Living in Hong Kong last fall, I was fortunate to experience my first typhoon. The circular barrage delivered enough rain to leave me considering whether or not to kayak to class. it also brought enough wind to blow away South China's ever-present blanket of smog out to sea. But my favorite part of the event was the eerie calm before storm, a quiet that both settles and concerns at the same time. The public sections of the metropolis had emptied like a store at closing time in anticipation of the storm, leaving only the brave and the stupid (in my case, more the latter than former) to chance torrential weather in return for a unique moment of outside peace.
The last week at Debra's was similar to that typhoon experience. The incoming storm was nor rain nor wind, but a large and lengthy contract negotiation on the horizon. We were in the later stages of the competition for the deal, having, for the most part, beaten our competitors, and subsequently earning a seat at the initial bargaining table. However, all was not peaches and creme in this negotiation. We suspected impartiality is not highly valued with our potential client, at least not in this case. Specifically, Debra was forced to jump through a series of hoops best labeled as excessive and somewhat ridiculous, such as being asked to travel to Wichita, Kansas, to pitch what she had already explained in detail.
The week climaxed with Debra preparing for her trip to see the potential client. She, with myself providing some aid, had spent plenty of hours erecting a game plan, scenario preparation, and the grace to show respect to someone not returning it. This deal is a relatively large one, and will connect a few select winners to a downpour of money. As the contact's competition had been running some time now, the climax of the story was possibly dangling in Kansas. The typhoon of negotiation was about to strike, but, as the preparation continued, the eerie calm was running its course.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Pretty graphs
Wow, I can't believe my summer internship is more than halfway over! It's getting closer and closer to the time when I'll have to balance classes and work again, and Rosanna will soon be departing for Taiwan, leaving me to put into action everything she's been teaching me. Cross-training with her has been challenging at times, only because she was never really trained on her responsibilities - she just taught herself how to do everything! Because we are a start up, and because Rosanna was the first employee after our managing partners, she has been there from the beginning and knows everything so intrinsically. This is great on one end because she has so much wisdom to pass on, but it also can be difficult for me because there is no "job manual" for the position of Research Manager- it's all in Rosanna's head.
One of the biggest tasks that she has been working with me on is our end-of-quarter presentation for Q2 (yes, a little late). At the end of every quarter we have a conference call to go over growth and sales numbers as well as corporate and personal As&Os (Accomplishments and Objectives-I had to ask). At first I felt slightly excluded from this process because Rosanna wasn't sharing much of the responsibility with me, but she has gotten better in the past few days, letting me see what the slides look like and asking me for input. We first had to figure out what the message was that we wanted to portray through this presentation, and then find a logical way to get that point across in graphs, data charts, or sometimes just verbally.
A somewhat strange issue came up when trying to decide which of these methods (pictures or just words) would be most useful. Rosanna is a self-described "visual person", and admittedly likes playing around in the new Excel, because "it has pretty graphs". This is true, you can do all sorts of colored, 3-D stuff in there! But Lisa had expressed to me that she thought the previous quarter's conference call looked somewhat unprofessional because of the inconsistency of the slides (a new "cool" graph design for each slide), and the use of graphs when words would have worked just as well to get the point across. When working with Rosanna on this Q2 presentation, I felt quite a lot of resistance from Rosanna when I suggested some of the changes that I had understood Lisa wanted. Rosanna made comments like "this is my creative outlet", when I suggested that we might take some of the unnecessary slides out-it was a very strange situation for me because I simply wanted to meet Lisa's expectations (and I know Rosanna wants to also), but we were definitely not on the same page about what those expectations were. It is a funny thing, the dynamics that develop in a small, start-up company. Rosanna is still my superior, but we are the same age. And now she is on her way out and I will be taking over her job. I know that there is no animosity between us, but it is just interesting to reflect on our different styles and these dynamics that we're working within.
One of the biggest tasks that she has been working with me on is our end-of-quarter presentation for Q2 (yes, a little late). At the end of every quarter we have a conference call to go over growth and sales numbers as well as corporate and personal As&Os (Accomplishments and Objectives-I had to ask). At first I felt slightly excluded from this process because Rosanna wasn't sharing much of the responsibility with me, but she has gotten better in the past few days, letting me see what the slides look like and asking me for input. We first had to figure out what the message was that we wanted to portray through this presentation, and then find a logical way to get that point across in graphs, data charts, or sometimes just verbally.
