I’ve beent thinking about 4 things recently:

1. Performance
2. People Growth
3. Personal Health
4. Passion

These four things sit heavily on my brain today. I’ve grown over the past few days.

1. Performance

We just finished our annual performance reviews. This process was a stark contrast from the usual, in depth 360-degree reviews that we have done in the past.

Each person was ranked on a simple 4-point scale across 3 or 4 specific factors:

• Quality and Value
• Productivity
• Sales Contribution (only for Managers and Up)
• Strategic Context Score ( a multiplier on how well you are aligned to the strategy.

The scale ranges from no impact, IMPACT, SOLID IMPACT to HIGH IMPACT.

I found this round interesting as the leadership team seems to be taking a “Blink” like approach to performance evaluations. It’s almost on the extreme edge of brevity.

2. People Growth

Being one of the core values where I work, I take “People Growth” very seriously. A colleague of mine went on leave to finish his PhD. dissertation two weeks ago. Consequently, I inherited his two managees to round out my total managee count to a whopping “two”. I know, the implication is that I had zero career managees. It sounds weird but all my managees keep leaving the company.

Sidenote: Part of me wonders if it is me that is causing them to leave. I like to think that I push my managees to be better—that I grow them into their profesion. I am concerned however, that I end up “pushing them up and out of the company”. I like to think it’s because I’m not just a “career manager for the company”, but rather a career manager for my entire managee’s life. I’m giving them career advice. Part of me thinks that I may be motivating people to be promoted “out” of the company. That, or I am a total asshole.

Anyways, I had a seminal moment as a manager last week. I had to tell one of my new managees that I would not be sponsoring them for promotion. Tough case that I will not get into, but when I reflect on what happened, I really couldn’t have handled it better than I did. Chatting with my director, and hearing his rationale, it was clear to me that, “Wow! I got a shit-load to learn.” His conversations really showed a deep-strength in his character, an authority that I could not match. I couldn’t bring much to the table given that I’ve only assumed the manager role a year ago. I lacked the experience.

This morning I received an email from a Creative Design employee in our India office. He wants me to be his career manager.

In principle, I don’t have a problem with this, however, logistically, it is difficult. When I asked why he wanted me of all people, his reponse was:

“Well I checked out your co-ordinates on Google Earth and astrologically our co-ordinates have a heavenly fitment! Well, not really! You have the most replies on the “Creative-Design All” list. Perhaps the replies to that list make me feel that you are someone I know, but most of all I have read through all the replies and I gather you are on top of what you say.” [Emphasis added my Author]

I’m touched. I post and reply frequently to the “Creative Design All” mailing-list for my company. One of the reasons why I do this is that I want to build a strong community. I’ve been told that I am prolific in my writing.

I’ll have to think about this though.

3. Personal Health

I’ve come to the conclusion that I have hit a plateau in my personal health and I have decided that I need to take it to the next level.

I have resolved that the first step is to really manage how much and what I eat. Go back to eating fruit across the day, as well as time boxing the times-of-the-day that I eat. I will eat a breakfast everyday. It is now the most important meal of the day. Lunch is the second most important meal. Dinner is skippable.

I will do my “Chinese Exercises” consistently. I will exercise consistently.

4. Passion

When you see a man breakdown into tears because of the passion that he has for his team—it inspires you. Things are going to change and I’m going to be in the thick of it.

-T