Autumn Marathon

Postcard from the Edge

A friend who just started a new work assignment writes:

“Just started with a small (fewer than 20 employees) company this past week. The contrast with the Fortune 500 company where I spent the previous 11 years couldn’t be greater. I started working on President’s Day, which is a difference right there. At my old company, not only is President’s Day observed as a holiday, but many employees take the whole week to go skiing. Stuff that takes ages in a big company - getting an email account, for instance - took about 20 minutes. Also, in contrast with a corporation, the learning curve is quick and the time allowed for getting up-to-speed is short. I started diving into my work right away: someone asked me to do something within 20 minutes which I figured out and completed within the hour. I spent much of the week learning the firm’s production process and getting different perspectives on strengths and weaknesses of the operation. It’s going to be a hectic assignment, but I feel fortunate to have landed anything in the midst of our current economic turmoil.”