Good Week

I managed to accomplish much this week. Things are falling into place very well. We are hiring several new employees- which is a good sign. It also means I won't be the new guy much longer. I really am feeling like I am a part of the company, and that I have a purpose.

The other day I had to edit a white paper- written by an author claiming to have written a million words on an obscure business management methodology. He was from the U.K., and must have been inspired by hometown hero Charles Dickens. His writing was a rambling mess that defiled most grammatical conventions- particularly those valued in business writing. I was concerned about offending him, since I am not a published author, and I certainly have not published management consulting paperbacks that literally sell for over $1000 each. Yet my boss was co-authoring the piece, which meant he developed the outline and had his name attached to the cover. I found at least a hundred errors in my conservative, light-handed editing. Ironically, when I sent him the annotated version, he found several more errors. I suddenly didn't feel so bad. I quickly wrapped up the project. My issue is letting go. Like music production, there is always more work that can be done. Sometimes good enough is good enough- especially when my good enough could easily be regarded as someone else's perfection.

Anyway, things are busy and I am loving this job. I have also been dealing with branding a subsidiary, and dealing with our design department in India. I am feeling like I am really getting to know these people I haven't met. One thing I cannot get past- everyone calls them Indians. Coming from Minneapolis, Indian became a word wrestled away from popular use by those more politically correct. It sounds wrong to be told to give the job to the Indians. Or someone asks me which Indian were you dealing with? There are other confusing aspects to globalism. We have a Norwegian business manager in India who cannot get it through her head that I am not Norwegian. Of course, it took me some time to figure out that she was Norwegian.