The New GlobalMegaCorp U.S. Division Org Chart
My resignation from my previous company came just after a high-level reorganization was announced, which will - as always - cascade down to the lower ranks. The previous orgchart was posted here, so I thought I would update it with the current and coming changes:




My resignation and Mike's promotion has already been discussed. Here is what is happening with everyone else:

Bob (Manufacturing) - He was recalled with the Imperial President. Why? Well, it's curious as to who took his place.

Master Yoda (HR) - Yoda was put in charge of manufacturing. Why put someone with 20 years of HR experience and no manufacturing experience in charge of a factory? Right! When you are about to shut it down. For all you anti-globalists out there, the factory is NOT in the U.S., so no Americans will be losing their jobs as this factory's workload is slowly transferred to Asia (well, they're North Americans)

Creative Accountant - So far he has made it through unscathed, which is surprising since there was a rumor that he was going to be recalled with the Imperial President.

Field Sales - There are talks of restructuring, but not layoffs. Little things like shutting down 2-man offices and having them work out of their homes, some shuffling around, etc.

Cube Dwellers - I think Mike is going to take the opportunity to cut some dead wood. There are certainly people in the organization who don't earn their pay (I was one of them), and cutting lose one or two of these people won't be a bad thing.


The funny thing is that this whole reorg is happening while our general market and forecast is looking good for 2004.

posted by Director_Mitch @ 5:01 PM (Permalink)
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Keeping the Door Open
Director (now President) Mike and I had our "follow-up" conversation after I gave notice on Wednesday. This is the fourth time I have given notice at a medium to large company and the response is always the same: stick around, things will change. We have big plans for you, etc.

As noted before, Mike was just promoted to his position, so I can't blame him for the situation here, and I DO think changes will be made in the U.S. division. The problem is this will solve only half the problem. A lot of my frustration is at HQ, which seems slow to change.

Mike asked me to stick around a year to see what happens. I turned it around: "How about I leave for a year and then we look at where we both are." Mike seemed to like that. In addition, my new office is just two miles away from my current office, so I told Mike we would do lunch every month or so. I even offered to provide marketing insight from time to time if he thought it would be helpful (he didn't respond, maybe since I didn't say if I meant for pay or not).

The bottom line is that Mike, the president of this U.S. division, and I are going to stay in touch. This keeps the door open should things not work at my new company and provides a valuable networking contact for other opportunities.

posted by Director_Mitch @ 4:16 PM (Permalink)
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Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud
David sent me some EXCELLENT questions by email:

From what I understand, you are making a lateral move to another company that is paying 10-20% more than your current employer.
Yup. It comes down to a lateral move for more pay. I am not really hung up on title so much as WHAT I do from day to day, the responsibilities it entails, the chance to learn more about business, and the potential for advancement.

Is the other company larger and will you have more career visibility and responsibilities?
The new company is smaller, but I will have more visibility and responsibilities.

I currently work in the North American division of a large Asian company. Of all its people in the U.S. division, literally 95% are "expats" from the foreign country, so meetings, email traffic and most communication are in the native lingo, which I don't speak. This one factor has lead to a lot of the frustration in my job (actual quote: "I am sorry Director Mitch, but you are not invited to the 2004 planning meeting since it is not going to be in English"). Some of my friends jokingly refer to me as the "token white" of the company, and there may be a little truth in this.

So the bottom line is currently I am the perpetual outsider and really don't have a career path or "visibility" at headquarters.

The new position is at a smaller, but American-run (but not owned) company. The COO and all management below that are "local hires" and work in the States. Business is conducted in English. My job is to grow a specific product line, and if I do well, I would say the visibility would be excellent.

Also, you mentioned that you do not want to relocate away from the SoCal area. From my past experience, it's always better to work at HQ or be located close to where the exec level decision makers are. Do you feel that being located away from the 'power base' will a negative impact on your career path at the new company?
Bingo. This is the one issue that is bothering me with the position. I think this position is good for 2-3 years in SoCal as I grow this product line, but if I want to do any further movement I will need to move to HQ for promotion, visibility, politicking, etc. Part of the problem with moving is Mrs. Director has her own career here, and there are some other personal considerations. Maybe in 2-3 years there will be some changes, but the location of this company's HQ doesn't really compare to SoCal.

