Live Beyond It

Yesterday, around 5pm, I received a text from my manager that I needed to cancel all appointments with customers and stay home by the phone. More information would be forth coming. I’ve heard that before. Twice. And each time I was laid off from my job during that “wait at home for the phone to ring” period. This would be the third time in 6 years that I had to do this. All I could think about was that I needed to get the HELL out of this industry (pharmaceuticals) and move on to something else. I held on to the fact that I was moving on and I couldn’t wait for classes to start so I could get these pesky pre-requisites out of the way and MOVE ON!

 

I then got a message from a friend to check out the “Daily Message” and it was RIGHT ON TIME. I’m disappointed, I’m worried. I’m afraid…but I’m going to LIVE BEYOND IT!

Don’t live with the disappointment. Live beyond it.

You cannot stop what has already happened. However, you can let it make you stronger and more determined.

Instead of dwelling on the pain or injustice of what has happened, imagine the best possible outcome. Then get busy moving yourself steadily and passionately toward that outcome.

Life has the power to disappoint. Yet you have the power of life, and the power to move on to bigger and better things.

When you have been disappointed, it means you truly care, and that’s a very positive thing. Zero in on what you care about, and put your energy into advancing those things in your life.

Look ahead, and look at all the good and valuable things you can do. Look ahead, and step confidently forward with a renewed sense of purpose and determination.

— Ralph Marston

I sat home today with a friend and colleague, drinking mimosas and chatting it up, trying to laugh our way through till the phone call came. At 10am I to the call…"You have been retained.” Then I was told to hang around for the message about a webinar at 4pm that would give me more information on the transformation. Seriously? My friend, she had to wait till 3pm (she was part of the contract field force so things are done differently) to hear what was happening with her. At 3pm, in a less than 5 min call, she was told – along with around 300+ other contract reps- “thanks for your service, but your contract has been terminated effective December 31st. We expect you to give the same commitment previously until December.” Really?

 

LIVE BEYOND IT. We honestly have no choice. I have cried for my friend and then got on the phone and started working that rolodex on her behalf. While I was retained, today was just a further wake up call that I need to continue looking ahead; stepping confidently forward toward my new goals/purpose…

 

Physician Assistant License and Masters in Public Health

 

I’m putting my energy into advancing bigger & better thing in my life. LIVING BEYOND my disappointments. LOOKING AHEAD!

Training Torture Tidbits

I spent that past 10 days in Minnesot-AH! at a training class for a new gig I took (taking it for the Kingdom – playing my position to ensure that Camelot is still lined in Gold & Silver). The only saving grace was The Mall of America where I spent the entire Saturday (9 hours) shopping with my new friend & playmate, Nat from Montana. I LURVE that girl. We hit it off famously. Go figure. Without here, there might have been a “goin’ postal” moment.

 

- I found it amazing that sales reps with so much experience and tenure were wigging out over taking a product certification exam…ESPECIALLY when the trainer gave us a study guide and was telling us exactly what was on the exam to review. o_O

 

- I so wanted to pass out my Xanax.

 

- Just cause you WERE formerly a District Manager does NOT make you the resident expert of EVERY SINGLE THING. Keywords: FORMERLY. You are just like the rest of us…and old dog put out to pasture given an opportunity to excel elsewhere.

 

- STOP TYRING TO BE TOP TRAINING REP! None of us really care nor are we competing for the title. Seriously.

 

- If you already know that question you are asking is off label, not indicated or out of compliance…THEN DON’T FUGGING ASK THE TRAINER THE DAG ON QUESTION. She can’t answer it. You are wasting time.

 

- Also, stop beating that dead horse to death.

 

- Perhaps I will bring some Xanax down and spike the coffee. The hysteria is killing me.

 

- Looking over the top of my glasses with THAT look…brings me immense joy. I see why it has been so effective for The FireMarshall.

 

- I’m gonna need this woman who just had a baby; whose husband told her NOT to go back to work to stop all the whining and complaining and slow her roll. Go home.

 

- You insisted on taking this job against your husbands wishes so SUCK it up. I don’t want to hear anymore about your stress level, how much you miss your baby (I miss my grown children, dammit) or anything else when you were given the opportunity to stay at home.

 

- OH! You went back cause you didn’t want to “fall” behind in your skills. Sigh. Let this old lady tell you…you will regret NOT staying home with your kids if you financially can way more than you will ever regret falling behind your “corporate” peers in skills. Trust me.

