Tag: Work

Sleepy Vee

I worked from 8:00 am to 11:15 pm yesterday and I am tired.

There’s a well known company in the digital technology world, known largely known only by acronym, that’s been following the digital footprint I’m leaving for my company around the web since January. It’s like they woke up and just decided they were going to follow my strategy and ‘one-up’ it all the way through. If I pay for logo placement in third, they’re coming along a month later and paying for logo placement in second. Needless to say, it’s become quite tedious to try and differentiate ourselves when they seem hellbent on keeping us in the same breath.

Everyone’s always told me that they don’t market because they’re so big that they don’t need to. They control [X] amount of the market space, so why waste their dollars on marketing? Well, this year they’ve seemingly changed their minds. Their marketing strategy is to stalk my company’s LinkedIn and then do exactly what we’ve done.

Everyone’s always told me that they don’t attend shows and conventions because they’re so big that they don’t need to. They control [X] amount of the market space, so why waste their dollars on conventions? Well, this year they’ve seemingly change their minds. They seem to be attending no more, and no less, then the exact amount of shows I’ve signed the Texas crew up to attend.

Coincidence? I don’t work for them so I cannot speak to what they’re doing at this stage. I can speculate that they’re watching my company’s LinkedIn page and mirroring what my company is doing. I can also say that it’s really pissing me off.

When I took on this position last year I realized pretty quickly that I mass advertising wasn’t going to do me any good. With ‘Acronym Only’ company controlling such a giant share of the market, I decided that my best approach was not going to be casting a wide need, but rather, a targeted net. Instead of doing nation wide campaigns, or international campaigns, I’ve been specifically targeting sections of the population in certain states and regions of specific countries around the world. This has allowed my company’s profile to multiply five-fold in just a year’s time because people are seeing that one of our strongest suits is not being a multi-national corporation. (I say that in the figurative sense of the term, as my company is by all legal perspectives both a corporation and multi-national)

The problem that I think ‘Acronym Only’ company has is that they’re so big and they have so many people on staff and they have so much money to work with that they’ve lost touch with their ability to really reach people on an individual scale. I have exploited that. It was always my goal to exploit that.

When you call ‘Acronym Only’, you’re directed to a call centre from one of more than a dozen countries where a 10 minute long answering machine will help direct you to the right support person. You have a better chance of winning the lottery then talking to the same support person twice. When you call my company, you get the support team at my company. They’ll tell you their names, office phone and email address so that if your issue persists, you can contact them again. People need that. Despite the trend of massive conglomerates who can automate literally every aspect of their business they don’t want to do these days, people need to know that a company cares.

Well, this year ‘Acronym Only’ has decided to try and prove that they care. The way that they are trying to prove they care is by one-upping everything my company, and I, are doing.

I honestly don’t think its my personal strategy they’re trying to steal. I just think that they’re so big and have so many staff that they really don’t understand how to connect with people on a personal level anymore. I think they found a company they thought appeared to be doing it well, and they’re mimicking that. Which is sad and pathetic, really.

It’s making for some long ass days for me, though.

Trying to stay on top of a multi-billion dollar company wasn’t something I wove into my marketing strategy for the year. Reassessing takes more time than proper planning and execution did.

I think it goes to show, though… money can’t buy you everything. A good strategy is about making the best use of the tools available to you. It’s not about how much money you have to spend.

Job thoughts.

Do you ever meet someone and think ‘damn, you’ve got so much potential’? It always seems like the people who have the most potential are the ones who are the most against changing, improving and getting better. Whether it self esteem or something else, for whatever reason, they just don’t think they can succeed.

Maybe you are that person.

I know I was for many years.

I became so complacent in the position I was in. In the stage of life I was in. I told myself that was what I deserved and, even though I didn’t like it, I accepted it. I told myself that people like me weren’t meant for more in life.

Now that I realize what I’m capable of, what I can accomplish, what it’s like to feel valued… I look back on that person that I was and… while I am not ashamed, I am angry at myself. I stayed still for years. I was treated like shit at work for years.

There are some people in my life these days that are just… still. They don’t move. They won’t move. Every time I try to tell them how great they are and how much potential they have and how they just need to step out, I get excuses. Different excuses every time. There’s always a different reason as to why they cannot. And I get, I do. I was there for sooooo many years. But, now that I realize how wrong I was, I don’t want to see other people making those mistakes.

You cannot achieve anything in life if you don’t try. I should know. There are posts on this very blog where I talk about how I wouldn’t try, I didn’t want to try and I wasn’t going to try.

