Dispelling a Myth

So, I know many people who think, “You work from home!  You must get sooo much done!”  I laugh and then explain that yes, I do get a lot done, at work! 

I know people picture me as sitting on a call, folding laundry, making dinner and probably even vacuuming the house.  So, in an effort to try to dispel this myth, I tried it out.  On a slower than average day during a holiday week, I decided I would try to multi-task and get something done around the house while working.  Here is how it went:

1 – I loaded the washer while on a call and didn’t actually get it started because I was at a point I needed to look at a document, so back to the desk I ran and the washer never got started.  FAIL!

2 – I thought about folding a load of clothes while listening to a webinar.  I found myself taking notes and pushed the laundry into a basket on the floor only to trip over it later.  FAIL!

3 – I was going to water the trees outside our home.  I realized an hour into the watering and ONLY when water was running into my open basement window that I had not shut it off.  FAIL!

Trust, I can multi-task with the best of them, but trying to tie two worlds together, isn’t easy or recommended.  For those who think we “virtual” employees are getting work done around the house, you are wrong.  There are times, after hours, I pick up a call on a tractor, on a boat, at a football game or maybe at the store, but that isn’t my normal day.  I am here, at my desk, working just like the folks in an office building.  My office, however, never closes. 

Salmon Nation

Last week I received sad news about a fellow Fargo Rosenbluth employee who passed unexpectedly.  I went to funeral home page to read her obituary and send a note of sympathy to her family.  Keep in mind, I haven’t seen or spoken to this woman in probably 8 years.  What I found didn’t shock me, but it did make me proud. 

Of all the notes sent to the family, over half of them were from Rosenbluth peers who had heard that she passed and wanted to recognize her as a valuable part of a team!  She wasn’t the GM of the office, she wasn’t a manager, she was simply a good person who worked hard and enjoy being a part of Salmon Nation and making a difference for Rosenbluth customers. 

You hear terms like “Bleeding Rosenbluth Blue” and “Salmon Nation” and it’s hard to describe what they mean, but I would try by saying that it’s a real feeling and sense of belonging.  It isn’t something you find out there in companies today.  Rosenbluth hired people and made them into a large family.  We did and still watch out for each other. 

As we near WINiT and GBTA Convention 2015, I will see many old Rosenbluth friends.  We will share a drink, probably a story or two and go our own ways knowing that what ties us together started many years ago by a family simply trying to help immigrants make it to this land of freedom and opportunity.  We will go on Living the Spirit because that’s what we do!  Keep going fellow salmons, keep going!! 

Attention Deficit Alert

I don't know about you, but I don't have hours, even minutes of free time sitting available to me.  So, I take advantage of every second of my day.  I am a multi-tasker and most would consider that a good thing.  I realize, however, that sometimes its not! 

This morning, I woke up and like normal, turned on the TV to see the breaking news stories of the day.  I watch coverage of the hot topics and then slowly fade off into the rest of my day.  I see the quick hits and nothing more.

The other night, I found myself "reading" the Sunday paper.  By reading, I mean scanning the titles for word that might interest me and when I did find something, I only read until it didn't interest me anymore. 


I am a product of my surroundings in that if something goes on too long, or if I lose my interest for even 20 seconds, I may be lost for good!  We live in the age of quick sound bites and short messages.  A place where a picture on Instagram tells the story we need to know.  Where 140 characters (I know, its more than that now) is all that's needed to get the word out. 

My lesson of the day, when I communicate:

• Use bullet points when possible
• Use short sentences
• Do it sound bites
• Add a picture and remove some of the words

Keep learning, keep going.

Data Junkies Unite!

If that were the subject line of a party invite, I would be all over that!  There is where I join a support group and in the beginning I say, "Hi, my name is Rita and I am a data junkie!"

I just found myself manipulating, changing, formatting, reformatting a document and what is so great about data is all the information that pours off the page when I do those things.  The data file, as sent to me, is HUGE and RAW!  If someone were to look at it and try, just by looking at the info, to make sense of it their head would explode.

By looking at this raw data, in 10 minutes, I was able to see where our challenge countries are for some of our KPI's.  I was able to see ATP increases and decreases in some of our larger markets.  I was able to see a market that has never been a focus market in the past.  I was able to understand buying patterns of our employees in a foreign country.  I was able to see what cities we are challenged with from a hotel rate increase perspective.

