Feeling Useful

I got a comment from Sri Lanka yesterday...that is a first;-) I wish there was something that would track comments on a map, not just readers. So, thanks Azrael...one more place crossed off my list;-) (Incidentally, my life will be complete when someone from Chad checks in...)

Maybe the best chicken finger Thursday ever:-) Munchkin was lobbying to leave school early so she could watch the Cubs game, but I don't want to be pulling her out for baseball game watching two days into the year. She pouted for about 10 seconds over that, which is about the limit of her tantrums.

So we headed over after work, and Smoking Hot Roommate and Big Sis joined us, as did their respective attachments. Even Papa Bear dropped in for a drink on his way to dinner elsewhere:-) A handful of other friends came by to say Hi, as well, so I got to see some people I haven't seen for a bit. That is always nice...I kind of lose track of people in the summer a bit because we are out of town so much, so now is the time of year to re-see people.

Boss Foxy says she has an important topic for me at lunch today, but I don't know what it is. I know I am not getting promoted nor getting a raise, so I wonder if maybe someone else is and I get to hear it first. I kinda like office gossip, even if it is evil and counterproductive:-D

Speaking of work...I got a super nice compliment that I don't think was even intended to be a compliment yesterday. It turns out that there is at least one part of what we do that I am really good at. I don't know 10% of the stuff that anyone else does about the mechanics and the details of doing a deal...or about the strategic development and restructuring and such that goes into one. But, what I do really well with is people, and that is a big part of everything we do.

Most buyouts involve some kind of restructuring, and that always inflames whatever internal politics is in place at the company. Coming from the outside, these things can be really hard to pick up sometimes until it is too late...things like "VP #1 and VP#2 hate each other and will do whatever they can to undercut the other...one of them has to go." If you put them both into key roles and then find this out four months later, your whole plan is fucked.

What I am good at is getting people to talk. No, not by waterboarding them;-) People just, for some reason, open up to me and feel comfortable dishing all the dirt. Maybe it is because I am so non-threatening, or maybe just because I am so fucking charming:-D

Back to yesterday...we are consulting on a deal with another, bigger firm. There are some sticky points and some personnel issues with the biggest subsidiary of the target. So, I got called to sit in on a meeting yesterday to plan some stuff, and already knew that I would be spending some time on the HR issues next week. But when the VP who is running the day-to-day asked if he should go with me, the Partner (who is in charge of it) said "No, there are some tricky things, and I don't think we are getting the whole story. I think we need to send AM on her own or else we won't get to the bottom of it."

I kinda wanted to do a little dance on the table:-) I felt wicked cool!!! Yeah, fucking right the rest of you will only screw up and I should go on my own! You guys can just read my memo to find out what really happened!!! So, I am not sure he meant it that way, but to me it sounded like "AM is clearly the inter-personal issues expert here and we need to defer to her."

So, now I am oddly fired up about these meetings next week...I feel important:-)

Busy weekend ahead...soccer game tomorrow morning, which will be fun, then a back-to-school party thing at one of the other kids' houses in the afternoon. Munchkin is sleeping over at a friend's Saturday night, so me and SHR and some other girls are gonna go out and tie one on. And that is about it:-) I will let you know what Boss Foxy has to say, too...I am intrigued.

Have a good weekend, everyone:-)