Hippie Past and How I Got to Where I am Today

Oh, professional demeanor, how you have been my arch nemesis for so long. Don't you think it's time to bury the hatchet? Reluctantly, I do think it's time. Because you can't move onto the future without letting go of the past. So, here's a look at where I came from and the road I traveled to get where I am today.

Things you can get away with when you're a server at an organic foods restaurant:

• Calling your boss "man"
• Calling your co-workers "man"
• Calling your customers "man"
• OK, really calling anyone "man" ... moving on
• Scribbling orders down on a tiny sheet of paper and then improvising later when you can't read them
• Referring to the chalkboard as the main menu
• Opting out of the uniform entirely and just wearing your tie-dye skirt with flip-flops
• Bringing your freelance work to the restaurant to work on during your break

You get the idea, there was a time when I wasn't much of a professional.  Of course this is what many people might call "the college years" or "the good old days", but for me, I was happy to keep this trend going for a little while longer after college since I graduated during one of the most difficult times for new graduates to get a job. I couldn't find full-time work in my field, so I waited tables at a few different restaurants while I picked-up freelance jobs around town.

I had a very laid-back approach with my freelance work and clients. We'd meet up for lunch, sometimes even during a break in my shift at the restaurant, and we'd sketch out a design for a logo or talk about ideas for website content.  I'd do the work on my couch at home while throwing toys for my dog to retrieve, and things just seemed to work out pretty well.

Needless to say, when I did finally land a full time position as a web marketing specialist with an accounting firm, I was in for a rude awakening. I remember being introduced at my first department meeting and being asked to talk about my professional experience. I said something along the lines of: "Well, before this job I was waiting tables ... so this is definitely an upgrade for me!" I spent the next few months trying to live down that statement and prove to them that I did in fact have the technical skills and knowledge they thought they hired me for.

Things you CAN'T get away with when you're a professional at a corporate accounting firm:

• Calling your boss "man"
• Calling absolutely anyone "man" ... I learned that one very quickly
• Pairing a band t-shirt with any kind professional attire, including a blazer (because you can't hide it, no matter if you button it up or not.)
• Jamming out to your music while working (I was caught in the act of "cubicle karaoke" by my superiors several times)
• Giving your emails humorous subject lines
• Getting caught joking around with your co-workers (including any kind of impersonation or acting out of humorous anecdotes)

Again, I think you get the idea. I had trouble with professional demeanor. And it was difficult for me to get over that because I was in the mentality that as long as my work was of professional quality, that that's all that mattered. I was sadly mistaken. It took me a good year to put most of my bad habits to rest. However, I slowly learned that my communications skills in the workplace, both verbal and non-verbal, spoke as loud as my work did, if not louder. I also learned that the way you communicate and present yourself affects your productivity and ability to work with your co-workers and superiors in a way that they will take you seriously as a professional.

I think the pivotal point for me was excelling in my work, winning professional awards, and then not having anyone believe me when I referenced them. Maybe a part of me thought it was a fluke as well, but I realized that  I did have the talent and the experience to make it in the corporate realm, I just needed to live up to the standards of my position in the company, and that meant embracing professional demeanor as one of them.

Maybe all these things seemed like common sense to some, but it was certainly a transition for me. I learned a lot about verbal and non-verbal communication in the corporate environment from my work at the accounting firm, and I am still learning. I may still a hippie at heart, but I have become a young professional that can represent my work and myself in a way that gets me the right recognition from my co-workers, superiors, and other professionals in the industry. I just try to wait until after five o'clock to return to my more eccentric roots.