Take All The Time...

I had one of those events that leads the average worker to hold management in low regard.  Last week I went through a series of three day meetings that focused on transition planning and the transition process.  We reviewed the high level transition schedule and reached (I thought) consensus on the timing.  Basically, senior management emphasized that it was important to "do it right" and "take the necessary time" to insure a complete and successful transition.  They stated "we don't want to hurry it".  All heads nodded.

Fast forward to this week and suddenly - they want the transition done by the end of March.  Somehow they expected to transition 12 years of knowledge and experience, literally hundreds of nuances and incidents and events, in twenty working days, while everyone does their other, full time job.  The ensuing discussion was not pretty and I continued to advocate a more orderly, deliberate transition.  I have no idea if I am going to win the argument, but I have got my opening salvo out there. In pursuit of the truth, I can freely admit that - if they decide to short the transition on time I am perfectly fine with that.  I simply want them to understand that it will be choppy and incomplete, with certain items falling by the wayside.

I have long held the opinion that slow and deliberate is, in the end, faster than fast and chaotic.  It is one of the paradoxes of both work and life - go slow to go fast.  You should approach transitions like a distance race, not a sprint - be slow, be deliberate, be complete - and in the end you will be successful before you would have been if you tried to hurry. My thoughts tonight are flowing around work, but at the same time, that process - go slow to go fast - holds true on many fronts.

On the personal level, other then good conversations and time spent with TR and the occasional movie, dinner, reading - there really hasn't been a lot of time for personal issues in the last couple of weeks. I am hoping to move through this week without over-working myself, and so far, so good.  Yesterday, I got wrapped up and carried a heavy load of stress into the evening and from there into the night. I tossed and turned during the night and each time I woke my brain was spinning around work related items, which I personally dislike.  I feel like I am in a little bit of a better place tonight, having had a fairly productive day focused on two items (transition details and a particular project).  I am looking forward to a quiet evening tonight, maybe a little online, maybe a little reading, maybe "Spartacus: Vengeance" on DVR.