 

- Wanna know how to tell when your skirt is too short – for professional/business duty ?…When your 40+ years old, you sit down and your thigh high hose shows to the entire room. Chile Please! Cottage Cheese don’t look chexy no matter HOW skinny you are. PERIOD.

 

- WORST TRAINER EVER!!! If you don’t know who to use all the features of the damn tablet or where shit is, what makes you think we will. FUBAR!

 

- By day 9, my “give a shyt factor” was at ZERO! I just didn’t give a damn.

 

- Passed the exam, razzle dazzled them with my presentation skills (as I knew I would – it just ain’t that hard) and went to Off Fifth Saks and shopped to get The FireMarshall new duds for our trip to The Breakers. That’s how much time I had to kill before we had to be back for grins, giggles & goodbyes.

 

- I practically knocked people out of the way and did the OJ Simpson to the bus and in the airport to get da hell outta there.

 

There is NO PLACE like HOME!

Total Compensation

I find it amusing when talking to colleagues in my industry (medical sales) that scoff at what some companies are offering as a base salary these days for management level jobs. I just kinda stare & smile as they go on about what they use to make in base, and what position they used to have, and how they won’t accept anything less. Sometimes I might ask how long have they been laid off on the market or (if feeling bold) how many weeks/months of severance they got. Sometimes. Usually those who throw their nose in the air at the District Manager job with the base that is at least 40% lower than their previous base haven’t been optimized long or still have their severance kicking in & medical subsidized.

 

They haven’t been out there long ON THEIR OWN DIME. It hasn’t hit them yet that they now have to pay for their own internet service, cell phone, car (note, insurance, maintenance & GAS). They haven’t received that notice that they are now on COBRA to the tune of $1800/month for a family of 4 and/or haven’t had to try to get their own private medical insurance (try paying those premiums your damn self- GRUESOME). Their severance hasn’t ran out yet and they haven’t had to apply for unemployment benefits – YET. They probably also don’t have a spouse that is building a company (self-employed) and thus can’t just shift over to their medical/dental coverage.

 

ON YOUR OWN DIME.

 

I am of the firm belief that some people just don’t do the math. They have never had to. It’s just easy to NOT think about the TOTAL COMPENSATION package that you had/have until you actually ARE that package & have to come out of pocket. It hurts. There is suffering & noshing of teeth. Sacrifice. When it hits you square up in the face with bills that don’t go on an expense report (phone, internet service, MFn GAS), with having to get a car since you have always had a “fleet vehicle or car allowance”, with paying COBRA or your own premiums, THEN you will actually find value and calculate TOTAL COMPENSATION when you are given an offer.

 

Been there. Doing that. Starting your own company & building it successfully is awesome, rewarding AND expensive. I decided to go back to work for an employer recently to take some of the pressure off of the coffers (I’m tired of cat food; gives you hella bad breath – Just Kidding) as we build the Empire. No biggie. I have always played my position on the team.

 

I just accepted an offer from a company and I tell you, I had a moment of PURE GLEE when I got an email about making arrangements to have my “fleet car” delivered.

 

PURE, UNADULTERATED, GLEE!

 

Outside of my base salary & bonus/commission, the FM and I sat down and calculated the “value” of the rest of my offer (car, gas, cell phone, medical/dental/vision, internet, PTO)  to make sure that it was worth accepting. We calculated together the value…and it came to over $25K. FIX YO FACE. Yep.

 

DO THE MATH.

 

Take your cell phone bill, internet service, car note, insurance, average gas spend/month, medical premiums (guess or pull it off your paycheck since you don’t pay it yourself), multiply it by 12 and see what you come up with. (Now, if you are in a different industry you will have to use other things that you get COMPENSATED for at your company that you take for granted cause it doesn’t really come out your pocket – THINK)

 

So, here’s the deal. Before you just up and jump ship to go to another gig, before you refuse an offer cause the “base” salary seems a tad low or not what your accustomed to – calculate your TOTAL COMPENSATION PACKAGE. You might also want to put a number on the cost of your 401K, Life Insurance and other bennies that your company gives you to that over & above base calculation. Once you have the total VALUE of your compensation – you can then make a informed (and financially savvy) decision about what to do or not do.

 

I’m just sayin

No Way Out? No Options?

