Monday, 25 May 2009
7,76....2,00....0,00....0,00.....0,00......7
I'll not bore you with the details, suffice to say that the jumping this weekend went very well. The official version is that I was 7th in the regional (Aquitaine) championships at Amateur 2 level. Basically my horse was top class and I made one mistake (on the first day) which cost me dear in the final classification on Sunday. In football parlance you could say that I achieved a Championship play-off place and if I hadn't made that mistake on the last obstacle on the first day, I would have secured an automatic promotion place. Apart from that, we had glorious weather and I managed to spend some quality time with Sandie and Maxime in what really is a beautiful part of the world. Now I'm enjoying the bank holiday sifting through 150 emails and washing three sets of white jodphurs. Glamourous n'est ce pas?
Wednesday, 20 May 2009
Long live drug dealers and murderers. And horses of course.
I'm feeling much more upbeat this morning. Maybe it's due to spending the evening with some old friends last night who are barristers (it's always interesting to get a different perspective on life); maybe it's because the sun is shining in London; or maybe it's because I'm off to Bordeaux for a few days to jump some horses. Probably a combination of all three.
Last night was especially fun because one of my old friends had had an excellent result in a 3 month trial that finished yesterday. He was rather full of himself and therefore great to be with. As he was sipping his champagne my wife called. I explained to her the festive mood we were in. In an effort to understand the situation she asked if we were really celebrating the fact that my friend Dominic had managed to keep a drug dealing murderer on the streets rather than putting him somewhere safe for 12 years. When you look at it like that I suppose......
Last night was especially fun because one of my old friends had had an excellent result in a 3 month trial that finished yesterday. He was rather full of himself and therefore great to be with. As he was sipping his champagne my wife called. I explained to her the festive mood we were in. In an effort to understand the situation she asked if we were really celebrating the fact that my friend Dominic had managed to keep a drug dealing murderer on the streets rather than putting him somewhere safe for 12 years. When you look at it like that I suppose......
Tuesday, 19 May 2009
Another one, two, n, bite the dust
It's a day of mixed emotions. Various things are racing through my head as a result of different lunches, emails and conversations.......so apologies if this posting seems somewhat disjointed.
The past: Is definitely over....the end of May is when a whole swathe of Senior Executives will leave the firm. The first farewell emails are coming through. In consulting you get used to seeing this type of mail, but it seems sort of different when they come from Senior Executives who you know have been around longer than you have had hot dinners. Maybe I should be more ruthless and think fantastic more slots at the top....but I have to confess that is not my initial reaction. They are cutting muscle in many areas and in those situations maybe it's not a good idea to be at the top just yet.....
The future.....is going to be a lot of frustrated people if the firm doesn't manage expectations carefully. I've just heard today that in at least one group in one geographical region, that not all of the Very Top (VT) analysts will get their promotions. VT accounts for the top 5% of people. If these guys are not getting the promotions then it's really not good. How do you motivate your top performers?
The future as a Senior Manager.....I attended a business lunch today. I was lucky enough to be sitting next to the top people who ran the recent bid at the insurance company. It's always interesting to chat to this type of person because it allows you to see the next step on the ladder. My conclusion was that professionally Senior Manager activities and Senior Executive activities are very similar in many regards. Conclusion - if you don't like being a Senior Manager, probably not worth hanging around to make Senior Executive. For those people who have that reaction, thankfully they have made Senior Manager a "landing point", although it seems a bit odd to rush up the Accenture ladder to get to one step before the end and then say, "actually it's not really for me lads". On the upside, one of those senior people owned three racehorses - so it's not all bad at the top!
Life really does just go on and on......After I got back to the office from lunch, another Senior Manager sat me down and talked to me about his exciting pipeline of opportunities in insurance and how I would need to help him. He was obviously (naturally) oblivious to my reflections and emails of the day, and it just reminded me that the whole organisation just continues to grind on and on.....New faces working on slightly different ideas. I suspect the word "evolution" is better than "progress".....
