Journal – 311023

 I dressed up as Stan Pines for Halloween. No one at work dressed up, so they thought it was my good look. When sitting in the office without a hat and glasses, most people thought it was my new look. Today I had to conduct an interview, so when people walked by and they asked me what I am going to do today, I said I had an interview to do later. They thought I was leaving the company. The director passed by asking if I was happy working at the company and if there was anything he could do. So, I asked him how the “Giving the agents an extra work from home day for agents that meet or exceeds expectation” going. He granted it immediately. It didn’t click in for me until we had our 1 on 1 meeting that everyone thought I was leaving the company because I was in a suite and said I was going to an interview. 

I learned a few things from this experience. First, the company and agents in the team I run value me. Nothing pushes changes until they feel that they will lose something that is worth value to them. And wearing a suit to work is powerful.

The interview went poorly. The interviewee didn’t know anything about our company or the products we sell. Not even the basic question could be answered. The person had a great personality and would be an amazing person to be friends with. But they would do poorly at the job.

After work me and the kids went trick or treating, got some candy, but there were not a lot of lights on. Back at home I set up nine tiki torches in the front yard and a fire pit to keep warm waiting for the kids to arrive. The house was lit up. you could guide ships into safe harbour in a storm with this much light. We only had a few kids come over, most likely because it was a Tuesday.

 🌤️ 55°F – 32°F 🙂 | Seattle 

Journal – 281023

 Went early morning grocery shopping with the kids. They like going with me just to walk around and hang out. We just talk most of the time and check out new games and toys.

In the afternoon we went to a block party Halloween party up the street as the Pine Family from Gravity Falls. It was fun and the kids got free candy. There were games and prizes. It was a bit cold and I only stayed for just over an hour before heading back home.

I noticed I wasn’t able to hear anyone on my mobile phone, so I had to move to an older phone. I should be finished with the setup by tomorrow. It had GPS issues but should be resolved by factory resetting the device. Hope it all works.

 ☀️ 51°F – 28°F 🙂 | Seattle 

Journal – 261023

 I woke up this morning feeling ill. My arm if very sore where I got injected with the covid vaccine. I started work thinking I could get through the day. My daughter woke up ill also, so I took the rest of the day off. We stayed home and slept for most of the day. I feel much better now than when the day started.  I’m expecting to be back to my normal self tomorrow morning.

 ☀️ 52°F – 36°F 🤒 | Seattle

Journal – 251023

A new employee will be joining my team on Monday. I am excited to start teaching him. Afterwork, I got vaccinated for Covid. It was quick and easy. From talking to my friends, the new vaccine is stronger than the previous ones. I suspect I will be feeling ill tomorrow morning.

 🌧️ 46°F – 39°F 🙂 | Seattle 

Journal – 241023

Another day at work. Nothing bad, but it is getting routine. I spent most of the day talking to the agents and seeing how everything was going. The new person is still studying and should become an agent by the end of next month. He has a good attitude and should do well on team specific training.

After picking up the kids from school, we all did our household duty when we arrived home to get it out of the way. Once we were all done, we played Mario Wonder. That is a fun game to play.

Headed to be to catch up on some reading resumes. Tomorrow I am going to help conduct an interview. Hope we find someone. The last two didn’t know much about IT at all or what was on their resume’.

 🌧️ 54°F – 43°F 🙂 | Seattle 

Journal – 231023

 The morning is getting considerably cold. You can feel the winter coming. I’m getting my bike ready for winter bike rides up into the mountains. Its fun and I really enjoy being out there.

Today I had a good day at work. The transition from a four-person crew to three went without notice. Everyone did their part, and it went smoothly. I went around talking to the team members to find out what was going on and joked about work topics. Everyone was happy, healthy, and enjoying their jobs and it shows in the work. Everyone’s scores are high including customer surveys. We are at an all-time high four out team and are leading everyone by 10 points.  I am not sure how long we can sustain this, but everyone looks loose and confident at their jobs now. We will see at the end of the month if all the changes we have made over the past 3 months is sustainable. We know it is working, from a 36 score at the beginning of the month to 83 score as of today. My goal was sixty for this month and seventy for next month then sustain it at 70 or slightly above. Our big push was remarkably successful.

 ☁️ 55°F – 44°F 🙂 | Seattle 

Journal – 201023

 What a crazy day at work. The person that was leaving the company didn’t come to work today and two team leads from the East Coast went on a 2-week vacation starting today. I had lost one person and inherited 3 agents. I can see the differences between how my team operates compared to theirs. They need instructions for everything they do, while my team are self-sufficient.  They have the power to do what they feel is necessary to resolve the issue. If it is questionable, they will ask me or another team member. They have been doing this job for 2 or more years and should know what the rules are. I also don’t want to make every decision for them. They are all able to make decisions for themselves.

I dropped the ball earlier this morning and caught the eye of the CEO. But it was all correct by Noon.

Just a crazy day. After picking the kids up from school, we went to Costco to pick up Mario Wonder and pick up some items for cleaning. Tomorrow I am planning a trip to get to all the Trolls around Puget Sound.

 ☁️ 62°F – 50°F 😐 | Seattle 

Journal – 181023

I had a long day at work. Meetings and interviews filled most of the day. My weekly presentation went well. I am getting much better and it feels more natural in front of everyone and being webcast to two other locations in the world.

Other than my workday, it was an average day. I played Uno with the kids and ROBLOX with my son. It was fun.

 🌤️ 70°F – 52°F 🥱 | Seattle 

Journal – 171023

I had my first exit interview with a team member. He is leaving the company for a job closer to where they live. He drove 3 hours a day and it wasn’t sustainable. I hope he does well at his new job. He was a good person and worker. I talked to the IT Director, and he said they are happy with my performance. The team’s performance has dramatically increased since I became their manager. They are still improving, and I am proud of them. I will be training 2 new employees soon.  So, we should get back to normal within 6 months. It takes 3 months of training before you can assist customers.

 🌤️ 70°F – 52°F 🙂 | Seattle

Journal – 111023

Nice drive to work today. No traffic with light rain. Normal office Wednesday. Do a presentation and go to meetings. Streamlining my work week and creating more documentation for the new techs. I am going to start training a new person at the end of the month. The people that wanted the bikes do not want them anymore. Going to get rid of them by Saturday evening. I’m excited about getting all the clutter out.

 🌧️ 52°F – 46°F 😐 | #Seattle