As a data junkie, you also have to be able to read into the data to infer certain things.  That doesn't fall off the page at you, but it comes with experience and knowledge.  One piece of data is a sentence.  Two, three, four pieces of data becomes a conversation and I love seeing where those conversations go! 

"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored." is a quote from writer/philosopher Aldous Huxley.  Truer words were never spoken...  You can ignore facts all day, but that doesn't stop them from being out there.  I'm gonna check my inbox for party invite and even after it arrives, I will keep going. 

A Trip to Macy's, Travel Style!

The other day, I went to Macy's in search of sunglasses.  I found the perfect pair of leopard print Coach sunglasses that were within my budget.  I approached the man behind the counter, he got them for me, put them in a Coach box, wrapped them nicely in a few pieces of tissue paper, put them in a cute red Macy's bag, applied my percentage off coupon, took my credit card and I left a happy customer.

The other day I went buy an airline ticket.  I found the perfect flight that met my business needs and was within my budget.  I declared, "I am going to buy this ticket" only to find that because of the shelf on which I found the ideal trip was not the one the airlines promoted, now I had to pay more.  Only to find that because I was going to use a credit card, I had to pay more.  Wait, the plane needs fuel, so now I pay more there too. 

Back to Macy's.  They knew what it was it was going to cost to have the person help me.  They knew what it was going to cost for the cute red bag.  They probably took into account what it cost them to get the sunglasses shipped from the manufacturer to the store.  They knew that X percent of the people will use a coupon.  Additionally, they knew that X percent would use a credit card.  In their knowledge, they priced the sunglasses so they could make a profit.  Novel idea, I know!

In full disclosure, I didn't buy a pair of Coach sunglasses recently.  I also didn't find the perfect flight for an upcoming business trip.  It's a blog people, it's not all about reality...but trust me, this is real life stuff.  It's out there, happening and its going to end negatively for everyone involved.  Trust, I don't think Macy's should consider becoming air pricing specialists simply because they can sell me what I want, when I want it, but someone, somewhere does have to get this figured out.

Until then, I keep going! 

Drivers License Day

Today, my oldest daughter passed her behind the wheel test, alas, she is an official driver.  On the way home from her test, I told I would be driving because she needed to listen.  I told her:

1 - The license does not mean freedom, it means responsibility.  It means she is now responsible for herself, anyone in the car and the people on the road with her.
2 - Even the best drivers in the world are only as good as the people on the road with them.  You have to be on guard all the time and understand what's going on around you. 
3 - Independence is earned and can be taken away as quickly as it's given. 
4 - We all have heard a story about an inexperienced driver, who, through no fault of their own, was involved in an accident and something tragic happened.  Accidents happen...

I wrote this blog for a couple of reasons.  I wanted to make sure I tell my other two kids the exact same things when we drive away from the DMV in the years to come!  Also driving is a privilege that I myself take for granted.  This post is a reminder to me of all the things I do, day in and day out, because I earned them. 

Time to call the insurance guy and knowing that I am making his day more profitable, I keep going! 

Penny For Your Thoughts

That old saying is never more true than nowadays.  I bet I get a survey a day in my personal inbox asking me to rate my last experience.  Looking at my person email now, there is one from United, Hilton, Hertz, Massage Envy and Starbucks and those are just in the last week.  And guess what, I took every single one of them! 

Why, you might ask?!  Not simply because they asked, but because everyone is gauging customer experience right now.  Companies know that they can win and lose a customer with one experience.  If people ONLY take the survey when things go wrong, how can companies know what is happening that is right?  All of these surveys were answered in a positive manner because I had a positive experience for each.  Was everything perfect for each, no…but I gave feedback on that as well.  Does Hertz in Fargo know that the return process is not well marked or understood?  If they didn’t hear it before, they heard it now.  But, if me, or someone else, didn’t take the time to them that, would they ever know?  Would it ever change?  Would people who rented from Hertz this time think that another option is better next time?

I also like to think that ideation starts with a spark.  In a recent survey of our travelers, we heard things that made us think differently about our internal customers and what they deal with everyday…and that’s awesome.  I love the idea of people sharing their thoughts and ideas with the companies or products that they use frequently.  Use the open spaces and share with them what you want to see. 

Gotta run because I just got another survey to complete.  So if I can impart anything, take the survey and keep going!