I don't think I've ever believed that I had no options; no way out of a situation. I've never been in a place in my life where I would let other people abuse me, diminish my worth, de-value me and/or use me like their personal byatch because I felt that I had no way out - no other options - no where else to go.

That is the situation the girl who is the not only the Nanny but also the Personal Assistant Byotch to the Executive Director at the little start up I am was working at feels she is in. It is just a sad state of affairs...

...and after hearing her story and working with this girl for over 4 months, I am so pissed off about the situation I could spit nails. I have spent every evening after the convention we were working at last week listening, coaching & trying to give some moral support to this young lady who fought back tears trying to figure out how she was going to make it (both mentally & financially) if things keep going as they are. I was so fired up that it became a mini-mission to help her back onto a track where she isn't being used like a "Hebrew slave" of old - making bricks with only the straw she cleaved from the fields during off hours. HUMPH!

I told (via Twitter) the story about the alleged "actress/model" the company hired to work as a "floor girl" for the booth. Her job was to pass out brochures and get doctors to come to the booth. Well, she got to Chicago and when she found out that she would have a roommate and that the room was not ready upon her arrival - she up and quit. Re-booked her flight for the next morning and rolled out stating "I'm an actress & model and I don't room with other people." Whatever. Girl Bye. I got this 2 bathroom suite all to myself.

Not so fast. The HR person had this itty bitty room (you couldn't have the bathroom door open at same time as closet or main door) and asked if her roommate could move to my suite. Being the nice lady that I am not, I said sure. So, that is how I ended up rooming with the Executive Directors Personal Assistant Byotch (PAB).

PAB moves in and during our honeymoon (get to know ya) period, I find out that this chick is 22 years old with a son and a triflin' baby daddy. Now PAB has GOT to be THE HARDEST WORKING, most detailed oriented, meticulous, dedicated 22 year old I have ever met. Whenever I have tasked her to do something in the office, she always delivers above & beyond the call of duty. Without question - Without hesitation.

So, when she lamented about he $30/day per diem, asked if we were getting that money AT the show, sobbed that she had used all her cash paying for cabs running back & forth to the hotel/Hom.eD.epot/Tarje' for booth items and finally blurted out that she only makes $800 every two weeks to act as the Directors Nanny & PAB, I lost it.

She went on to tell me stories of how:

• she has been asked to stay late (w/o overtime) to work - sometimes till 10pm or later
• pick up the director's kids (making PAB late to get her own son to the tune of $10 every 30min late w/o reimbursement)
• yelled at for leaving the desk to go to bathroom (nobody else is qualified to pick up the MF'n phone)
• pay to feed the Directors kids w/o reimbursement
• called at all hours of the night to do random stuff w/o compensation (I say don't answer the friggin phone)
• if the Directors CC is declined or she doesn't have cash to give PAB, asks her to use PAB's own money and she'll get it back to her - taking days & sometimes weeks to do so.
• ...and so on & so on & so on

I asked PAB why she didn't "just say no"; why didn't she tell the boss that "this is unacceptable" or "I can not accommodate your requests without immediate compensation" and what not. That was when PAB told me the "thing" that kept her "afraid" to do or say anything. She proceeds to tell me the story about the time she was living with her baby's daddy (BD), but he decided it would be more fun to live with his boy than PAB & his son. BD and his boy thought it would be best if they got PAB to pay B.G.&E and cable set up and then they would put PAB out...on the street. SERIOUSLY? Who puts their kid & kid momma out on the street? WHO DO DAT? N. E. Way...PAB overheard the plot, confronted them and friend decided PAB need a good ole slappin' around while BD just watched. GTFOOHWTBS! PAB fought back while BD watched and must have got some good licks in cause friend presses assault charges. Now PAB has a PBJ (probation before judgement) on her record. And she still got put out.

She's afraid she can't get a job anywhere due to the PBJ on her record (she got an offer somewhere, but it got rescinded after background check - she didn't disclose) and took a job as the nanny for the Executive Director on a family recommendation which morphed into more and now she is getting pimped out at the office.

This girl is the nanny & PAB for $1600/month. DAMN. The average rate in Maryland for just a Live-out nanny is $500-700/week ($2000-2800/month). Just the nanny part. She takes care of those kids & works in office. Hmmmm. I know the kids are in school during the day now, but she need to get paid at least the going rate for both jobs...at least. I'm just saying.