A somewhat strange issue came up when trying to decide which of these methods (pictures or just words) would be most useful. Rosanna is a self-described "visual person", and admittedly likes playing around in the new Excel, because "it has pretty graphs". This is true, you can do all sorts of colored, 3-D stuff in there! But Lisa had expressed to me that she thought the previous quarter's conference call looked somewhat unprofessional because of the inconsistency of the slides (a new "cool" graph design for each slide), and the use of graphs when words would have worked just as well to get the point across. When working with Rosanna on this Q2 presentation, I felt quite a lot of resistance from Rosanna when I suggested some of the changes that I had understood Lisa wanted. Rosanna made comments like "this is my creative outlet", when I suggested that we might take some of the unnecessary slides out-it was a very strange situation for me because I simply wanted to meet Lisa's expectations (and I know Rosanna wants to also), but we were definitely not on the same page about what those expectations were. It is a funny thing, the dynamics that develop in a small, start-up company. Rosanna is still my superior, but we are the same age. And now she is on her way out and I will be taking over her job. I know that there is no animosity between us, but it is just interesting to reflect on our different styles and these dynamics that we're working within.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Summer Dull-drums - Week 5
My fifth week slowed down like a car just out of gas, still rolling, but with a clear decline of pace. The main focus of work consisted of converting a PowerPoint presentation from one format to another, which involved unleashing my hardcore copy and paste skills on the 107-page sideshow titled “Introduction to Electron Optics”.
After transforming roughly 20 of the slides, I sent them to Debra, who forwarded them to Hal, our audio/video wizard. Hal needed them to establish a foundation to our high-tech presentation, which involves combining the revamped slides with a small video box of Jan explaining each one in turn. The result is an electronic instruction that feels much closer to an in-person demonstration, an engaging synthesis of sights and sounds.
If FEI’s proposal with the Department of Energy carries through, then the idea is that this instructional video will one day train our professors and teachers how to educate their students using the mega-microscopes. As globalization brings down more and more American companies in the face of international competition (General Motors anyone?), I maintain hope that our work will aid the education of a new generation of battle-ready human capital.
After transforming roughly 20 of the slides, I sent them to Debra, who forwarded them to Hal, our audio/video wizard. Hal needed them to establish a foundation to our high-tech presentation, which involves combining the revamped slides with a small video box of Jan explaining each one in turn. The result is an electronic instruction that feels much closer to an in-person demonstration, an engaging synthesis of sights and sounds.
If FEI’s proposal with the Department of Energy carries through, then the idea is that this instructional video will one day train our professors and teachers how to educate their students using the mega-microscopes. As globalization brings down more and more American companies in the face of international competition (General Motors anyone?), I maintain hope that our work will aid the education of a new generation of battle-ready human capital.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Lights! Camera! Cut! - Week 4
Have you ever wanted to work for Hollywood? Maybe as a producer, actor, or director? Personally, I always saw it as an luring temptation of wealth and excitement, making products that millions upon millions will track and consume and hopefully love. Yet after being on set for the filming of a simple education video, I must confess my dream began to second guess itself.
The video shoot contained quite basic ambitions: we wanted to capture a electron microscope expert explaining the details of a instructional PowerPoint he created. The sideshow was called "An Introduction to Electron Optics", and was actually a beast of a presentation, totaling a hefty 107 slides.
This expert was named Jan ".....". I cannot pronounce his last name. Neither could Debra, Hal (the video expert we worked with), or any of the staff at FEI. Jan was flown in from Austria, where he currently resides, and was willing to come across the globe in the holy activity of business-to-business marketing. A native of the Netherlands, Jan spoke near-fluent English, yet when the camera was rolling his seemingly-minor vocal defects began to multiply.
Despite his technical expertise, Jan, like most of us, gets nervous while being filmed, and was making constant flubs, such as pronouncing vacuum as "vae-cuum". His introduction, where he outlined his professional credentials, took a mere 50 takes to get truly right, and even then our best clip features a nervous tone at times. Jan was trying hard, too hard in fact: he was getting mad at little mishaps, like when a piano player would strike one wrong key in a recital, and make a visible grimace as a result. I tried to ease him through constant smiling and encouraging nods of my head, but even a eager audience member could not always steady our lecturer.
While I was not there for the majority of the filming, Debra told me that nothing but sheer determination brought the work to a completion. Jan was highly competent in the technical areas of the slide, but often baffled on topics more personal. Furthermore, American business lingo differs from British lingo (which all Europeans speak), so the end result left us with a Dutch guy trying to educate a American audience in his second language. After witnessing Jan's first 15 takes at his introduction, and beginning to memorize his prescribed speech with alarming accuracy, I couldn't help but be thankful Hollywood was absent in my horizon.
