Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Finding Motivation at the Beach

Once again I find myself at the beach.  Except this time it's pretty far north in FL where it's too cold to actually go to the beach and I'm at a work function.

As usual I moaned and groaned about this 3 days away from my "real" job with too much to do and no interest in schmoozing.

Then I shut up and listened.

And I discovered I work for a pretty cool, very successful company that might actually interest me in the long run.

I mean, I know I work for a fortune 500 company.  And I know they make money.  And I feel pretty confident in my job security.

But this week we saw numbers and heard pitches from CFO's and CLO's and CEO's about the company, the legal initiative, and what my future might look like here, particularly if I am successful in wooing the folks who hire legal support to hire me (as in house litigation) rather than continuing to hire the more expensive (and of course less awesome) outside counsel.  I realized that this in house group to which I belong has formed and grown and saved the company millions of dollars in the last few years, and that we are seen as a huge success story.  I realize that my little job in my little office in my little world is actually contributing to the greater good.  And that feels good.  I feel like I am starting to understand this company.  I'm seeing how it has been innovative over the last 5 years in order to stay profitable (even grow!) in this tough economy.

And that feels good.

Then the boss ORDERED us all to go out to lunch in our pre-assigned "mingling groups" and to drink a lot, eat a lot, and just get to know each other.  FUNNY!

As part of my new initiative to contribute more to the future of the company and not just collect  a paycheck, I drank an entire bottle of wine and made lots of jokes with my colleagues!  I'm such a good listener to the boss.

Time for a nap before dinner....

 

4 comments:

ChiTown Girl said...

Hmmm...any chance you need a personal assistant? I know a smart girl who needs a job, and isn't opposed to relocating. ;-)

Gigi said...

Ummmm? Could you have your boss have a word with MY boss? We could do with some of that kind of team building over here!

Jenn @ Juggling Life said...

That sounds like a great time. It's very good to have a job you like.

Stephanie said...

How fabulous! I often find when you are expecting a drab time is when you end up having the very best time of all:) Glad you managed to find some joy on this business trip!