I tried to tell her that she still has options. She is still afraid. She wants to take care of her son without borrowing money from her parents or relying on an inconsistent and unreliable baby daddy...yet the fears are paralyzing her.

I immediately text'd a friend to see if she was still hiring. I called a few other friends to find out if they needed an assistant. I told PAB to send me her resume and I would update it for her and help her shop it around. If you are looking for a nanny or personal assistant, I personally vouch for this young lady. I'm a pretty good read of people and she is what we wish all of our young people would be...Duty, Commitment, Dedication, Perseverance, Drive. If nobody scoops her up, then I'm hoping The Steptoe Group can (will) in a few months. I'd like to see her catch a break.

There ARE options. There IS a way out. I'm encouraging her to keep her head up. This too shall pass. SIGH.

New Job Randoms from The TravelDiva

I got me a new gig as the Director of Sales for a Healthcare Technology type company. It's a small company so I'm more like the jack of all trades (Dir of Sales, Marketing, Training).


I am having a blast.


There is one MAJOR adjustment - after being in pharma sales for 20 years and never having to be in the same place all the time, having to report to an office for a 9-5 gig is just a major drag.


I have to now plan what to wear EVERY day. You see, as an outside sales rep, I could put on the same dag on suit (if I wanted) for the week - maybe change the blouse - because the same person never saw me twice in the week. Now I gotta THINK about what I'm gonna put on and thus far, I have been over dressed every day.


I just don't know how to do business casual - that includes jeans on any particular day of the week. The Queen Mother, who has worked in an office environment for over 30 years, volunteered to help me out.


Lunch. I have never, ever had to think about what I was eating for lunch. I was either providing a lunch at an inservice or taking a client out or something. Now, I got to pack myself a lunch - EVERYDAY - cause I'll be damned if I'm spending $10 a day downstairs at Joe's Deli and I ain't eating Taco Hell, KY Fat Chicken or ButBuster King either (which is within walking distance).


I am WAAAAY to organized and efficient and need to figure out how to slow my roll. You asked me to create a survey, send it to all the existing clients and get a response in time to compile a report for a corporate sponsor - we need this back in the next two weeks. Okay. I cranked that puppy out and sent it out to the first client, cc'ing the Executive Director.


She freaked. "Leeeeesa! I didn't expect you to do it so fast. I want to review all the questions first. OMG! Leeesa! I love you but you work so fast. Okay, don't send anymore out....blah, blah, blah....I'll get back to you tomorrow."


She don't know who she hired, does she?


Today I did the survey, called 15 clients, designed all the materials and brochures for an upcoming conference in July, designed the layout for the display stand and podium (which we don't have YET) and a few more random things all before 2pm.


That means I got plenty of time to occassionally play on FB, Twitter and catch up on my Google Reader. I have to remember to clear my history every day though. It NONE YA BEES WAX what I do with my time.


I have an assistant. DA HELL I'm supposed to do with an assistant. Today I had her take a tape measure and draw me a diagram of the office because we need to install 4 new cubicles (which I was asked to plan and design). That damn diagram was like an architechs rendering.


Now what to give her to do?

It is SOOOOOO friggin quiet in this offfice that I had to bring in a set of speakers so I could listen to the radio off my iPhone. Let's make some noise up in here.

I don't get paid enough, but the money will come when you are doing something you love...and I'm having the best time EVER in 20 years in the sales game.

The Cat's Out The Bag

I officially tendered my two weeks notice yesterday. That dead weight is off my shoulders. I am so relieved. Don't worry - our ship is coming in. We are going to be okay, but for now, I'm a SAHW/M and all is right with the world.

Dear Employees:

Due to the current financial situation caused by the slowdown of economy, Management has decided to implement a scheme to put workers of 40 years of age and above on early retirement. This scheme will be known as RAPE (Retire Aged People Early).

Persons selected to be RAPED can apply to management to be eligible for the SHAFT scheme (Special Help After Forced Termination). Persons who have been RAPED and SHAFTED will be reviewed under the SCREW program (Scheme Covering Retired EarlyWorkers).

A person may be RAPED once, SHAFTED twice and SCREWED as many times as Management deems appropriate. Persons who have been RAPED can only get AIDS (Additional Income for Dependants & Spouse) or HERPES (Half Earnings for Retired Personnel Early Severance).

Obviously persons who have AIDS or HERPES will not be SHAFTED or SCREWED any further by Management.