The video shoot contained quite basic ambitions: we wanted to capture a electron microscope expert explaining the details of a instructional PowerPoint he created. The sideshow was called "An Introduction to Electron Optics", and was actually a beast of a presentation, totaling a hefty 107 slides.
This expert was named Jan ".....". I cannot pronounce his last name. Neither could Debra, Hal (the video expert we worked with), or any of the staff at FEI. Jan was flown in from Austria, where he currently resides, and was willing to come across the globe in the holy activity of business-to-business marketing. A native of the Netherlands, Jan spoke near-fluent English, yet when the camera was rolling his seemingly-minor vocal defects began to multiply.
Despite his technical expertise, Jan, like most of us, gets nervous while being filmed, and was making constant flubs, such as pronouncing vacuum as "vae-cuum". His introduction, where he outlined his professional credentials, took a mere 50 takes to get truly right, and even then our best clip features a nervous tone at times. Jan was trying hard, too hard in fact: he was getting mad at little mishaps, like when a piano player would strike one wrong key in a recital, and make a visible grimace as a result. I tried to ease him through constant smiling and encouraging nods of my head, but even a eager audience member could not always steady our lecturer.
While I was not there for the majority of the filming, Debra told me that nothing but sheer determination brought the work to a completion. Jan was highly competent in the technical areas of the slide, but often baffled on topics more personal. Furthermore, American business lingo differs from British lingo (which all Europeans speak), so the end result left us with a Dutch guy trying to educate a American audience in his second language. After witnessing Jan's first 15 takes at his introduction, and beginning to memorize his prescribed speech with alarming accuracy, I couldn't help but be thankful Hollywood was absent in my horizon.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Fifth week - training
The last week for me at NWSC has consisted of training 4 new staff members on the background screening process. Having never managed or trained before, let's just say it's a learning experience on both sides! I have asked for feedback from each new trainee about what worked and what didn't, and as the questionnaires for earlier in the week are coming in, I am having to grapple with how to improve this training system that we are pretty much inventing from scratch.
At first I was disappointing when a lot of the feedback stated that the trainees felt like we were moving too slowly and repeating certain concepts too much, when they felt like it could have been more accelerated. Because in previous trainings we rushed through things too fast and didn't devote enough time to some of the more difficult concepts and processes, one of our goals for this round was to make sure we covered everything, and thoroughly. But, I guess that we over-shot a little bit, and we will have to find that happy medium between too fast and too slow. We are a start up, and in some sense everyone who works for us is a guinea pig of some kind, as we figure out what works for our company.
This is interesting for me to reflect on because I initially started out as an Education major at Linfield. While I quickly figured out that I would not be happy in that profession, doing trainings at NWSC is enjoyable and appealing to me because it includes the aspects of teaching which drew me to Education in the first place, without the unbearable young-adult group dynamics and drama that I would have been subject to as a teacher-the reasons why I changed my major. It is somewhat strange having to be a boss to these 4 trainees who are all the same age as me, but I have had some good discussions with Lisa about how to establish that authority without coming across as mean or bossy, and how gain their respect as a manager. This is something that I am anxious to start practicing, and I guess only time will tell how successful I am.
At first I was disappointing when a lot of the feedback stated that the trainees felt like we were moving too slowly and repeating certain concepts too much, when they felt like it could have been more accelerated. Because in previous trainings we rushed through things too fast and didn't devote enough time to some of the more difficult concepts and processes, one of our goals for this round was to make sure we covered everything, and thoroughly. But, I guess that we over-shot a little bit, and we will have to find that happy medium between too fast and too slow. We are a start up, and in some sense everyone who works for us is a guinea pig of some kind, as we figure out what works for our company.
This is interesting for me to reflect on because I initially started out as an Education major at Linfield. While I quickly figured out that I would not be happy in that profession, doing trainings at NWSC is enjoyable and appealing to me because it includes the aspects of teaching which drew me to Education in the first place, without the unbearable young-adult group dynamics and drama that I would have been subject to as a teacher-the reasons why I changed my major. It is somewhat strange having to be a boss to these 4 trainees who are all the same age as me, but I have had some good discussions with Lisa about how to establish that authority without coming across as mean or bossy, and how gain their respect as a manager. This is something that I am anxious to start practicing, and I guess only time will tell how successful I am.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
News-Register intern completes fifth week
Week five was short for me. I had to prepare for a camping trip and therefore needed to get some serious reading done for my management class and get my participation included since I would be without the 'Net for some time. I was absent from the office for two days-- yipes, but I returned Friday to finish a story I began earlier in the week and that was that. My entire News-Register week that week was all about that one story which didn't have the proper buttons pressed after it was complete I guess ( I'll note there were some server issues going on that day and for that very reason I made sure the story was in its proper state before I left, but somehow it isn't and so I blame the server). So it wasn't published when I assumed it would be. Boo hoo. No really, boo hoo. It was sort of a time thing.
