willie jackson

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  • Pushback

    If you’re not looking out for yourself, no one is.

    Pushback is the term used to describe standing ones ground in the workplace. It could be an employee against a demanding boss, a project team against unreasonable deadlines, or a consultant against a unfavorable contract. You get the idea.

    Essentially, it boils down to how much of your time, effort, life, and vitality you’re willing to give something. That might sound hyperbolic, but it’s not. Corporate America, on the whole, is a heartless beast. It will drain you of every ounce of strength and free time that you have to give. Late nights, weekends spent working, and abbreviated vacations are represent the reality that some people live. I’m not saying that all companies are like that. Not at all.

    What I’m saying is that it can happen. You volunteer to work a weekend because you’re up for promotion and you want to look good for reviews. You stay late every Friday night so your boss can see you in the office once when everyone else is gone. Soon, you find yourself doing these things out of habit. Then these things become expected of you.

    That’s when the trouble starts.

    Actually, the trouble started the moment you volunteered without knowing what you were getting yourself into. It doesn’t have to be this way.

    It’s important to keep your career in perspective. Another 10 – 20K per year is not going to change your life. Your project will trudge on without you. You will never attend your child’s high school graduation and wish you could have spent more time in the office. Your significant other will never wish you’d stop leaving your Blackberry at home while you’re on vacation.

    Just a gentle reminder that work isn’t going anywhere.

  • It’s no wonder

    Is anything more important than customer service?

    I was in the airport this morning and had some time to kill. I walked up to a place that sold smoothies, and wondered why no one else was in line. The two stores next to the Smoothie place (fast food and coffee, respectively) had winding lines.

    I approached the young lady working there and asked her if they sold Acai smoothies. She gave an almost imperceptible nod – shyly, as if I correctly guessed the color of her undergarments and asked for confirmation. I smiled as I prepared myself for the conversation that would come next. Since it was obvious that the young lady detested her own employment, I diligently scoured the menu for the the Acai smoothies so I could complete my transaction with a minimum of friction (communication).

    I was unable to locate the section, so I asked her how the smoothies in question were sold. Without opening her mouth, she leaned across the counter and pointed to a display sign advertising the Acai smoothies. Somewhat helpful, thanks. At this point, I strongly considered leaving. I had to decide whether or not my patience could take the final leg of the transaction.

    I ordered the smoothie and it was great, but I couldn’t stop thinking about how awful her customer service skills were. I won’t be back, under any circumstances. Instead of me recommending them to my friend and readers, I’m posting this entry on how unpleasant my experience was.

    Looking back, I can’t imagine why people weren’t lining up for smoothies.

  • Outstanding Customer Service

    This is a quick note to highlight the outstanding service I received today at Enterprise Rent-A-Car (ERAC) in Boston, Massachusetts today.

    I spotted the ERAC shuttle in the distance and wondered if I could make it. I started towards the shuttle after stepping outside and tried to make eye contact with the driver, who had already closed the doors. To my delight, he spotted me and waited.

    As we pulled up to the ERAC office, the driver instructed us to leave our bags where they were and that he would unload them for us. As we stepped off the shuttle, a cheerful young lady greeted each of the customers as they stepped onto the sidewalk.

    Stepping into the air conditioned lobby, the same young lady who greeted customers passed out cold water bottles and maps to individuals waiting in line. As ERAC employees became available, they walked up to the person waiting in line, shook their hand, and introduced themselves. After finalizing the reservation, the employee walked out to the car with the customer.

    I noticed that the young man helping me (we’ll call him Samuel, since that’s his name) was moving slowly, seemingly in a bit of pain. His supervisor actually instructed him to take a break after assisting me. Despite this, he made conversation with me as he assisted me, and offered to take my luggage as we walked to the car. I declined of course, but the gesture was appreciated. I found out after inquiring that Samuel was suffering from a blown back, a bad hip, and a hurt ankle. He still walked me out to my car and actually upgraded my vehicle since the class I booked was unavailable.

    Outstanding.

    Contrast this with my experience at Hertz last week:

    • The shuttle driver only permitted customers who had pre-existing reservations, as they were out of vehicles.
    • It took almost 30 minutes to get the rental that I reserved online.
    • The line was out the door in the lobby and moved abysmally slow.
    • The self-service kiosks were unable to complete transactions for anyone who tried them while I was there.

    I signed up for their Hertz #1 Gold Club this weekend to avoid the ridiculous wait, only to find them out of cars this week.

    Who do you think I’ll be renting with next week?

  • What is it worth?

    Which would you prefer?

    Outside of the building where I work, there’s a row of parking spots near the entrance that are reserved for the executives. Land Rover, Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, Audi, and Saab are all represented. I’m not talking about the entry-level coupes and sedans; several of these cars retail for well into six figures. Beautiful cars.

    When I arrive at work in the morning, the cars are there. When I leave in the evening, the cars are still there.

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  • Make mine the special

    Here, have something to nobble on.

    Why are you making it so hard for people?