The past: Is definitely over....the end of May is when a whole swathe of Senior Executives will leave the firm. The first farewell emails are coming through. In consulting you get used to seeing this type of mail, but it seems sort of different when they come from Senior Executives who you know have been around longer than you have had hot dinners. Maybe I should be more ruthless and think fantastic more slots at the top....but I have to confess that is not my initial reaction. They are cutting muscle in many areas and in those situations maybe it's not a good idea to be at the top just yet.....
The future.....is going to be a lot of frustrated people if the firm doesn't manage expectations carefully. I've just heard today that in at least one group in one geographical region, that not all of the Very Top (VT) analysts will get their promotions. VT accounts for the top 5% of people. If these guys are not getting the promotions then it's really not good. How do you motivate your top performers?
The future as a Senior Manager.....I attended a business lunch today. I was lucky enough to be sitting next to the top people who ran the recent bid at the insurance company. It's always interesting to chat to this type of person because it allows you to see the next step on the ladder. My conclusion was that professionally Senior Manager activities and Senior Executive activities are very similar in many regards. Conclusion - if you don't like being a Senior Manager, probably not worth hanging around to make Senior Executive. For those people who have that reaction, thankfully they have made Senior Manager a "landing point", although it seems a bit odd to rush up the Accenture ladder to get to one step before the end and then say, "actually it's not really for me lads". On the upside, one of those senior people owned three racehorses - so it's not all bad at the top!
Life really does just go on and on......After I got back to the office from lunch, another Senior Manager sat me down and talked to me about his exciting pipeline of opportunities in insurance and how I would need to help him. He was obviously (naturally) oblivious to my reflections and emails of the day, and it just reminded me that the whole organisation just continues to grind on and on.....New faces working on slightly different ideas. I suspect the word "evolution" is better than "progress".....
Monday, 18 May 2009
Something much more fun!
The last posting was a bit heavy. Check out the following link for a bit of light relief:
http://demo.qlikview.com/AJAX/MP%20Expenses%20Analysis/SH05.htm
You can use this tool to check out all of the expense claims made by different UK politicians. Much more fun than a missed promotion!
http://demo.qlikview.com/AJAX/MP%20Expenses%20Analysis/SH05.htm
You can use this tool to check out all of the expense claims made by different UK politicians. Much more fun than a missed promotion!
Timely box ticking
It's that time of the Accenture year again - performance evaluations. It's always a touchy and thorny subject so I will try and jump in with both feet and smash a few myths. I've been here for over 9 years so I've seen my fair share of evaluations, ladderings, banding meetings etc. I think the main things that I have learnt or would share with people are:
1. The process is fundamentally flawed but it's as good as we can make it (for the most part). Consulting is subjective and depends a lot on the luck of the draw - whether or not you get drawn with a client and project manager who like you and your work is often not under your control. Furthermore no two roles are ever identical so therefore you are obliged to compare apples with oranges. The process tries to take this into account, but it can never be perfect.
2. That missing a promotion doesn't mean that you a failure as a human being. My baby boy Maxime is almost 6 months now. This last 6 months has flown by. Promotion cycles are also every 6 months. If you don't make it in September, the following March isn't really that far away. However if Maxime was still the same size in 18 months time, then I'd start to worry - i.e. if you miss your promotion 3 cycles in a row, start thumbing your little black book of contacts. It's perfectly normal to miss the odd cycle largely because of the next point....
3. That generally, you're up against good people. Make no bones about it we're not the Andersen Consulting of old. However the people are still generally very good and on top of that, they work like dogs. Everybody thinks they work hard and it is difficult to compare, but when you start navel-gazing because you've missed a promotion, don't forget who you are up against. Burton Albion have had a great season in the Blue Square conference, but I still think they would get tonked if they represented England at the World Cup next year.
4. That your time will come. This is the timely bit in the "Timely box ticking" title. You can have the hardest C1 role in the world and execute it better than anyone else could, but a C3 is the man next in line to get promoted. It's like Hull City on the final day of this year's premiership season (check out http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/table/default.stm) - their place in the premiership is theirs to lose. The C3's promotion slot is his to lose - only if he does a bad job will the C1 (Newcastle United) get a look in. Therefore the overall advice is sit tight, do your job and understand when it's your turn to be Hull City.