Too late.
And now begins my sixth week.
Septembre "The Intern" Russell
Too late.
And now begins my sixth week.
Septembre "The Intern" Russell
Monday, July 6, 2009
Obama Bucks - Week 3
Today I read that the majority of the recent $700 billion stimulus package won't be spent until the end of 2010. This estimation is even more dismaying when you compare our stimulus spending to France, who plans to use 75% of their funds by this year. Our taxes are being unleashed slower than mountains grow vertically, despite the fact they are needed most now. However, there are pockets of people that could soon be directly affected by the stimulus package: FEI, Debra, and thus, myself.
Education is a giant portion of the stimulus, something I support heavily. You can't have a competitive and innovative economy run by workers who can't find Canada on the map (although geography has never been our strong point). When we are old and useless, I hope there are smart young adults making the big bucks all over the United States, so they can pay for whatever is left of medicare and social security.
That's where Debra and I come in. We're currently scavenging the Internet for lab exercises designed for high school and college students. Taking a formula conceived from the lab exercises' commonalities, we will soon be beginning to assemble our own activities, aiming to utilize the Phenom's ridiculous power to spice up a science lesson or two. Some people are crazy about CSI, so why not bring a little of the high-tech laboratory equipment to them? So rest assured, avid government watchdog; your taxes may be gathering virtual dust somewhere is cyberspace, but at least some of it is working toward a worthwhile cause.
Education is a giant portion of the stimulus, something I support heavily. You can't have a competitive and innovative economy run by workers who can't find Canada on the map (although geography has never been our strong point). When we are old and useless, I hope there are smart young adults making the big bucks all over the United States, so they can pay for whatever is left of medicare and social security.
That's where Debra and I come in. We're currently scavenging the Internet for lab exercises designed for high school and college students. Taking a formula conceived from the lab exercises' commonalities, we will soon be beginning to assemble our own activities, aiming to utilize the Phenom's ridiculous power to spice up a science lesson or two. Some people are crazy about CSI, so why not bring a little of the high-tech laboratory equipment to them? So rest assured, avid government watchdog; your taxes may be gathering virtual dust somewhere is cyberspace, but at least some of it is working toward a worthwhile cause.
Back from a long trip - a "Journey of Smiles"
Hello all,
My second internship week was fabulous.
2009 remarks the 20th year of Operation Smile Vietnam (where my intern is). Operation Smile Vietnam plans to conduct 20 charity surgical missions to provide treatments to 2000 cleft lips and cleft palate patients in a week in November. To prepare for this event, Operation Smile has a "demo" trip called a Journey of Smiles to several provinces and cities throughout Vietnam.
I was assigned to go to Nha Trang, one of the most beautiful beach cities in Vietnam. My job is to gather all the information through observation, interview, documents; and to take photos of the children. This is for further fund raising activities to support the 20th Aniversary event.
It was wonderful seeing the kids changing their smile after just a day. While cleft lip just affects the children's appearance, cleft palate causes them difficulties in eating, drinking and even breathing. Therefore, any surgery not only brings the patients new smiles, but also changes their whole life. I took many photos of the kids playing around with others, crying out loud before operation.
So far, my internship is going great. I wish all of you also have a good time.
My second internship week was fabulous.
2009 remarks the 20th year of Operation Smile Vietnam (where my intern is). Operation Smile Vietnam plans to conduct 20 charity surgical missions to provide treatments to 2000 cleft lips and cleft palate patients in a week in November. To prepare for this event, Operation Smile has a "demo" trip called a Journey of Smiles to several provinces and cities throughout Vietnam.
I was assigned to go to Nha Trang, one of the most beautiful beach cities in Vietnam. My job is to gather all the information through observation, interview, documents; and to take photos of the children. This is for further fund raising activities to support the 20th Aniversary event.
