No Dog Days This Summer
I have no idea who coined the phrase "dog days of Summer" or, for that matter, what it means. But we haven't had any dog days at White Space. We have been operating at "full-tilt boogie" all summer long. Typically August is a slower month for us as people are focused on Back to School. Because this has been the case for the last three years, I agreed to let our senior project manager take a month-long sabbatical.
That must have been the jinx! No sooner had she left the building and the business began pouring over the transom. Our summer has been packed with relocations, home organization projects and office moves. With a relatively green staff (no one has been here longer than May 1), it has been a challenging time for me to step back into the business at a time that my business development activities have kicked into equally high gear.
One of my business advisors shared a mantra with me early on: "Good communication preceeds good business,", and "Never assume anything." I gathered the staff together and we discussed the staffing needs and operational needs which were normally handled by the senior staffing person, in addition to the scheduled client needs on projects. Everyone eagerly stepped up and offered to take on new responsibilities.
The result has been a high-flying month of client projects backed by a very active month in-house of upgrades to our office space, our technology and our marketing, all of which has been handled beautifully by one staffer or another. The team has pulled together in amazing ways to satisfy our clients, assist in the office, and keep me focused on business development and out of day-to-day operations.
Karen returns the Tuesday after Labor Day. We've learned she is not indispensable and that we are all more competent and capable than we believed 31 days ago. Our clients have seen a seamless operation catering to their needs and no one has been compelled to "look behind the curtain".
It's been a successful experiment in many ways and makes White Space a stronger, more efficient operation overall. I can't wait to see the total for monthly revenues in a few days. I know it will be up over the same month last year!!!
Go team!
That must have been the jinx! No sooner had she left the building and the business began pouring over the transom. Our summer has been packed with relocations, home organization projects and office moves. With a relatively green staff (no one has been here longer than May 1), it has been a challenging time for me to step back into the business at a time that my business development activities have kicked into equally high gear.
One of my business advisors shared a mantra with me early on: "Good communication preceeds good business,", and "Never assume anything." I gathered the staff together and we discussed the staffing needs and operational needs which were normally handled by the senior staffing person, in addition to the scheduled client needs on projects. Everyone eagerly stepped up and offered to take on new responsibilities.
The result has been a high-flying month of client projects backed by a very active month in-house of upgrades to our office space, our technology and our marketing, all of which has been handled beautifully by one staffer or another. The team has pulled together in amazing ways to satisfy our clients, assist in the office, and keep me focused on business development and out of day-to-day operations.
Karen returns the Tuesday after Labor Day. We've learned she is not indispensable and that we are all more competent and capable than we believed 31 days ago. Our clients have seen a seamless operation catering to their needs and no one has been compelled to "look behind the curtain".
It's been a successful experiment in many ways and makes White Space a stronger, more efficient operation overall. I can't wait to see the total for monthly revenues in a few days. I know it will be up over the same month last year!!!
Go team!
posted by Cynthia Ivie at Tuesday, August 29, 2006
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