Busy networking?

Three weeks since I packed my desk and left corporate life (for a while at least). EVERYONE I meet is asking how I am enjoying my 'life of leisure?' Including the propeller head ... daily... "I've had no time for 'leisure'" is my standard response. The propeller head then comes back with something about too many coffees and lunches... He's right. There have been a lot of coffees and lunches but I have loved catching up with so many old friends and new. The truth is I have been busy busy busy 'networking'.

That's right. What he sees as social events and gossip, I see as an investment in the future... The seeds of a plan for life-after-Rio are starting to come together but I need to test my thinking. What better way than to catch up over a caffeinated drink, some stories  and a bite to eat.

He's still a little dubious of my motives, so I did some research on networking just to be sure. This is what was recommended at successwomensnetwork.com.au. Surely a trusted source?

What the ‘experts’ say.	What I am doing
Prepare – marketing material / name badge / business cards and your elevator speech (template sent with your welcome email)	In progress… I spent 6 hours last week trying to work out how to add some social icons to my email signature. Anyone?
Come early and leave late	50%. I was early at two functions and late for 2.
Work the room	Easy. Always on the lookout for coffee, wine, loos.
Act like the host and not the guest i.e welcome new people	Easy. Ask for more wine, coffee, canapés whenever there is a lull in conversation.
Sit next to someone you don’t know (remember their name)	50%. I sat next to someone I didn’t know but have forgotten their name. Must work on this one.
Follow up after the networking events – emails, catch ups, social media etc	Yes. I even Twittered (???) at one event…
Book a meeting at every meeting	We always promise to catch up again soon.
Be proactive – invite clients to attend events / online forum / articles / social media shout outs.	Not yet… No clients… or business…
HAVE FUN AND REMEMBER THE MORE YOU GIVE, THE MORE YOU GAIN	Of course.

By my reckoning that's 7 out of 9 when evaluated against networking tips form the experts. Take that propeller head. 

Thanks for all your advice and chats everyone. It's been a great few weeks and my plans are coming together nicely.

Business Improvement ... for the home ...

This 'career break' is tiring. Honest. I am busy busy busy. On what? Well I am not sure. There have been no sleep ins, no boozy lunches, and my plans for more blogs, being a better Mum, writing the great Australian novel and world domination are way behind. How did this happen? 

Well I am busy doing stuff... 

I'd quite happily stay like this because, frankly, I am loving the coffee catch-ups, chatting to old friends and new and reading the news daily but I had a conversation earlier in the week that I know will set BI hearts aflutter...

I'm putting up my very own Information Centre. Yep - that's right, a 'lean' board right here at home sweet home. It will come complete with metrics (safety, environment, social, financial and family), gantt charts, action lists, post-it notes and different coloured pens. 

My wasted minutes, rework and non-value add activities are in for some serious scrutiny.

Unfortunately the lean board brilliance was not my idea. I shamelessly borrowed it off a friend that had her own 'career break' last year (thanks KS). She's way smarter and more organised than me... 

Establishing an Information Centre is not for the feint hearted. (Our team developed a 70 page document to demonstrate the intricacies). But thanks to the Business Improvement (BI) teams' careful tutelage, I think I am up for it. They worked hard to educate me in the dark arts of lean, six sigma and a range of improvement methodologies. Too many years in operations and a preference for acting on my gut, made me a difficult student but they persisted and I'm thankful. They are all skilled BI professionals and they never let my complete lack of understanding in their craft inhibit our great working relationship. 

Thanks to them, I finally think I know what DMAIC is all about. Here goes:

D – Divine. That’s right. Often misheard as define. Divine can be used to describe the intervention required to get some projects off the ground (and the kids out the door in the morning).

M – Morning teas. I'm not saying that this is what I’ll miss most about working at the OC, but...

A – Airports. Late nights, early starts and possibly in between? 

I – Influencers. Each individual in the BI team worked hard to make a difference to the organisation, each other and me.

C – Challenge. Teaching me. Teach the unteachable to define, measure, analyse, improve, control, encourage, support and add great value.

Like all great BI projects, I am going to spend the right amount of time in the planning phase. I've raided the draws, hit office works and found a wall space. Next week I might even get started on pulling it all together but the sun is well over the yard arm now and it's time for a process check.

Here are some photos of my work in progress - just to show I am serious about this... 

I've selected a wall ... the old print will have to go .....

The materials...

How to have fun in the office.

Too young for retirement, too old for backpacking, too unco for joining the circus. I'm 3 days into  'that brilliant little gap I had between fabulous jobs' and wandering around my home office looking for a bit of fun. 

So far I have:

• read 6 pages on how to change the gears on your bike
• attempted to make a paper aeroplane
• considered and then reconsidered pulling my tax paperwork together
• called a real estate agent - just 'cause I know they love a chat
• hung out 2 loads of washing
• checked facebook, linkedin, twitter and googled

Don't you dare accuse me of procrastinating though. My inability to focus on higher priority tasks is quite deliberate. I still plan on doing NOTHING for a while yet. There is one thing I miss about the office though...shhhhh.... it was sometimes fun....

Let me be clear. I didn't work in the googleplex or anything. Just a conventional open plan office. We didn't use the photocopier for shenanigans way beyond it's warranty limits. We didn't have a goofy prankster to entertain us through the climate controlled, ergonomically fitted, meeting filled hours of employment... Nope we just had a team that wanted to enjoy being at work.

Here are some of the things that gave me a laugh in the office:

1. We set up a War Room on the request of senior leaders for, well,.... a daily teleconference.. Thank goodness I didn't go through with the camo netting order.
2. The Great Cumquat Jam Making Competition of 2012. In an effort to rid myself of around 16784 kg of cumquats, I took them to work and created a competition for the most creative and best use of cumquats - complete with an expert CWA judge, fabulous prize and ribbons. Not to mention the respect and admiration of your peers.Guess who won? I swear, Shirley was completely impartial. A woman of her Royal Show judging pedigree can not be bribed... besides that would have been against Rio's code of conduct.
3. Writing left handed during dull meetings... (Not my idea but brilliant nonetheless.. Thanks RR)
4. Adding words to my corporate buzzword hate-list. Fun for a while but dispiriting in some meetings...
5. Coffee... Brilliant in all its manifestations .. Bad coffee demanded a pitching and replacement trip to the local cafe for intel and a stretch. Good coffee, made the agony of 'syndicating', 'learnings', 'boiling the ocean' and 'swings and roundabouts' almost bearable...

I'm missing the insanity of the office just a tiny winy bit... Please free to post what makes you laugh... if you require anonymity, I know a great place that has camo netting!