Persons who are not RAPED and are staying on will receive as much SHIT (Special High Intensity Training) as possible. Management has always prided itself on the amount of SHIT it gives employees. Should you feel that you do not receive enough SHIT, please bring to the attention of your Supervisor. They have been trained to give you all the SHIT you can handle.!

Sincerely,
The Management

Has anybody else, besides me, felt this exact same what in the past year or so? So true, it is damn hilarious.

I Know My Ship Is Coming In

The FireMarshall is one of the hardest working men I know. Ambitious, strategic...a visionary. I have been on a journey with him for almost 22 years now...actually, we sat down and made a plan for our lives, what we envisioned it would look like, where we would be and then we started marching hand in hand; side by side towards that plan. If something got in the way or doing something was going to get us off track, we simply didn't do it. Life happens. It happens to us all, but if you have a plan/a mission and stick to it, then you won't let "Life" get in the way.

This last year (or two) have probably been the most stressful of our lives and things just didn't seem to be going our way. I've had to be stronger than I ever wanted to be. I have had to keep working for someone else, I've had to give up a lot of major things, I have to invest a lot of things that I didn't want to give up to keep us on the path. We have had to sacrifice a lot, yet managed to keep a smile on our face, head up, shoulders back. I thought, for a moment, that our ship would never come in...that all these years of work and sacrifice were for naught.

This morning, Ron got a call & a couple of emails. Then he came into our room, looked me in the eye and said, "It won't be too long." I knew he meant it...and then this song came on and as I listened to the words, I knew that they were true..."It won't be too long...I know my ship is coming in."

Do you have a plan; a vision for your family? Are you doing whatever it takes to make it happen? I hope so, because dreams really do come true.

On The Ocean (K'Jon)
It won't be too long
Now the tide is coming near
I see the waves flowing
Out there on the ocean.
I know my ship is coming in....

Just pass the horizon
And right where te sky ends
Cause out there on the ocean
Knowing my ship is coming in

Dirty Jobs

I used to think that going to the "field" when I was in the military was pretty dirty...yucky even. Digging and sleeping in foxholes, not washing (except for out of your canteen cup) for days/weeks, finding sand in parts of your body weeks after you've come home and subjected yourself to home hazmat & decon. DIRTY.

However, my current job as a Clinical Consultant for a wound therapy product has moved WAAAAAAY up the list of not only DIRTY but down right GROSS (and a lot of the time depressing). I spend a lot of time in clinic, consulting with patients and medical providers on whether or not they (or rather their wound) would be appropriate therapy for their wound...and let me tell you, by time they get to me...they definitely need it...BAAAAD. I'm talking about patients (primarily diabetics) that have chronic, long term (some 3 years old +) ulcers (venous stasis, pressure, dehisced - surgical wounds that reopen, traumas to diabetic feet and more) that have stagnated and no matter what you do to them, they don't heal.

I am usually in the room as the nurse or doctor removes the dressings...and BAAAAABY...every time I thank God that I did not eat breakfast or just had something light cause between the gruesomeness of the wounds to the smell (of some) it takes a stout heart not to just swoon. I've been SOOOO close to just running from the room. I keep saying to myself..."Stay clinical list, stay clinical...discuss the quality of the tissue...how the edges look...etc." to stay steady. I've started carrying Vicks in my purse and have learned to hold on to the counter or sit as they take the dressings off. WHOA NELLI! Steady Yourself Girl.

Let me give you a couple of examples:

Monday, I saw one patient that was diabetic, morbidly obese and had just let his legs & feet go because "the home nurse wasn't coming everyday." Listen dood - nobody gets 7day/week home health nurse - especially a man that is ambulatory and can change his own dressings. This man had not changed his socks or dressings in a week. When the nurse peeled off his sock, I thought I was gonna just damn die right there. The bottom of his feet were so macerated (soaked wet) that they skin was falling off (Are you freakin out yet? I was).

Tuesday morning, I saw an 70 year old woman who had a HUGE diabetic ulcer on the bottom of her foot. I sat there while the doctor took a scalpel and a tool that looked like mini-plyers and went to work debrieding (removing the huge callus & dead skin) surrounding the wound bed. The doc was slicing, pulling, snipping, scraping, dabbing up blood like she was carving wood. All the while, I'm chatting with the woman about her friends & grandchildren...she isn't feeling a thing. There was so much blood and skin. JEEEEEEESUS.

