Good morning Vietnam!!!

Unlike the vast majority of people in Accenture, I'm not one for ridiculously late nights. I am much more of a morning person. We're now entering that period of the year that only serves to reinforce this lifestyle choice. Waking up in the summer morning to see bright blue skies was always a joy. The prospect of a warm and sunny day always puts a spring in my step. When you add in a happy gurgling little baby at 7.27AM each day, then this only adds to the happiness. Just a shame I suppose that I have to spend another Sunday writing a different RFP response and sitting on calls with the IDC. Grrrrrrrrr. At least I managed to ride a couple of horses yesterday.

On a different note, happy birthdays to our AIMS friends in France (Mickael Gaborit - yesterday) and Norway (Willy Koulichev - today)!

A good night's sleep in store

I couldn't resist a second posting today.....I've now arrived in Cork ahead of tomorrow's meeting. I've checked into my hotel. All pretty standard fare so far - gym, bar, non smoking room, internet connection etc. However I have to confess that it is the first time I have never had to worry about potential noise from the neighbouring rooms....I can say that safely because it is the first time I have stayed in a hotel that has a graveyard as a back garden. I peer out of my large bay window and all I see are rows and rows of tombstones. God bless Ireland. Here's to a quiet night's sleep for me.

Health facist pays tribute to Subway

My Dad has been known to call me a health fascist. He takes the time to enjoy life in the south of France. He sups bubbly blond beers, savours fruity red wines, eats fine cheeses and nibbles dark chocolate in the early evening sunshine, all the time lamenting that I'm a bit of a fitness freak and asking me where it all went wrong.Therefore I am sure he will be happy to hear me give maximum respect to the fast food chain "Subway".

The reason why I am paying homage to them is not actually because of their new range of "Extra Greasy Cut Your Life by 10 Years" sandwiches, but it is actually because they provide a free internet connection in Bristol airport. As I wait for my flight to Cork in Ireland, I was slowly losing the will to live in an airport that can only be described as a poor man's Stansted. However it was Subway that has provided me with the vital link to the rest of the world. On top of that, I consider the fact that there is a power socket sufficiently close by as nothing less than divine intervention.

So therefore the moral of the story is not so much as junk food is actually not that bad, but more, I can't survive without an internet connection. The other piece of good news is that this internet connection this afternoon has ensured that I don't have to sit in the hotel this evening and do the day's emails....that way I can get to the gym and go for a swim! Long live Subway I say.

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?

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......

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".....

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!