Moving On

Three years, seven months, and nineteen days ago, my husband and I left our long-time corporate jobs for a well-planned early retirement.  I wanted to share my experience, keep my mind engaged, and my fingers in the business world (part-time), so we founded Haropulos Bailey Consulting.  Along with several interesting consulting assignments, we have been honored to provide some free advice and coaching for friends whose careers are still in full swing. 

Each Monday morning for the past few years I have been blogging; commenting on current events, ruminating on lessons learned from past experience, and suggesting ideas for overcoming challenges faced in a corporate environment.  There is now a library of 140 original blog postings online, which I have been pleased to discover have attracted thousands of readers worldwide.

The time has come to leave our business-focused alter egos by the wayside and transition fully and gleefully into retired life.  This will be my final posting on the Haropulos Bailey Consulting blog.  (Existing postings will remain online.)  Thank you for your interest and frequent inspiration.  We would be grateful to hear from you if we have helped or inspired you in return.

I invite you to follow my other blog, chronicling retired life:  Runaway Boomer.

Time to move on.  I have an 11:30 tee time.  Happy New Year and New Plans!

Tough Love

Courage in leadership is a trait I admire. It's very powerful when leaders make difficult decisions with love.

There's a new Sheriff in town in Chicago, my adopted city.  Well, not really a Sheriff - a Mayor.  Rahm Emanuel took the Mayoral Oath of Office on May 16th, 2011.  His Honor clearly loves this city and wants it to be a fantastic place to live and work.  At the same time, he recognizes the issues that have been festering and has the courage to tackle those that threaten our future.  Within his first 6 months as Mayor, he has tussled with the city worker's union and the teacher's union.  He has taken 500 police out from behind desks and put them back on the streets To Serve And Protect.  Rahm's recent budget proposal includes necessary "haircuts" and fee increases required to improve an infrastructure over a hundred years old. He takes public transportation to City Hall and insists that city workers use it too instead of claiming mileage on their expense reports.  He cancelled corporate credit cards en masse when rampant misuse was uncovered.  I admire the practical and passionate approach Rahm is bringing to Chicago politics.  Not everyone is a fan of the decisions he is making, but it's hard to argue with his logic and goals.  We are a metropolis that needs his tough love.

Imagine what could be accomplished if more corporate leaders brought tough love to their work.  Many have the "tough" part of the equation down pat.  It's the balance with "love" that is often lacking.  Love for the future of an institution...love for the people that make it successful...love for what is to be accomplished.  When difficult decisions are made and communication to constituents is cloaked in legalese, PR-speak, and marketing yip-yip, you have to question motives and desired outcomes. What is there to hide? 

Too many corporate executives are motivated by short term goals and long term personal incentives.  It takes courage and toughness and love to be profitable and ethical in business - not just in public service.

The Business Travel Talk

Whenever I sent an employee of mine on a business trip for the first time, I always invited them into my office to explain corporate policy and the unwritten rules of representing the company on the road. The following is a genericized version of this talk, which I hope will be helpful for people early in their career. Sometimes no one tells you the unwritten stuff until you get in trouble. I believe in helping people stay out of trouble.

First of all, understand that the opportunity to travel for business is a privilege, not a right. We are putting our trust in you to represent the company appropriately. If you don’t follow travel policies, the privilege will be taken away.

Make your reservations though the travel office. They will apply the policies as far as preferred airlines and prices. You will be flying coach, and may sometimes be booked on connecting flights if the price differential is substantial and the connection time is reasonable.

You have been provided with a corporate credit card to be used exclusively for your business expenses. Use of your corporate card for personal expenses is an offense that would result in termination of your employment. Keep all of your travel receipts, as you will be required to submit them with your expense report at the conclusion of your travel.

The company will reimburse you for the cost of getting to and from the airport. You can take a taxi or use your personal car. (No limos or town cars.) If you choose to use your own car, keep track of your mileage, as you will be compensated at a per mile rate. You will also be reimbursed for airport parking. Rent a car at your destination only if doing so will be cheaper than using a taxi to get where you need to go. Do not drink and drive.

You are entitled to three meals a day. Be reasonable. Don’t eat lobster every night, but I’m not telling you to eat all your meals at McDonalds either. The company does not pay for alcoholic beverages, except in cases where you have been authorized to entertain customers. Your after-hours entertainment (e.g. movies, shows) are not reimbursable. Laundry/valet expenses are not paid by the company, unless the length of your trip exceeds three nights. Use your judgment, and know that I will be reviewing your expense account in detail.

At all times during your trip, you are representing the company (even when traveling outside normal business hours). Your attire should never be overly casual, and you should be well groomed. For work and meetings with clients, dress appropriately for their environment. It’s always better to be over-dressed than under-dressed.

Congratulations. Have fun. Work hard. Make us proud. Don’t get arrested, because I won’t bail you out.

Cautionary Advice

Imagine this: You have a good management-level job with a stable company. Suddenly, the massive project you have worked on for years grinds to a halt. Your company is the target of a lawsuit filed by a business partner. Your company responds with their own lawsuit. Fortunately, you still have a job. But the discovery phase of the lawsuit has begun, and you are involved. · You are succinctly warned not to dispose of any work product relating to the project. · The legal department has sent someone to collect the notebooks you have with all the handwritten notes you have taken at meetings during the course of the project. Don’t review them or sort them – just hand them over. · A minion from Legal has come to copy project files off the local drive of your workstation, and out of your file drawers. · Email files and shared electronic files have been subpoenaed, and are being retrieved from storage devices. They are being printed and copied for detailed review. · A lot of questions are being asked of you, about exactly what happened over the last few years. How can you remember who said what in meetings that took place months and years ago? · You are identified as a material witness who will be subject to a formal deposition. Lawyers spend days and hours preparing you for the experience. · For several days straight you are in a meeting room with lawyers from each side, a court reporter, and a taping device. Every word you say matters. How you say it matters. It’s stressful and exhausting. · Now you have been subpoenaed to testify in court. Does this sound far-fetched? It’s not. It happened to me 17 years ago when a multi-million dollar project crashed and burned. Fortunately, the case was settled out of court (to the advantage of my employer). For me (not accused of any wrongdoing in the suit), it was a learning experience. What did I learn? BE UNFAILINGLY TRUE TO YOUR PERSONAL ETHICS: It can be hard, when others around you are bending theirs. Always take the high ground, and be noisy about pointing out when others are not. TAKE GOOD FACTUAL NOTES, WITH DATES/TIMES AND EXACT QUOTES: Notes can become evidence. They should be devoid of your opinions and doodling. CONTENT OF WORK EMAIL SHOULD ALWAYS REMAIN PROFESSIONAL: I can’t tell you how much embarrassment some people I know were subjected to, when scores of people were reading their “private” emails. Compose all email as if it might be read by anyone. COMPLY WITH COMPANY POLICIES ON RECORD RETENTION: Throw away what you are not required to keep. If you still have something, it is subject to subpoena – you have no choice. I dodged a bullet years ago. I hope this cautionary advice helps keep you out of the crosshairs.