Later that afternoon, I had to go and check on the status of a patient that we were planning on using the therapy on, but I had suspicions that I was gonna have to discontinue him because of non-compliance and other various reasons. I was absolutely CERTAIN I was going to have to discontinue him as I rounded the corner for the hallway to his room. I smelled this man's wounds 8 rooms away. He had wet gangrene on both feet. My eyes started to water as I got closer and closer. The Nurse Educator I was with had me wait outside his room and asked me to pray for her while she went in. NOW YOU KNOW IT WAS BAD. I came home and had to immediately put my clothes in the laundry room cause I felt like I could still smell it.

I got me a necessary, quality of life altering -----but DIRTY JOB. Sigh.

Umm Yeah, I'm Going to Need You Saturday

I can't add anything more but to say THIS IS EXACTLY HOW IT WENT DOWN for me today. Stab me in my eye.

Are You Serious?

If you have never before considered the consequences of your asinine behavior at your place of employment, then perhaps you should start watching the news, listening to the current unemployment/layoff numbers and getting your ish together. One thing my father taught me regarding professionalism in the corporate & business world was to NEVER burn bridges. He also taught me that if you plan on taking someone out at work, messing with their reputation or just trying to hamper a co-workers upward mobility, then you best just outright "kill" em. Never just wound your enemy...they tend to recover (even if just a little bit), get pissed and return to reek havoc right back at you. If you are gonna play that back stabbing, passive aggressive, sabotaging mess at work...FINISH IT. Put that person down for good, lest they come back to haunt you.

I have managed to survive 2 layoffs in a little under 3 years - not just cause I'm fabulous and just down right brilliant (which I am) - but because I have managed over all these years to cultivate & nurture my network AND I have never burned a bridge that I thought I might (even in an alternate universe) need to cross at a later time. I am finding out in this here very difficult economy, with layoffs happening left and freakin right to some of the best people I know, that there are a few of those AZZHOLES who actually think I (and some of my friends) have forgotten their pissy behavior and believe we are just going to hand over our network, give them rousing recommendations and help them prep for their interviews at our current companies.

ARE YOU FREAKIN SERIOUS? You see the Prince Side-Eye look above. YEP. That's me, when I get these calls. ARE YOU FREAKIN SERIOUS?

You tried to get me put on a performance plan by implying that my "work ethic" was suspect...and now you actually thought you could use me as a reference?

ARE YOU SERIOUS?

You constantly took credit for my work, my achievements and you want me to forward your resume onto my network of recruiters?

ARE YOU SERIOUS?

You bum rush my girl, bad mouth her so bad that you get picked for promotion over her because of "perceived" inconsistencies that you created and then you have the audacity to call her husband for help with an interview at his company?

ARE YOU SERIOUS?

I could go on, but you get the gist. If you have been behaving like an azz at work to everyone around you...Backstabbing, undermining, gossiping...If you are a manager, and you have spent your time finding ways to put certain people on performance plans, trip them up, hinder their ability to get promoted and/or refuse to develop that person...I just want you to know that God don't like ugly & Karam is a byatch.

Thought you were immune & impervious to bad ish happening to you? HA! Whole lot of MF'rs are finding out that their ignant azz can be out on the street just like the rest of us. Guess what...those of us who have had to pull a knife outta our back are helping each other and those bridge burners are getting a little taste of their medicine. Karma is a Byatch.

I'm just saying. So...you back stabbing bridge burning byatches (and you know who you are) STOP CALLING ME & EMAILING ME asking for help, referrals & hook ups. I'm not calling you back & I'm hitting the red x in my email box. I have enough to do with helping myself and my real friends & colleagues.

*Giving you the Prince Side-Eye* ARE YOU SERIOUS?

Let the Blood Bath Begin

Three years ago (Dec 2006), I was layed off from this illustrious company in what was one of the largest pharma layoffs seen. NOBODY in the industry thought that "The Blue Football" would layoff anybody, let alone 3000 people, but they did and many large pharma companies followed suit. If P.fi.zer could do it, why not the rest of us.

Well, today began a new Blood Letting at P.fiz.er. Between today & tomorrow, a good majority of the sales force is getting the ole heave ho! A total of 8000 people. I heard from some of my friends over there, some great individuals who got optimized today. While most of them are pretty non-plussed about it (great severance packages), there are still a few wandering around in shock in awe with a deer in headlights look about them. "Why me..how did this happen to me." Happens to the best of us. Seriously. Happened to me twice in under 3 years.

