Swiss Tidbits

Today was a splendid day in Lausanne, Switzerland: the sun was shining, the sky was blue and all the kids were out at the citywide sports fest. I was roaming around, popping in small cafes for a bit of this and that and spending pleasurable moments on the shore of Lake Geneva. As ill luck would have it, being in roaming, my 3G was gone, so I could not share my Swiss observations in real time, hence I was jotting them down and posting now. 


Here we go:

• There is something about a good bouillabaisse that makes my heart go boom-boom.

• An old Romanian lady at the next table is trying to prove to a Swiss waiter that he cannot speak French. I find it adorable.

• Observing two 90-year-old ladies at a restaurant fighting over who should pick up the bill. I wonder if there'll be casualties.

• Swiss money is funny.

• What was the rationale for the decision to keep the shops closed in Switzerland on Sundays: to decrease sales or to annoy the foreigners?

• Switzerland is all about style and location.

• Having a funeral agency right on the central city square (Place de l'Europe) is symbolic, isn't it?

• Russians were here!

Up In The Air

There is a movie with the same title. It jumped to my mind as I opened my laptop sitting in a business lounge at the Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow waiting to take off for Geneva. Now that I am back in the workplace, my jet-setting business trip layover hotel airplane food begins again. It is an ambivalent feeling: on the one hand, I am glad to be up in the air again, enjoying the dynamic life of airports and meeting rooms inseparable from the present day international business, but on the other hand, I feel uneasy about breaking my routine (gym, friends, cultural life) and submitting my body to dehydration, sleep deprivation and jet lag.

I see to have arrived at the same point in my weltanschaung as the character of George Clooney, but some 30 years earlier. Mobility gets you to the top much faster and your readiness to be away from your your family will cast a positive reflection on your paycheck, but how do you put a price on relationships and well-being? One of senior VPs, who once interviewed me, confessed that he had got to where he was primarily due to his willingness to be mobile internationally. Bitterly, he added that it had cost him his marriage.

It boils down to making choices. Many would give a fence-sitting answer that it is all about balance, that sitting at home all of the time is also no good, and that separation makes hearts grow fonder, but how many have actually managed to achieve that equilibrium successfully and maintain it?

I am pro-balance. Big time: my Zodiac sign is Libra, after all. I enjoy traveling and I enjoy the comfort of my routine. I love novelty and I revel in the company of old friends and that significant other. There are compromises, of course: you can travel to places where you have friends and catch-up with them while you are on a business trip, or you can take your partner with you, who will enjoy sight-seeing and shopping while you are toiling away at the office, or you may come up with another alternative arrangement... I guess what I am trying to say is that finding the balance is not impossible. It also depends very much on your personal values and your ambitions in life. George Clooney was very clear on that. Until something (well, someone) changed his point of view.

The Shift: Take the Reins of Your Career

The companies are fighting an uphill battle at getting employees in when they are most needed (Just-In-Time Hiring) and keeping them motivated and engaged:

A global Gallup survey found that at the average big firm only 33% of employees describe themselves as fully engaged in their work, 49% say they are not engaged and 18% say they are “actively disengaged”.

Yet, I am not totally convinced that it is solely the organization that should bear the burden of fostering engagement. The employees are just as responsible for making their jobs exciting and meaningful.

Last month The Economist published a special report My Big Fat Career where the key ideas are

• The workplace is changing; information on employers and employees is balancing off; and you need to learn how to play the information battles

• Invest in your own development

• Stick with the right people

No question about this: workers have to take responsibility for their own future. For many the mantra will be "continuous learning, continuous learning, continuous learning". However, educational institutions from nursery schools up to universities are doing a poor job at instilling the idea of life-long learning. Most educational systems are built on two theories:

• The Pickle Theory: a cucumber put in marinade has no other choice but to pickle, and
• The Squirrel Theory: you should get your mushrooms and nuts now (get the knowledge!), maybe you will need in later in winter (when the crisis comes).

 So how do we prepare ourselves? If nobody really cares about our long-term career success either because of ignorance, powerlessness or lack of interest, it is you personally against the dragons. Fortunately, there are many who would help - help is often given to those who seek and those who deserve.

There is one thinker, author, professor and inspirational speaker that I would like to mention in this regard. In her book “The Shift: The Future of Work is Already Here”  Lynda Gratton of the London Business School talks about the changes that we need to make in ourselves to create value-add jobs that we will enjoy.

According to Ms Gratton, people will also have to invest more in their personal “social capital”, which will involve three elements:

1. First, build yourself a “posse”, a small group of up to 15 people they can turn to when the going gets rough. They should have some expertise in common, have built up trust in each other and be able to work effectively together.

2. Second, you need a “big-ideas crowd” who can keep you mentally fresh. This echoes the discussion of “managed serendipity” in last year’s business bestseller, “The Power of Pull”, in which John Hagel and John Seely Brown argued that the successful worker of the future will live in clusters of talented, open-minded people and spend a lot of time going to thought-provoking conferences.

3. Third, you need a “regenerative community” to maintain your emotional capital, meaning family and friends in the real world “with whom you laugh, share a meal, tell stories and relax”.

Listen to Lynda talking about her new book and get inspired. Stop whining a-la "they don't appreciate me" and start paving your own road to happiness.