5. Linked to the previous point is the box ticking bit in the "Timely box ticking". If you are Hull City, understand what you need to do - if you're a C3 then understand you've got to have shown that you can lead a team. Regardless of which level you're at currently, the basic rule of thumb is that you need to show that you are already working at the next level up e.g. an analyst must be seen to be doing the work of a consultant. Don't forget the bigger picture - this is how Accenture gets its pound of flesh out of us all....
6. That you need to have effective representation. Unfortunately because it is a subjective world out there, doing a good day job isn't enough. You need to make sure that the person who is going to represent you in banding meetings is well prepared - give that person the information they need to tell everyone else about the good job you've done. Alex Ferguson telling Fabio Capello that Danny Wellbeck is going to be in his World Cup squad next year - now that's effective representation.
7. That if you miss a promotion, are hugely annoyed and decide you want to jump ship as a result, then make sure you've got something to go to and that your CV will still look sensible. Leaving to sit at home for 6 months is a bit daft because jobs are not falling off trees at the minute. Additionally leaving after only 18 months in a company at a junior position looks odd. Think of 2 years as a minimum amount of time to spend in any one company.
8. The final point, which is in no way meant to justify everything, is to try and think about performance evaluations and promotions from a firm point of view. This helped me to take a step back and put a lot of things in perspective. Promotions to Accenture mean they have to spend money (your wages). It also makes it more difficult to sell you to clients because you cost more (why do you think there are fewer Senior Executives than Analysts on a project). On the other hand, Accenture has to make sure it keeps its best people happy and motivated through money (dollars) and recognition (e.g. celebrating performance points). The firm spends it life trying to get this balancing act correct. And of course, there are times when it gets it wrong.
Phew, that's all a bit serious (and very long)......normal service will be resumed tomorrow.....
1. The process is fundamentally flawed but it's as good as we can make it (for the most part). Consulting is subjective and depends a lot on the luck of the draw - whether or not you get drawn with a client and project manager who like you and your work is often not under your control. Furthermore no two roles are ever identical so therefore you are obliged to compare apples with oranges. The process tries to take this into account, but it can never be perfect.
2. That missing a promotion doesn't mean that you a failure as a human being. My baby boy Maxime is almost 6 months now. This last 6 months has flown by. Promotion cycles are also every 6 months. If you don't make it in September, the following March isn't really that far away. However if Maxime was still the same size in 18 months time, then I'd start to worry - i.e. if you miss your promotion 3 cycles in a row, start thumbing your little black book of contacts. It's perfectly normal to miss the odd cycle largely because of the next point....
3. That generally, you're up against good people. Make no bones about it we're not the Andersen Consulting of old. However the people are still generally very good and on top of that, they work like dogs. Everybody thinks they work hard and it is difficult to compare, but when you start navel-gazing because you've missed a promotion, don't forget who you are up against. Burton Albion have had a great season in the Blue Square conference, but I still think they would get tonked if they represented England at the World Cup next year.
4. That your time will come. This is the timely bit in the "Timely box ticking" title. You can have the hardest C1 role in the world and execute it better than anyone else could, but a C3 is the man next in line to get promoted. It's like Hull City on the final day of this year's premiership season (check out http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/table/default.stm) - their place in the premiership is theirs to lose. The C3's promotion slot is his to lose - only if he does a bad job will the C1 (Newcastle United) get a look in. Therefore the overall advice is sit tight, do your job and understand when it's your turn to be Hull City.
5. Linked to the previous point is the box ticking bit in the "Timely box ticking". If you are Hull City, understand what you need to do - if you're a C3 then understand you've got to have shown that you can lead a team. Regardless of which level you're at currently, the basic rule of thumb is that you need to show that you are already working at the next level up e.g. an analyst must be seen to be doing the work of a consultant. Don't forget the bigger picture - this is how Accenture gets its pound of flesh out of us all....
6. That you need to have effective representation. Unfortunately because it is a subjective world out there, doing a good day job isn't enough. You need to make sure that the person who is going to represent you in banding meetings is well prepared - give that person the information they need to tell everyone else about the good job you've done. Alex Ferguson telling Fabio Capello that Danny Wellbeck is going to be in his World Cup squad next year - now that's effective representation.
