June 20th was a day to remember! Ava Collette Carlos was born at 2:00pm weighing in at 7 lb 4 oz and measuring 20" long. I've never had such an instant connection and love for someone. She already has me wrapped around her little finger = )
She will definitely add to my motivation in my career. It's times like this when everything comes into perspective and you remember what is truly important. I'll let you know how this worklife balance thing goes as I try to magnify both my career and my role as a father. I'm more than open to advice.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
College World Series
After my previous post, I had a good opportunity to talk outsourcing with one of our IT managers. We had a great discussion about some different aspects of outsourcing, and he actually seemed pretty open to exploring options.
We had a quick breakfast meeting and then I headed over to Rosenblatt Stadium in time for the opening game of the College World Series. In case you didn't already know, I grew up playing baseball in Keizer, Oregon...about 20 minutes from Corvallis. I wore my Beaver Baseball hat with pride before they had won a single game in the series. Needless to say, I was ecstatic to be in Omaha as Oregon State went 5-0 to win their second National Championship in a row. Go Beavs!
We had a quick breakfast meeting and then I headed over to Rosenblatt Stadium in time for the opening game of the College World Series. In case you didn't already know, I grew up playing baseball in Keizer, Oregon...about 20 minutes from Corvallis. I wore my Beaver Baseball hat with pride before they had won a single game in the series. Needless to say, I was ecstatic to be in Omaha as Oregon State went 5-0 to win their second National Championship in a row. Go Beavs!
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Is the World Flat?
For most people in my generation, I believe Friedman's book was basically old news. By the time I read The World is Flat, I had already hired, sourced or partnered with foreign Software Developers, Mechanical Engineers, Transcriptionists, Operators, Customer Service Agents, and IT Support professionals and had accepted it as a normal way of life. I've lived in or toured foreign countries on nearly every continent; I speak a foreign language and fumble around with 2 others. I come from a multi-ethnic family, and I concur for the most part with Jared Diamond's philosophies about the global distribution of true intelligence. I'm also grateful for the brilliant minds that came to America to foster innovation and invention for the cause of Democracy. So is the World Flat? In my mind, there is no doubt. However, the millions of senior professionals ahead of me by a generation or so may not feel the same. To them, the world is only as flat as we allow it to become. As an intrapreneur who understands this, you may well confront that situation as you push forward in your company.
My first realization of this came on around my 40th day at Gallup. I was in a large auditorium where the IT managers were presenting FAQs on their accomplishments over the past year. Impressively, they had achieved a little over 400 software releases, with an internal staff of roughly 150 developers. One of the "myths" they openly dispelled was that we might move toward using Outsourced Developers in the future. Their experience was that they could not find equal quality or sufficient price savings to supplant what we were currently doing.
Two weeks later, I participated in a small planning committee where we decided that a major focus for our marketing efforts would be to improve our website as a prelude to more intense online marketing efforts.
Subsequently, I engaged in discussions with our IT department to get the ball rolling on our new website. The first red flag for me was that our internal costs were astronomical. Easily 10X what I would expect to pay an outside U.S. based contractor for the same work--let alone a developer in India. True, these costs weren't real to the company, rather a synthesized figure used to distribute overhead and support costs across workgroups...however, it still impacted my team's bottom-line. The second challenge was that we were bounced around between 4 or 5 decision-makers for several weeks just trying to figure out the process for getting a project into our IT department and prioritizing that project. The third and most telling obstacle was when we were told that even if our project was priority #1 for all IT development within the company, it would still take about 6 months to reach completion!
It took me less than 60 days to go from concept to revenue in my startup Garage Mahal, so as you can tell, 6 months seemed like forever.
As an intrapreneur, one is given two options at a time like this. Option 1) Get upset and throw the IT department under the bus, or option 2) try to work around the situation. A few years ago, and I might have opted for number 1, but we decided to take the other route. I'll keep you posted on the progress.
Now, back to the real issue--optimizing corporate processes to keep up with globalization. As intrapreneurs, I think it is our duty to push against tradition as stiffly as possible if it will help expose and fix a weakness. The contract I signed with Gallup was to provide more value to the company than I get paid. We have all signed that contract as Tim Sanders points out in his Love is the Killer App. Anything less than continual pushing for improvement would be a breach of that contract. My objective at this point was to dispell the protectionist mindset and introduce the possibility that outsourcing could increase productivity and imrpove the engagement of our current full-time developers at the same time. My agenda wasn't to "win" the debate, but to bring value to my employer.
Maybe you have a great opportunity at your company to talk about globalization or outsourcing. Maybe it's helping align compensation packages with performance accountability. Perhaps it is looking to find a better paper vender when you find out your packaging costs are inflated because your procurement officer gets a Christmas "gift" each year from the current vendor. Whatever the opportunity looks like, don't shirk your responsibility by simply chalking it up to "that's the way it has always been done." Look for, seize, and execute on opportunities to make your voice heard. Veterans at your company may not have had the same benefits of growing up in the world we now live in. You can add significant value to their decision-making.