It was wonderful seeing the kids changing their smile after just a day. While cleft lip just affects the children's appearance, cleft palate causes them difficulties in eating, drinking and even breathing. Therefore, any surgery not only brings the patients new smiles, but also changes their whole life. I took many photos of the kids playing around with others, crying out loud before operation.
So far, my internship is going great. I wish all of you also have a good time.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Finding the Groove - Week 2
The second week of my internship was like childhood: I came a long way since the days of infancy, but by no means was I ready to ride without the training wheels. On one hand, my driving route to work has been tested and finalized, my email account set up, and I began feel more comfortable around the office. My newly-sculpted work routines were hardening in the sun, such as constant email checking. On the other hand, it’s only my second week. There is much more for me to be seen, to be done, to pop up from the trees just when I think I’ve got this marketing game figured out. In short, I’m still on the rookie team, and I’m batting ninth.
Debra and I attended a webinar this week, another fine example of a computer substituting a traditional activity with an online version. Essentially, a webinar is like a seminar, but instead of listening in person to the presenter, you talk and/or listen to them from home, and the presenter controls what you see on your computer. The webinar covered the advantages of purchasing yearly access to an online client database, which by no means comes cheaply. The presentation webinar drove home the importance of contacts in the business world. For us, the marketing firm of David competing with several Goliaths, one contact can make the difference between yes and no, work or not, a paycheck or another loan. They say the most important skill one can have is making and keeping friends: I’m a believer.
This proximity to the front lines of competition is a new experience for me. My previous two jobs were not in the whatever-the-cost business world. Working for Linfield, then for U.S. Congress, I never experienced anxiety or excitement over the success of the institution, and played only minor support roles far from the big decisions. Linfield is as stable an environment as any, as dependable as Portland traffic jams, and my work mainly involved keeping it clean one way or another. And Congress may have been exciting and varied, but it faces no competition. It’s not like another one exists across town, drafting their own laws and fighting for the President’s and public’s attention. The marketing world is no cakewalk, and no particular formula can guarantee success.
Thankfully, our work with FEI continued forward with relative predictability. Debra completed the video interview of the high school students, getting plenty of juicy quotes we knew the client would enjoy. Those quotes began getting worked into a writing piece I am spearheading on their story, which has been quite a humbling experience. In college, you edit your papers until they seem on par for an “A”, yet marketing leads to sales, not grades. And sales are tough in times like these. Thus, near-perfection is our target. The draft I submitted to my boss became a clear indication of how much I have to learn. Returned with hardly a sentence untouched, the draft was blasted with suggestions abound, a humbling defecation of ink that was anything but timid. Returning to the document for my second draft, I rambled on with my childhood development, happy with my progress but wary of the long road ahead.
Debra and I attended a webinar this week, another fine example of a computer substituting a traditional activity with an online version. Essentially, a webinar is like a seminar, but instead of listening in person to the presenter, you talk and/or listen to them from home, and the presenter controls what you see on your computer. The webinar covered the advantages of purchasing yearly access to an online client database, which by no means comes cheaply. The presentation webinar drove home the importance of contacts in the business world. For us, the marketing firm of David competing with several Goliaths, one contact can make the difference between yes and no, work or not, a paycheck or another loan. They say the most important skill one can have is making and keeping friends: I’m a believer.
This proximity to the front lines of competition is a new experience for me. My previous two jobs were not in the whatever-the-cost business world. Working for Linfield, then for U.S. Congress, I never experienced anxiety or excitement over the success of the institution, and played only minor support roles far from the big decisions. Linfield is as stable an environment as any, as dependable as Portland traffic jams, and my work mainly involved keeping it clean one way or another. And Congress may have been exciting and varied, but it faces no competition. It’s not like another one exists across town, drafting their own laws and fighting for the President’s and public’s attention. The marketing world is no cakewalk, and no particular formula can guarantee success.
Thankfully, our work with FEI continued forward with relative predictability. Debra completed the video interview of the high school students, getting plenty of juicy quotes we knew the client would enjoy. Those quotes began getting worked into a writing piece I am spearheading on their story, which has been quite a humbling experience. In college, you edit your papers until they seem on par for an “A”, yet marketing leads to sales, not grades. And sales are tough in times like these. Thus, near-perfection is our target. The draft I submitted to my boss became a clear indication of how much I have to learn. Returned with hardly a sentence untouched, the draft was blasted with suggestions abound, a humbling defecation of ink that was anything but timid. Returning to the document for my second draft, I rambled on with my childhood development, happy with my progress but wary of the long road ahead.
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