So the bottom line with the new job is that the trail will eventually lead to another location I am not crazy about. And I really want to stay at one company for a while - this move will make my fourth company in six years. This is a little high, but there are good reasons: I left with an entire group of people from Company 1 to Company 2 as a part of a start-up (so two companies, but one "Team"). Company 2 went out of business as a part of the tech bust, or I would still be there today. Company 3 (current) was really about grabbing onto a life-raft while I was unemployed until finding something better suited, which brings me to Company 4.

So is this new opportunity perfect? I think there are few jobs that are today, but based on what I am doing and the responsibilities I have today, I think it is a much better fit and somewhere where I will be more content.

I am going to wait for the "counter" from my current company tomorrow, but that is really to be polite more than seriously wanting to stay (NEVER burn bridges if you can avoid it).

posted by Director_Mitch @ 12:24 PM (Permalink)
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Four Letter Word for Hypocrite...
Dean seeks $250 hard money cap for races
Former Gov. Howard Dean (D-Vt.) plans to propose slashing the maximum contribution federal candidates may receive to $250, a fraction of the current $2,000 hard money limit, a senior policy advisor said.

The advisor said Dean'ss campaign in itself is "campaign finance reform," because it has raised money largely by small donations as opposed to the campaigns of President George W. Bush and Dean's main Democratic rivals.


Financier Soros puts millions into ousting Bush
George Soros, one of the world's wealthiest financiers and philanthropists, has declared that getting George Bush out of the White House has become the "central focus" of his life, and he has put more than $15m of his own money where his mouth is.


When you have a multibillion dollar sugar daddy backing your cause, of course you want to limit other people's campaign contributions.

posted by Director_Mitch @ 8:46 AM (Permalink)
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Quitting or Breaking Up?
Mitch: As you know, I have been unhappy for a while.

Mike: I know you have been upset lately, Mitch, and I was hoping with some of the recent changes that I could make you happier. To make you feel like it was...in the beginning.

Mitch: I know there have been some changes you have been dealing with lately, so I know this isn't great timing, but...but, I found someone else.

Mike: Is it me?

Mitch: It's not you, it's me. I just need to...grow more. I think our relationship is holding me down and I am not getting the fulfillment I need.

Mike: Is there something I can do? (tears well up)

Mitch (feeling compassion): I don't think so. But because of everything that happened between us, I am willing to take some time out for each of us to think about it. I am not saying I will stay, but I feel I owe it to you to do some thinking and sit down and talk about this again.

Mike: (brightening) Okay. Let me do some thinking. How about we talk again on Friday?

Mitch: That's Fine

------------------------------

Okay, a little satire here, but not TOO far from reality. As noted below, this job offer DID come in just after the Imperial President was fired and colleague Director Mike was promoted. For me to come into his office on his third day as president and tell him sayonara is a bit below the belt, but the timing couldn't be helped. So I felt giving him a few days to digest the problem and come back to me with a potential counter was the fair thing to do.

While I do believe there WILL be changes here with Mike in charge, I don't think he can change the fundamental issues which are making me unhappy in my position. He did bring up adding some sales responsibilities and other issues, but I am not inclined to stay to "see what happens".

The other issue I also want to avoid is making Mike look bad due to my leaving. I don't want the senior executives in Headquarters to think "Mike got promoted so Mitch took a hike". I specifically recommended the following ways to spin my departure, assuming I do leave after our discussion on Friday:

1. I actually quit last week from the Imperial President, but after his recall on Friday, my resignation got lost in the shuffle (i.e. blame the previous guy, which is really the case. And he need not worry about the former Imperial President contradicting him).

2. Say that, as the new president, you are cutting headcount, and getting rid of that Mitch guy was the first cut in your restructuring plan (maybe I can get a severance package!)


Quitting isn't so easy sometimes, is it?

posted by Director_Mitch @ 4:51 PM (Permalink)
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Biggest Political Meltdown Ever!
Polyblog opines that the "Dean Yell" may be the start of the biggest political meltdown in U.S. history. I think he may be on to something since my own feelings on Dean have gone from "scared" to "amused".

But is it the biggest ever? It's a bit premature to judge, but if this IS the beginning of the end for Dean, there are a few other candidates that could give him a run for the title:

Muskie - The "Cry" - I was too young to remember this, but in the annals of politics it is considered one of the biggest political blunders in the last 35 years.

Dukakis - Tank Commander - Another classic. Although I wouldn't call this a "meltdown" since there was no way he could win the presidency BEFORE this happened.

Hart - Monkey Business - Ah, who could forget this? In fact, this is all anyone talked about when he was supposedly thinking about running this year.