My first realization of this came on around my 40th day at Gallup. I was in a large auditorium where the IT managers were presenting FAQs on their accomplishments over the past year. Impressively, they had achieved a little over 400 software releases, with an internal staff of roughly 150 developers. One of the "myths" they openly dispelled was that we might move toward using Outsourced Developers in the future. Their experience was that they could not find equal quality or sufficient price savings to supplant what we were currently doing.
Two weeks later, I participated in a small planning committee where we decided that a major focus for our marketing efforts would be to improve our website as a prelude to more intense online marketing efforts.
Subsequently, I engaged in discussions with our IT department to get the ball rolling on our new website. The first red flag for me was that our internal costs were astronomical. Easily 10X what I would expect to pay an outside U.S. based contractor for the same work--let alone a developer in India. True, these costs weren't real to the company, rather a synthesized figure used to distribute overhead and support costs across workgroups...however, it still impacted my team's bottom-line. The second challenge was that we were bounced around between 4 or 5 decision-makers for several weeks just trying to figure out the process for getting a project into our IT department and prioritizing that project. The third and most telling obstacle was when we were told that even if our project was priority #1 for all IT development within the company, it would still take about 6 months to reach completion!
It took me less than 60 days to go from concept to revenue in my startup Garage Mahal, so as you can tell, 6 months seemed like forever.
As an intrapreneur, one is given two options at a time like this. Option 1) Get upset and throw the IT department under the bus, or option 2) try to work around the situation. A few years ago, and I might have opted for number 1, but we decided to take the other route. I'll keep you posted on the progress.
Now, back to the real issue--optimizing corporate processes to keep up with globalization. As intrapreneurs, I think it is our duty to push against tradition as stiffly as possible if it will help expose and fix a weakness. The contract I signed with Gallup was to provide more value to the company than I get paid. We have all signed that contract as Tim Sanders points out in his Love is the Killer App. Anything less than continual pushing for improvement would be a breach of that contract. My objective at this point was to dispell the protectionist mindset and introduce the possibility that outsourcing could increase productivity and imrpove the engagement of our current full-time developers at the same time. My agenda wasn't to "win" the debate, but to bring value to my employer.
Maybe you have a great opportunity at your company to talk about globalization or outsourcing. Maybe it's helping align compensation packages with performance accountability. Perhaps it is looking to find a better paper vender when you find out your packaging costs are inflated because your procurement officer gets a Christmas "gift" each year from the current vendor. Whatever the opportunity looks like, don't shirk your responsibility by simply chalking it up to "that's the way it has always been done." Look for, seize, and execute on opportunities to make your voice heard. Veterans at your company may not have had the same benefits of growing up in the world we now live in. You can add significant value to their decision-making.
Friday, June 8, 2007
How I got here?
Fed up with the quagmire that is Monster.com and other internet job boards cluttered with spam and sketchy at best "career opportunities", I did a quick search on the BYU Alumni Career Board and saw an interesting post by Gallup. To be honest, I don't remember what position was advertised but I knew it was something in Consulting at Gallup. Both had a good brand association for me, but I didn't even know that the two were related. I always thought of Gallup in terms of the Gallup Poll and their prediction that Truman would win over Dewey. Delving into the various online resources such as Vault.com, I found great reviews about work-life at Gallup. I knew the Gallup brand was highly credible and naturally leaned away from the larger consulting firms--thanks to my brother's experience at KPMG. What did I have to lose? I shot the recruiter my resume via email, followed by a voicemail and then waited. It took a few days before I was invited to take an online selection test. It seemed like it went on forever--as extenuated by the redundancy of some of the questions.
I assumed the online Gallup test had gone poorly, since I had heard nothing for weeks. Then, out of the blue, I received a phone call from a Gallup recruiter. She said they would like to do an in-depth telephone interview and that one of their interviewers would be contacting me shortly. When she called, she was very friendly and accommodating...at least until the interview began. She went cold on me and my jokes seemed to echo in the silence. I wasn't sure if my answers were concise or complete enough. At the end, she simply said, "Thank you, we'll be in touch."
Several weeks passed as I received job offers in Telecom, Private Equity, Pharmaceuticals, and one in brand management at a consumer products conglomerate. I was ready to make my decision when Gallup's recruiter called back saying that a manager is interested and would like to do another phone interview. I told her no problem, as long as if things went well, they could "job offer" me by Monday. It was Wednesday. She was leaving for vacation, but said she would see what they could do. 2 phone interviews and a weekend trip to Omaha later, and I had my offer. The Omaha campus was incredible. Everyone from the receptionist to the lunch lady seemed to love working there and knew everyone else by name.
The position I was offered was a Partner Apprentice. It's an accelerated track to Partner that consists of several 6 month rotations working in the various business practices. The upward mobility sounded attractive and as a 26 yr old, I felt important interviewing directly with a member of the Executive Committee. After some negotiations, I was on my way to Omaha.