Change is worthwhile. Even when it sucks. Actually, when change sucks, that’s probably when you’re accomplishing the most growth.

Just..

I know it’s hard when someone is seemingly bossing you around, trying to push you into a place you’re not comfortable with. Just know that it comes from a good place. Take that from someone who ignored those people for YEARS and now has become one of them.

It’s okay to want more for yourself.

It’s okay to chase more for yourself.

You might not be able to make a change tomorrow, but as long as you’re working toward something, progress will do wonders for your mood and well-being. And to be clear, I’m not advocating for anyone to up and quit their job. I just think it’s important to make a plan. A reasonable plan. Something for you to look forward to. Something for you to work towards. Something that’s realistic and able for you to accomplish. Six months? A year? Two years? Five years? Give yourself something to work for.

I have a plan in place. Just knowing there’s a plan helps me immensely.

I applied!

A friend of mine recently suggested that it might be time I stop working for myopic thinkers. You know, he might just be on to something.

I mentioned earlier this week that I was considering applying for a position of Global Marketing Specialist with another company here in my city. Everyone in my inner-circle had already told me that I should. Everyone who commented on that blog post told me that I should, but I was doubting myself.

I applied this morning. I just decided that today is the day. I’m going to take the chance, and if this opportunity doesn’t pan out, I’ll find another. It’s time I stop working for myopic thinkers.

Onward and upward.

(I’m not quitting my present job, just to be clear. At least not until I line something new up. I’ve applied for this new position because… I don’t want to be stagnant in life.)

Couple of things

I’m thinking about applying for a job with a new company that’s here in the city that’s hiring for a Global Marketing Specialist. I’m thinking of applying.

Am I qualified? Sure am.

Do I think I’d have a shot? I don’t know. I’m doubting myself. I think I always doubt myself because I don’t want to get my hopes up for something.

I think it would be a really exciting opportunity though. The company creates the software that helps create autonomous machinery. They’re actually really well known in the industry they work. I’ve driven past the building hundreds of times since moving here. I never knew what they did until about a month ago when I finally looked it up. They’re entire company is really well established with offices on four continents. They’re also a company that is developing technology for the future, which the prospect of is really interesting.

Think I should apply?

Okay, maybe I don’t have a couple of things. Just one.

All over the place – snark

I feel as though I’m ranting about this a lot today, but some people just push things to unnecessary levels.

Jayden seems to be the asshole who just won’t quit.

I don’t know what it is. Perhaps he just bulldozes through a lot of people and he thinks he can do it to everyone because no one’s ever called him on his bullshit before? Maybe he really doesn’t believe the absolutely impossible things he says. Maybe he just thinks I’m a pushover.

If any one of the people on my sales team used the aggressive tactics he’s tried to use today, I cannot even begin to fathom the repercussions they’d have to deal with from me. You don’t get to treat people that way.

“No.”

“No, thank you.”

“We’re not interested, thanks.”

These are all complete sentences. If someone says no, accept that. They don’t need to explain themselves, or their reasoning. No. Period. Full stop.

You’re not privy to my internal company discussion and you have no right to it.

Now, excessively calling someone’s office is the exact reason why you won’t ever have my cell phone number. You were told in two emails that I am not in my office and thus cannot answer my office phone. Your response is to call my phone no less than 6 times in… 9 hours? Are you kidding me?

“Well you’re obviously getting my messages,” he says.

Yeah… my voicemails are emailed to me. That’s something COMPLETELY DIFFERENT from picking up my office phone when I am not in my office.

Oh, shit like this gets under my skin. There’s no reason for needing to phone someone 6 times in 9 hours when you’re trying to sell them something. That’s aggressive as hell.

Don’t be like Jayden.

Don’t be an idiot.

Jayden tried again

I can’t handle that level of aggression.

Simmer down, you tempestuous idiot.

Jayden emails back to tell Murray and I he made a bad impression this morning and he’d to make it up to us. Then he goes on to tell me the newsletters he’s selling advertising space in have a 100% read rate, and that everyone reads them weekly.

No.

Not true.

You don’t have 100% read rates because it’s IMPOSSIBLE to have 100% read rates.

Even the most popular, sought after brands on earth don’t have 100% read rates. People get sick. People go on holidays. People just ignore your emails. Don’t lie to me. Even if you’d some how mastered the art of audience interaction in which you were reaching maximum potential audience each week, there is no possible way in which you could have 100% read rates.

You saying that leads me to believe you think we’re idiots.

The joke is on you, you stupid, stupid man.

“Perhaps I should speak with your boss, again.”