Dean - The Rebel Yell - I played the audio last night for Mrs. Director and she just doubled over laughing. Another comment that's making the rounds: Do you want THIS man with his finger on The Button?


Are there any other candidates I missed?


posted by Director_Mitch @ 10:31 AM (Permalink)
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Fan Mail Marketing Questions
One reader sends in the following:

In a role as Strat Mktg Director, how much customer interaction do you have? Do you meet key customers and quarterback big sales, and handle PR and media engagements?

Or are you mostly concerned with position, strategic direction, partnerships, etc?


The short answer is: depends on the size of your company. I have been in "strategic marketing" roles that did every single activity you have listed, plus lots of others. This would be typical in smaller companies where the marketing team has ownership of figuring out the market, defining the product, doing business development and getting it rolled out and sold to customers. In this "cradle to grave" scenario, the marketing team owns the product from concept to obsolescence and overseas each part of the process including development, sales, business development, PR, etc. Perhaps there are specific departments what specialize in these areas (design, salespeople, marcomm, etc.), but the Marketing Manager owns the product and thus rides heard over the process and each team.

Currently, my "strategic marketing" role is almost exclusively the latter listing of responsibilities: positioning and strategic direction. It is almost an "Ivory Tower" sort of position, figuring out what is on the chess board and what it's going to look like in the future. I send suggestions on where to move the pieces to the Powers That Be. Sometimes they listen, usually they don't.

The job I verbally accepted today - while a marketing role - will be almost 40% sales focused, and I am expected to go out and close big design wins and key customers. There will be less input on product development and more focus on customer development.

This really branches into a whole discussion of "What is Marketing?", and I recommend you read the discussion over at Brand Mantra which goes into this topic at length.


posted by Director_Mitch @ 2:47 PM (Permalink)
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HR Blinked
As a followup to the HR saga, HR of Company A called me today to see how I felt about the last offer. I basically told her what I thought without holding anything back.

Panic ensued. At this point it was an emotional issue and I think HR understood it. Long story short, they came back from their "final offer" and met my "walk-away". I said okay and everyone is now happy. Written offer is being FedExed and I should receive it tomorrow.

In Our Next Episode: Negotiating the Departure from my current Company

posted by Director_Mitch @ 1:42 PM (Permalink)
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Playing Poker with Human Resources
As indicated yesterday, after my series of interviews last week it seems the job at "Company A" is a good fit. I think I would fit well with the team, and the company would allow me to stay in Southern California.

However, although I think I am a good fit and would like to join, the negotiation process has turned into a high stakes poker game with HR, lowering my already dismal opinion of this job function.

As promised, the company made an offer late Monday morning. I was insulted. When taking into consideration differences in benefits (for example, I pay NOTHING now for PPO coverage, and it will take thousands of dollars out-of-pocket at Company A), the offer was probably a little less than I am making now. I told HR to go back to the drawing board, giving her my "walk away" number.

She came back Monday afternoon $2,000 less than my walk-away. Two-thousand dollars. After taxes that's $1200 , or $100 a month.

Do I walk away from a job that I think I am a good fit for $100 a month?

As I thought about this issue several things came to mind. One was a very lengthy, but excellent article about car salesmen. The goal of high-pressure sales is to turn the buying decision into an emotional decision rather than a financial one, and I think some of the goals and tricks used by car salesmen are well understood and utilized by HR.

The second thing that came to mind is that maybe I misread the culture. Here I was feeling that I would be a good addition to the team and thought both parties were excited about me joining. Yet when I tell them what I need to make - which is not in that much higher than I make now nor out of the range for someone of my position or experience - I get nickled and dimed.

So maybe I am not a good fit with the culture after all.

The bottom line is that the whole process has sewn seeds of doubt about the company. Add to that the recent management changes that occurred at my company on Friday, and Company A moved from a situation where I would have happily given notice Monday morning to a position where I am now going to explore my current company's position in more detail before moving forward.

The last offer from Company A was by email and at this time I am simply not going to respond until I gather more info from my current employer. I am not going to reject the offer. I am not going to counter again (they hinted that this was "final"). I am just going to sit on it while I explore my alternatives.


posted by Director_Mitch @ 8:51 AM (Permalink)
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You Can't Die In The Air
One of the many things I learned when I dated a stewardess (ahem) was that you "can't die in the air". That is, if you die on a plane (i.e. of something while you are flying, not obviously a crash), you are not "officially" dead until the plane lands somewhere. This way your death certificate will list a place of death as an actual location and not in the air over some random body of land.