EU Scenarios Bleak

This October promises to be hot: http://october2011.org/. Not so much in Celcius (or Fahrenheit for that matter) as in social (in)justice emotions and revolutionary urges.

It is enough to see what's tweeting under #GlobalRevolution to realize that October 15 is going to be messy:

While Germany is holding off the rescue package to Greece, unemployment numbers in Spain refuse to shrink, Italian debt ratings go down nearly as fast as Belorussian roubles, and students protest against educational cuts, big businesses ought to get pensive as to what their scenarios are should good old Europe follow the fate of that large boat on having encountered the iceberg. When push comes to shove, the companies will have to act quickly: secure credits and cash flows, manage inflation and find ways to pay the suppliers and workers.

RBS came up with 5 probable scenarios (four of them involve Greece default by December), the Dutch government did some scenario planning too, and according to the former CEO of Volvo, “It would surprise me if any well-run company were not preparing itself for the worst scenarios, however remote those may be”.

The Economist baptized the situation "Under the Volcano". Surely, they need to see their magazine, and drama sells well, but maybe what we are about to witness in the area of EU economics in the next couple of months is going to be more spectacular and far more troublesome than the eruption of that tongue-twisting Eyjafjallajokull in small and distant Iceland, which this time might turn out to be least affected.

Dare to Be Happy!

I am not a great believer in signs and omens, but today has been about happiness for me. Maybe it is selective attention to blame, but within a range of three hours I received three messages about happiness from three different sources (I also read an article about the number 3 as well today):

1. An article in The Economist I Dream of Gini, where connections between wealth, inequality and happiness are under close scrutiny. People can be absolutely happy in countries where equality leaves much to be desired (e.g. Brazil) and that seems to baffle the learned minds: http://econ.st/nyO7qg.

What is Your Year-End Function?

Last week I've got an e-mail: 

Dear colleagues, This is to announce  a casting to participate in a fascinating corporate New Year show "Musicals'  for our Winter party. If you like to sing, to dance or you have a genius for acting do not miss a unique opportunity to become a hero of a wonderful New Year party. The professional stage director, choreographer and vocal teacher will select the participants of the show. Once the participants selected we will start rehearsals and studio recordings. 

How could I pass this opportunity? Surely, I went to the casting and now I am looking forward to start rehearsals. Whether it will be Les Mis, Cats, or Notre Dame, I'm in for whatever.

Just like Web 2.0 is taking over the workplace, the office events also seem to become more participatory. Instead of inviting guest stars who do not really care why they are there as long as they get their fees, isn't it a great idea to make stars out of your own employees? It's cheaper, more engaging and more fun - do you know what your fellow workers are talented in? 

This goes further. I am genuinely pleased that many companies have realized (and we might have to thank the recent crisis for it) that they do not need external consultants in most cases and that they have enough capability and brains inside the organizations, which are merely underutilized. Companies are switching from the "kindergarten mode" (stuff should be done for employees) to the "scout camp" mode (employees are capable to do stuff by themselves, enjoy the fruits of their labor and have fun along the way).

As an illustration, you can see appearance of internal consulting units, brainstorming and employee idea gauging in any project, and increased staff participation. Way to go! Even if it starts small... like a year-end function. 

First Day at Work: Anticipation

The Dickens' novel title is quite applicable for description of the period when you only start working for a new company - Great Expectations. You have signed your contract already but you have not done anything yet; you have lots of ideas and you are hopeful for challenging projects to manage but you have limited understanding of the resources and support that you are going to get. You have gathered the market intelligence about the corporate culture but you are not quite sure if all of that is true and if it is going to be your case. Ambivalence is the name of the feeling in the air with a heavy dose of excitement. You might be nostalgic about your old company too.

Today was my first day as well and I am facing all that emotional turmoil. I am not quite sure if the reality of my new job is going to live up to my expectations, and my hopes are high. So far all is well and my first teleconference with my new boss went well. Lots of really cool projects ahead - I'll be dealing with things that I really like: communications and training on a global scale; I already have so many ideas. Let's see how I am going to make them work.

I would like to thank all my friends for supporting me and their helpful advice. I am sharing just a few tips they gave me on how to survive the first month in a new job. My friends are awesome!

• Ирина Воробьева sense of humour & patience
  Hace 5 horas · Me gusta
• Nadezhda Kuznetsova just be yourself )

                         Hace 2 horas · Me gusta ·  1 persona

• Jorge Rc A chocolate cake with soy milk for the first day... :)
  Hace 2 horas · Me gusta
• Kristina Zhukovska Do what you would do in your first month of dating someone you really like ) No, I don´t mean buying flowers ;) Just be attentive, fun, nice - looking, listen and try to get to know each other better..
  Hace 2 horas · Me gusta
• Ingrid Petrie map out quickly who has the real power and who you need to influence...have a spreadsheet to help you with that, let me know and I'll send it to you if you want
  Hace aproximadamente una hora. · Me gusta
• Anthony Hess Work is like prison. Find the toughest guy in the place and beat him up.

                         Hace 3 minutos · Me gusta


And those of you who want to be all scientific and comprehensive, here is a nice Vault article that I like: Acing Your First Month On The Job.