    When you approach the counter or drive-through window of a fast food chain, what are the most prominent items on the menu? Promotions and value meals. Things that make it easy for you to choose if you don’t already know what you want. What about when you sit down at a restaurant? The server tells you what the specials are and sometimes what vegetables/sides are in season. Even the most indecisive person can make a selection in a hurry when presented with prepared options.

    By the same token, why don’t we market and brand ourselves and our businesses in the same way? I’ve seen dozens upon dozens of resumes, small business and personal websites that don’t get to the heart of the matter: what it is that the person or business does. Isn’t this what’s most important? Studies have shown that visitors will leave a website in about seven seconds if they don’t find what they’re looking for, and also that recruiters scan resumes in the blink of an eye.

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  • Post for Ken’s Class

    To my readers: I was invited by one of my former professors to speak to his class this semester. I understand that he has an outstanding group of upcoming graduates who might benefit from the perspective of someone who’s been in the working world for a little while. I was all set to visit them today until I got pulled onto a project in the northeast at the last minute (on Friday!). This post is for them.

    Hey guys!

    Thanks so much for checking out my site and connecting with me on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. I really regret not being able to meet you all today, but I will make every effort to visit you this semester. I mean it.

    I’ve been giving some thought to what I could to for you, and I think what you all would benefit from the most is answering the questions you have about the industry and making myself available if you’d like me to demolish review your resumes. I will answer each and every question you have, and I’d be happy to share some insights from the industry. Let’s get started, shall we?

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  • Lessons from a bank robber

    Do you have the conviction of a bank robber?

    Why do you do what you do?

    William “Slick Willie” Sutton wasn’t your typical criminal. He was an expert bank robber, escape artist, safe cracker, master impersonator, and educated mentor. Sutton is rumored never to have used a loaded weapon when robbing a bank, nor robbing one when women or babies were crying.

    Using disguises such as a policeman, window washer, maintenance man, bank guard, mover, Western Union messenger, and striped-pants diplomat, Sutton leveraged social engineering extensively in his heists. He is famously misquoted to have said that he robbed banks because “that’s where they keep the money.” Here’s what he actually said:

    “Why did I rob banks? Because I enjoyed it. I loved it. I was more alive when I was inside a bank, robbing it, than at any other time in my life. I enjoyed everything about it so much that one or two weeks later I’d be out looking for the next job. But to me the money was the chips, that’s all.”

    Purpose. Conviction. Passion. Insight. Perspective.

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  • Where do you work best?

    Desk and monitors

    Do you work best at home? At Starbucks? Perhaps a Library? I do a lot of web design and development in my spare time, and I’ve noticed some interesting patterns in my productivity over the past few years. I used to think that I could work anywhere and be equally effective, but I’ve come to realize that my assumption was simply untrue.

    I don’t work very well at home. As a matter of fact, I don’t even work well on my main PC (a fire-breathing custom-built Vista box with two widescreen monitors and an obnoxiously powerful sound system). I have a comfortable computer chair, a wireless keyboard/mouse combo, and everything that should turn me into a bastion of efficiency when I slide into the command center.

    The problem is…I rarely do creative work there. At all.

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  • 25 things I love about Consulting

    25I’ve been employed as a technology consultant for over two years now and in that time, I’ve come to appreciate a lot of the things to which I’m exposed. I’ve put together a list of some of the things for which I’m most grateful, and I hope that this becomes a helpful resource if you’re considering a similar career.

    Without further ado, 25 things I love about Consulting:

    1. Exposure to the latest and cutting-edge technologies.
    2. Exposure to vastly different management styles and methodologies.
    3. Exposure to different industries and corporate cultures.
    4. Working with abstract problems and creating concrete solutions.
    5. Understanding complex problems only after carefully listening to someone explain it.
    6. Dealing with client egos, territorial habits, insecurities, and abrasive tendencies.
    7. Learning how to “push back” against unreasonable client and management demands.
    8. Learning how to ask questions until they get answered.
    9. Having to become intimately acquainted with something completely foreign. Quickly.
    10. Developing a sensitivity to tone, body language, and other nonverbal cues.
    11. Learning how to speak the language of different corporate environments.
    12. Learning the fine art of negotiation. (more…)

  • Google Friend Connect

    As you can see (in the sidebar), I added a Google Friend Connect widget to my site this evening. What is GFC? From the website:

    Google Friend Connect

    Google Friend Connect instantly awakens and strengthens the community that visits your site by enriching it with social features. Watch the video below to learn more.

    There are some pretty neat ways of garnering visitor feedback using Google Friend Connect. Depending on the response, I’ll be rolling out more of these in the weeks to come. It was extremely simple to implement it on the site (FTPing two files and filling out a form).

    There are a few obtrusive widgets available that I’ll steer clear of, like the Social Bar (see an example on this site). Maybe it’ll grow on me and although I think the functionality is important, I can’t justify stealing 30 or so pixels from people without them explicitly enabling the bar.

    At any rate, I look forward to seeing the response from my “readership” (smile), and I welcome your feedback.

    Would you mind signing up and letting me know what you think? Thanks!