I just remembered this when I was reading the Drudge link to several people dying this weekend while on airplanes.

posted by Director_Mitch @ 4:45 PM (Permalink)
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Interviewing for Jobs While The Imperial President Is Deposed
So I had quite an interesting few days last week with all sorts of new opportunities mixed in with office politics and intrigue:

Thursday: Interview at Company Q - This was the first interview and as I noted last week I was already doubtful because of how I perceived the culture.

The first half of the day consisted of talking to various engineering managers. It turns out that I got along with the team very well. These are bright people working with advanced technology who like their jobs. Several of my "interviews" just turned into bull sessions as we just talked about technology roadmaps, potential future products, the history of the industry and other things we had in common.

I actually got along with the engineering team better than the actual Hiring Manager - we got along "okay", not great. So, overall, I liked the people and the team and think I would get along fine with my direct manager. From a experience and career path standpoint the job is a "good" fit, but not a "great" fit.

What's killing this deal, however, is the culture, which was exemplified with my discussions with HR.

During my six months of unemployment during the tech bust, I came to believe that HR was filled with hateful, incompetent, power-hungry a$$#$%s. I thought this feeling would go away after I was hired and interviewing from a position of strength (i.e. employed), but I find out - at least at this company - that nothing has changed.

I got the impression from HR that they were doing me a favor by interviewing me instead of getting a feeling that they really wanted me to join the team. I first cooled my heals waiting for the HR manager for about 20 minutes. The HR manager then actually "interviewed" me, asking me details about my previous work experience and how I would function in the position even though she had no clue about the background needed for the position. I would use various well understood acronyms describing how my previous experience would fit this particular position, and each time I had to spell out what they meant and simplify the terms I was using.

So I smiled. I said the right things. I acted interested in the position. But the fact was that every minute I sat with HR, I became less interested in the position. HR was the manifestation of other hints and pointers I received throughout my interviews with engineering: this was a highly bureaucratic, top-down organization. CYA (cover your a$$) was a finely tuned craft at the company. It was simply a Big Company mentality with a Big Company structure.

The interviewe ended with HR telling me they had a few other candidates they were talking to and they would get back to me by the end of the month. Leave your number, maybe we'll call.


Friday: Interview at Company A - This is the way open positions should be filled. I arrived at the company and was immediately greeted by HR, who offered coffee and small talk until my first interview came out of a meeting that was running late. Turns out this was the COO, but before I met with him, the hiring manager talked to me for five minutes, asking how I was doing and giving me a few pointers about the COO before going in.

The COO was relaxed and laid back. He didn't have a copy of my resume in front of him, nor did he ask for one. He simply sat across from me and we talked about the position, how I would manage it, and what he expected from it in the coming year. I think he made up his mind pretty quickly since the conversation then turned into a pitch for the company and how I could find an exciting career path under his guidance.

I then had two other interviews with senior management before heading out to lunch with the team and having a final talk with the hiring manager before being wisked away to HR, which focused mainly on benefits. The company called me Friday night to tell me they would make an offer on Monday.

ONE PROBLEM: The offer came in this morning and it's a low-ball. While I expect some negotiation in salaries, I am a bit disappointed that I have to play the game, and quite frankly, the bid really took away a lot of the excitement I had about the position. I basically said no and they are going back to "see what they can do", but at this point, there is the chance that although I like the team and feel that I am a good fit for the position, this job isn't going to happen.


Friday Evening: The President is Dead. Long live the President! - I had just come off the plane from my Friday interview when my phone ringed. Someone in accounting, knowing I was out "sick", called to tell me that the Imperial President had been "recalled". I had heard about this rumor well over a month ago, so was not too surprised about hearing it.

As predicted, Director Mike was put in charge. My first thought was "will this change my position and career at Global MegaCorp so I will want to stay?" The answer is: "probably not", but in light of the disaster with Company Q and the ongoing negotiations with Company A, I think I will at least look into the situation a bit further.

Of course the resulting change in the Presidency has other movements going on, so I will post a new org chart later in the week after the dust settles. Right now the office is like an ant hill that has been kicked over - everyone is scurrying around trying not to be stepped on.

posted by Director_Mitch @ 12:22 PM (Permalink)
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Comments Back Up
Blogspeak's customers and archived comments have been transferred to Haloscan, so I not only have comments back up and working, but all "old" comments were recovered.

posted by Director_Mitch @ 8:45 AM (Permalink)
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