7. That if you miss a promotion, are hugely annoyed and decide you want to jump ship as a result, then make sure you've got something to go to and that your CV will still look sensible. Leaving to sit at home for 6 months is a bit daft because jobs are not falling off trees at the minute. Additionally leaving after only 18 months in a company at a junior position looks odd. Think of 2 years as a minimum amount of time to spend in any one company.
8. The final point, which is in no way meant to justify everything, is to try and think about performance evaluations and promotions from a firm point of view. This helped me to take a step back and put a lot of things in perspective. Promotions to Accenture mean they have to spend money (your wages). It also makes it more difficult to sell you to clients because you cost more (why do you think there are fewer Senior Executives than Analysts on a project). On the other hand, Accenture has to make sure it keeps its best people happy and motivated through money (dollars) and recognition (e.g. celebrating performance points). The firm spends it life trying to get this balancing act correct. And of course, there are times when it gets it wrong.
Phew, that's all a bit serious (and very long)......normal service will be resumed tomorrow.....
Saturday, 16 May 2009
Rainman
Whilst I was calmly doing something, no doubt my Accenture emails, my wife was gently seething and curdling in the corner of the room. At the height of this recent fit of French domestic rage, she turned round to me and said, "if you were even just a shade more intelligent then you would be autistic". This was the nicest thing she has ever said to me, and I think it annoyed her even more when I told her that I took that as a complement and sought to give her a kiss.
Therefore I was fascinated by a recent article in the Economist (April 18th) about autism and extraordinary intelligence called "Genius Locus". Apparently you need three things to be autistic; impairments in social interaction and communication with other people (a "theory of mind") and RRBIs or "restrictive and repetitive behaviours". The other good news for neurotypicals (i.e. non autistic people) is that anyone can become autistic in anything if they practise the repetitive action for a mere 10,000 hours. Anyway I will not bore you further with this, it was just my musing for the day.
Therefore I was fascinated by a recent article in the Economist (April 18th) about autism and extraordinary intelligence called "Genius Locus". Apparently you need three things to be autistic; impairments in social interaction and communication with other people (a "theory of mind") and RRBIs or "restrictive and repetitive behaviours". The other good news for neurotypicals (i.e. non autistic people) is that anyone can become autistic in anything if they practise the repetitive action for a mere 10,000 hours. Anyway I will not bore you further with this, it was just my musing for the day.
Thursday, 14 May 2009
Form is temporary, class is permanent
I'm not referring to Tevez or Man Utd's victory at Wigan last night, more referring to Accenture. My faith has been restored a little bit during this RFP with the insurance company. It is looking more and more like my previous RFP experience was a blip and that normal service is being resumed. We're now doing a "page turning" exercise to spot minor issues a whole 24 hours ahead of the final deadline. Magic.
I had a very enjoyable evening last night with Nick Millman and Mark Duffy. A couple of pints and a super Thai restaurant. However it must have been a potent mix of Guinness and Coconut because for the first time ever I dreamt about this blog. I actually dreamt that I had met Jacques Chirac and that I needed to write up my account of our meeting. Given that he is one of my least favourite political figures (vying for top spot with Silvio Berlusconi), this was a rather worrying development. I think Chirac was to the forefront of my sub conscious because I had heard on the radio that Sarkozy's ratings had dropped to 36%, but that this was still far in excess of Chirac's worst ratings of 16% - a nadir that suggests that sometimes form may actually be permanent.
I had a very enjoyable evening last night with Nick Millman and Mark Duffy. A couple of pints and a super Thai restaurant. However it must have been a potent mix of Guinness and Coconut because for the first time ever I dreamt about this blog. I actually dreamt that I had met Jacques Chirac and that I needed to write up my account of our meeting. Given that he is one of my least favourite political figures (vying for top spot with Silvio Berlusconi), this was a rather worrying development. I think Chirac was to the forefront of my sub conscious because I had heard on the radio that Sarkozy's ratings had dropped to 36%, but that this was still far in excess of Chirac's worst ratings of 16% - a nadir that suggests that sometimes form may actually be permanent.
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