Direction Is Good (And Necessary)

Lately at work, I've been feeling a little direction-less - a little like I wasn't sure which path I should be taking, wondering if I'm doing the right things, tackling the right projects, and so on. It's a bit frustrating to not be sure that I'm moving in the direction that the company needs me to go. I want to do the best for my employer and you can only continue on without a clear path in front of you for so long.

Today, I got some direction. I had to go through an exercise for the CEO in which I plotted out my top 3 goals for the next 8 quarters, basically 2009-2010. That's tough to do. It's tough to sit down and answer the question "What do I want to accomplish for the next 8 quarters?" without really knowing what the rest of the company is doing.

But, I did it: 1) cuz the CEO asked for it; and, 2) because it's always a good thing to have some goals and something to reach towards. It was an exercise done in a bit of a vacuum, but valuable nonetheless.

Back to today... I had a meeting scheduled with my boss, the president of the company, and the CEO to go over my proposed plans. I got some great feedback and I got some very direct and clearcut goals for my team. I've got an idea of what I should be focusing on, where I should be looking, and what these 2 executives want to see out of me. I came out of that meeting feeling relief and less frustrated than before because I've got some goals and areas of focus.

I don't do well without goals and direction. I'm not one to just kind of wander around and hope I get where I want to - I've got lists, I make sure I know what projects are going to take to complete, I print out directions when I go on vacation simply because I don't want to be unprepared.

I need direction in my life - all areas - or I feel adrift and frustrated and unhappy. Now that I've got some direction, I can focus my energies and really dig in.

Husband Tag (Look Heather, I did it! :D)

Here we go...

How did we meet: We met during the SLC Winter Olympics in 2002 in Park City at a dance club called Harry O's. He had all these spikes in his hair and looked cute - so I started dancing with him and he asked for my number.

How long we dated before we were married: 3 1/2 years

How long we have been married: 3 1/2 years

What is my favorite feature about him: His butt; okay, seriously, his laugh (but his butt is pretty good!)

What is my favorite quality about him: His patience with me and his ability to just laugh and shrug things off

What is his nickname: Babe (or whatever I want to call him)

What is his favorite color: Blue (for the Colts) or Red (for the Utes)

What is his favorite food: Salt and pepper calamari from PF Changs

What is his favorite sport: Football

Who said the "L" word first: He did

First kiss & where: My apartment after our second date

Favorite "couple thing" to do: Watch movies together, read in bed together

How many kids: None

Hidden talent: He's great at finish carpentry

Favorite music: Godsmack

What I admire most about him: He is spontaneous and he's so warm-hearted and generous

Favorite past time: Watch football and movies

Will he read this: Probably not

When Life's Got You Down...

For whatever reason, today was stressful. I had a 2-hour meeting with my boss and the CEO of the company to go over what we've been doing with email, I came back to 20 different emails about people duplicating efforts the CEO wanting to know why, tons of banners ads had to be placed in the emails and both my team members were out sick or went home sick today and we had 4 emails that had to get ready to go out.

A lot of stuff happening. The first thing - the meeting with the bosses - always stresses me out. I come out of those meetings feeling like an idiot, like I'm not doing everything I should be, or not seeing everything I should be seeing, or not making the right decisions. I try to take the questions and suggestions for what they are - another person's point of view, another person's experience talking, constructive criticisms - but frankly, these 2 individuals intimidate me. I don't get intimidated very often, but these 2 will do it every time. And I HATE IT!

The rest of the stuff is just normal, stupid stuff. It happens, you deal with it, and move on. Unfortunately, I think this situation is one where the CEO is going to make a point and that's too bad cuz it sucks seeing his emails come through asking the questions designed to elicit certain pieces of information.

But, just when things were not looking good, Mike shows up with lunch. He actually brought in a burner and a skillet and made me a cheese quesadilla. How fantastic is that?! He knew I was having a rough day and he just brought this stuff in, went into the breakroom and made me lunch. Then, he came in and sat down with me and we just chatted. It really helped me break through the funk that was wearing me down.

He's definitely a keeper, as my colleague said, he's definitely a keeper.