Don’t cross me. I don’t have time, or patience, for it. Don’t be an idiot. Just don’t.

This morning… to start off a great Wednesday, I was contacted by someone selling advertising space. This someone, named Jayden, contacted my boss yesterday and was told that he needed to speak with me about any and all advertising that our company does.

Today Jayden called my office line and left me a vague voicemail asking me to call him back.

No thanks, Jayden. I’m not wasting my time on a phone call to get information that can be provided to me in an email. So, I emailed Jayden and said that if he’d like to provide me information, he can do so by email. I also mentioned that I’m working from home right now and that I do not give out my cell phone number very easily because people tend to keep it when I don’t want them to.

Jayden got my email and decided it would be a great idea to call my office line, again. This time Jayden pleaded with me that it’s imperative we speak by phone and that he appreciates human connection when he’s working with companies from around the country.

You know what I can’t do when I’m at home? Answer a fucking phone that’s on the 24th floor of an office tower downtown. As mentioned in the previous email, Jayden, I’m not giving you my cell phone number. You stupid? That’s a rhetorical question, by the way.

Jayden then sent me an email with an invitation to a Zoom call. Not for tomorrow. Not for a week from now. The zoom call was in progress. He was sitting on zoom waiting, hoping that I’d click the link and answer.

Again, you stupid, Jayden?

That’s so aggressive. He doesn’t know if I have a fucking meeting or not. Why would he just sit on zoom and wait?

I wrote Jayden an email and said ‘Please email any information you’d like to provide. I will review it when I am able and get back to you.’

Jayden wrote me back and said ‘It seems you cannot make time for me. Perhaps I should speak with [my boss’ name], again.”

Yeah, you know what, Jayden… why don’t you go call my fucking boss again. Go ahead. I dare you. I’m going to send him a note that tells him just how aggressive and stupid you’ve been this morning. I’m going to instruct him to tell you to fuck off. He’s not going to, because he’s a lot nicer than me. He’ll use much kinder words. And, though I don’t think you deserve kind words, he’s going to offer them to you anyway.

Have a nice life, Jayden.

It’s still snowing.

I went for a drive during my lunch break because, you know, that’s what you do these days.

Alberta has double the cases per-capita of provincial counterpart, Ontario, a province with more then 10 million more people in it.

I also saw on the news last night a Virologist saying that Alberta has more cases per capita right now than in a lot of the US States. Now, I haven’t seen an actual stat for that, and I can’t find one online, but if he was telling the truth and not making a generalization, that sucks….

It’s so bad here other provinces are starting to restrict people from our province because we carry a risk of basically exponentially worsening the entire country if we province hop.

There are more cases in this city, presently, than in the entire province that my parents live in. So… I really don’t blame other provinces for wanting to tell us to just fucking stay home. (Yes, language is necessary because I’m in that kind of a mood)

Basically, we’re going to be here a long time to come.

So I went for a drive. In the snow. I saw the mountains, I saw a couple moose, some very confused geese, a pretty lake. It was… I guess as good as it could be.

I wore shorts and flip-flops in protest of the current weather. I didn’t go inside anywhere because… why bother.

Overheard on Discord – Keeping in the Family

Axel got dumped on his birthday. Axel did not have a good birthday.

There’s a little bit of information about Axel here, here and here, if you’ve got no idea whaaaaat I am talking about. He’s become quite the character in my life.

His girlfriend (ex-girlfriend now) broke up with him on his birthday because ‘she needed space’. For the record, I’ve never met the girl, but I’m not the fondest of her as well. She seems to make poor life choices from what I’ve heard… especially with what I’ve heard recently.

Not only did she catch COVID and spread it to at least six other people when she managed to give it to Axel on their first hook-up (I’d call it a date, but he tells the story and it wasn’t a date), but I’m pretty sure she decided Axel was a suitable boyfriend solely because he bought her things. Also, another story from discord that I never told on this blog was that in January she was driving whilst intoxicated and crashed Axel’s car. While their injuries were minimal, she was subsequently charged.

Well, in a relationship where the drama just keeps on giving, Axel told us on his birthday that his girlfriend had dumped him that morning.

Today he actually told us on discord that he’s not speaking to his brother right now because, when his girlfriend (now ex) dumped him, she started dating his brother.

I just…

Some people are like magnets for drama.

He’s been in a bummer of a mood the past few weeks though. I kind of figured he was just sad that he was lonely again. Turns out there was an extra blow to his all-too-tiny-of-an ego when his ex started dating his brother.

Drama magnet.