After 10 weeks here, I feel at home. It seems like I made the right decision and so far at least, Gallup has lived up to its reputation. My advice to others out there in a similar situation is to open a lot of doors so you have plenty of options when making the decision. It has lasting effects. Make sure you like your potential manager and their manager. Read the online reviews and don't sacrifice your personal life to work at a "big name" company. In regards to Gallup specifically, I'd be happy to answer any questions about the application process. While it seemed a bit unique at the time, I have learned that this same process helps a lot of Fortune 1000 companies hire and retain the best talent. Companies pay a lot for Gallup to go in and use the same tools and methodology to find and develop rising stars. The processes that may have seemed tedious for me in the beginning, pay huge dividends to clients who believe in the science behind our selection tools.
I assumed the online Gallup test had gone poorly, since I had heard nothing for weeks. Then, out of the blue, I received a phone call from a Gallup recruiter. She said they would like to do an in-depth telephone interview and that one of their interviewers would be contacting me shortly. When she called, she was very friendly and accommodating...at least until the interview began. She went cold on me and my jokes seemed to echo in the silence. I wasn't sure if my answers were concise or complete enough. At the end, she simply said, "Thank you, we'll be in touch."
Several weeks passed as I received job offers in Telecom, Private Equity, Pharmaceuticals, and one in brand management at a consumer products conglomerate. I was ready to make my decision when Gallup's recruiter called back saying that a manager is interested and would like to do another phone interview. I told her no problem, as long as if things went well, they could "job offer" me by Monday. It was Wednesday. She was leaving for vacation, but said she would see what they could do. 2 phone interviews and a weekend trip to Omaha later, and I had my offer. The Omaha campus was incredible. Everyone from the receptionist to the lunch lady seemed to love working there and knew everyone else by name.
The position I was offered was a Partner Apprentice. It's an accelerated track to Partner that consists of several 6 month rotations working in the various business practices. The upward mobility sounded attractive and as a 26 yr old, I felt important interviewing directly with a member of the Executive Committee. After some negotiations, I was on my way to Omaha.
After 10 weeks here, I feel at home. It seems like I made the right decision and so far at least, Gallup has lived up to its reputation. My advice to others out there in a similar situation is to open a lot of doors so you have plenty of options when making the decision. It has lasting effects. Make sure you like your potential manager and their manager. Read the online reviews and don't sacrifice your personal life to work at a "big name" company. In regards to Gallup specifically, I'd be happy to answer any questions about the application process. While it seemed a bit unique at the time, I have learned that this same process helps a lot of Fortune 1000 companies hire and retain the best talent. Companies pay a lot for Gallup to go in and use the same tools and methodology to find and develop rising stars. The processes that may have seemed tedious for me in the beginning, pay huge dividends to clients who believe in the science behind our selection tools.
Welcome
Welcome to my new blog. I joined Gallup Consulting a few months ago after being an entrepreneur for most of my life. The transition has been eye-opening and positive, while some challenges for this type of relationship are inevitable. I had some hesitance in going to work at a larger firm after so much independence, but felt the overall opportunity for growth outweighed the cons.
Many entrepreneurs fear working at larger companies for a variety of reasons. First, we are inherently independent and relish the effects that career independence has on our egos. We also tend to be Activators and dread the potential bureaucracy within larger companies that may hold us back in our race to results. Entrepreneurs enjoy feeling like big fish. Companies with thousands of employees can make individuals feel more like insignificant drops in the pond. At some point, entrepreneurs reach the inevitable decision of whether to give it another go alone, or to join a larger firm. This may come after a company goes bust, or after a successful exit...but at some point the question is asked.
My intention in writing this blog is to validate or dispel some of those fears. My transition to Gallup was a culmination of many factors. Only time will tell whether or not I am fit for this setting. Hopefully I can help some others in similar situations make that decision better informed. A secondary goal for this blog is to help executives understand entrepreneurs and harness that powerful constituency in their organization to help them drive true organic growth.
You can expect very open and candid anecdotes about life at Gallup, the consulting industry, intrapreneurship, and my transition to corporate life. Whatever I write in this blog is done independently of Gallup and may not represent the official views of Gallup.
Many entrepreneurs fear working at larger companies for a variety of reasons. First, we are inherently independent and relish the effects that career independence has on our egos. We also tend to be Activators and dread the potential bureaucracy within larger companies that may hold us back in our race to results. Entrepreneurs enjoy feeling like big fish. Companies with thousands of employees can make individuals feel more like insignificant drops in the pond. At some point, entrepreneurs reach the inevitable decision of whether to give it another go alone, or to join a larger firm. This may come after a company goes bust, or after a successful exit...but at some point the question is asked.
My intention in writing this blog is to validate or dispel some of those fears. My transition to Gallup was a culmination of many factors. Only time will tell whether or not I am fit for this setting. Hopefully I can help some others in similar situations make that decision better informed. A secondary goal for this blog is to help executives understand entrepreneurs and harness that powerful constituency in their organization to help them drive true organic growth.
You can expect very open and candid anecdotes about life at Gallup, the consulting industry, intrapreneurship, and my transition to corporate life. Whatever I write in this blog is done independently of Gallup and may not represent the official views of Gallup.
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