To add a little insult to injury - Not one Black District Manager in the DMV was retained. Hmmmm. How you gonna represent the company in one of the most heavily populated areas for physicians of color and you don't have anybody of color representing/leading the way. I'm just saying. Interesting to say the least. Let see how many of the sales reps of color are left after tomorrows 11am calls begin.

You know what else I find interesting, Pf.iz.er doesn't have money to hold onto their sales force, but they have money to buy another company...and then the audacity to say that once the purchase is complete, they are going to cut some of those people too. Wow.

So, those of you who are part of the downsizing, right-sizing, field force optimizing - WHATEVER they are calling it - best get to dusting off those resumes and re-kindling that network you might have been neglecting. You'd be real amazed at how fast you will run through that severance.

God Bless to all of my Pfired colleagues.

On the Fifth (Month) of Unemployment, My True Love Gave to Me...

Reeasons to Sing....

Yesterday I had the priviledge to experience the Grace of God for the umpteenth time. I am always surprised, but am so glad that I recognize it when it happens, so that I can give credit (honor & glory) to the One its due to.

I was offered a job. A small, growing Biotech company. Sales Manager, MidAtlantic. The total compensation for the average manager is about the same as with my previous position, however, commission & bonus is uncapped (top rep makes 30% more) - and I plan on being a top manager. The caveat is that, as with most device/capital equipment companies, the base is low (and that is realtive) and the commission is extrodinarily high. If it was another big pharma company offering me a similar package....I would have to say hell no. I have been with big pharma companies for 18 years, watched these companies start to contract and implode on themselves, survived 2 restructurings/layoffs and am watching these same companies continue to reorganize/layoff/restructure in order to stay competitive. You don't have to hit me over the head for me to know to not get back on a sinking ship.

Now for the bonus...Do you think this is fortuitous or an glimpse at part of the Divine Plan for my life?.....Remember this post from December 20th, 2006......

On the Twelth Day of Unemployment

Well, on December 20th, 2008, it happend again...I got a new job with a new company. I happened TO THE DAY.

God is Great...His Delays are not His Denials...He is always Right on Time. I know I said it before...but I think THIS is going to be the best Christmas ever (or perhaps one of the most blessed).

IT HAS BEGUN

The Season of Discontent has begun...one of the largest car dealerships in the DMV just announced major layoffs...and my daughter was one of the victims. Sigh.

Answer me this...why do companies always do this right before a holiday? And Christmas of all things. She at least got 4 weeks of pay, but then what?

I'm feeling a BAH HUMBUG coming on.

Think About It...

As ya'll know, I went to a business conference last week. In addition to the over abundance of fun that I had with my peeps, there were a lot of great workshops and lectures. I take notes when I'm at these kind of events so that I can remember what was said, go back and review & reflect...so that I may grow professionally. You've always gotta be "Sharpening Your Saw". When you let your blade get dull, that's when you get passed over for that promotion, hit the ceiling, get poor reviews, get put on a performance plan....all the while standing there looking like a deer in headlights, wondering what had happened.

Here is some things that I jotted down in my "handy, dandy notebook". I'm not going to expound on them much (if at all). Most of them will speak for themselves. I hope you will take a moment and think about them, but application is what sharpens your saw:

• If you don't network, and you don't relate to people & share information/resources - then you just don't get it.
• Invest in Key Relationships - "Solo - Oh, No!", Watch who you spend your time with and what that relationship is doing to you.
• Navigate beyond obstacles, distractions and small thinking. Get out of the box you build for yourself.
• Watch who you share your vision with.
• Figure out the game and learn how to play it.
• Be Mentally Prepared, Be spiritually Prepared, Be visible
• Maximize your Brand - What's Your Brand
• Stop hanging around people who "glorify ignorance"
• Do a scathing self-inventory. - find out what your are doing to get in your own way.
• Your checkbook & calendar will tell on you. -Think about it. What you spend your money & time on will tell loads about you. Are you saying one thing and conducting yourself another.
• Monitor your Conversation - What does your conversation say about yourself.
• People who talk about people are smaller than people who talk about ideas.
• Performance is the great equalizer

Commit to Self - Improvement - Constant & Never Ending Improvement.