No New is Good News

It’s been a bit quiet on the blog for the last week or so but that’s only because there’s so much to do in the new role I’ve taken up at work. Whilst there is clearly a lot to sort out including some fairly fundamental re-structuring to be done, the good news is that all of the client contact I’ve had has been positive. They seem receptive and willing to look at things with a fresh set of eyes. I’m off to Singapore on Sunday to meet some more key groups of stakeholders (both Wipro and client) so hopefully that will go well too. I’ve pretty much finished the handover with the guy who I am taking over from. We finished the transition yesterday with a lunch outside under a glorious blue sky in Zurich. He was relaxed like a man who had had the weight of the world lifted from his shoulders. I sat next to him apprehensive about the issues which I need to address in the very near future, but still excited about trying out some ideas to re-establish a sense of team and cohesion among the 200 people who now report to me. My new boss has basically given me carte blanche to do what I need to do to turn things around, so I’m pretty happy about that. I just need to make sure the wider organisation can line up and support me in what I want to do (e.g. Mont Blanc fountain pens, pocket watches and holiday timeshares for everyone). I’m looking forward to the Singapore trip – it will be the opportunity to see an old friend who I haven’t seen for a good number of months. He has recently got engaged to be married, so I will be keen to meet his new bride to be. Unfortunately virtually every single one of his previous girlfriends has taken a positive dislike to me for some unexplained reason, so I am hoping that this time it will be different. Apparently she loves children so I am planning on giving her one of my own to try and break the ice and get in her good books from the outset. On the downside it will mean a full week away from home. Sandie is bracing herself because crèche is out and so Maxime will be roaming the house looking for trouble for a full two weeks. I suspect we’ll have to enlist his regular partner in crime, “Papy John”, to take him out for kite flying and Bar Tabac sessions – whereas Maxime and I have our naughty Saturdays, I am pretty sure that my Dad has naughty Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays with him (we all typically go to church together on Sundays so that obviously makes up for the rest of the week). Assuming that the house is still standing and that no-one has been killed or locked up by the time I get back from Singapore, the next major events will be Easter, a belated start to the show jumping season at Gradignon near Bordeaux (after some clerical errors last week which prevented me from jumping at Oloron), some intensive German lessons in the Netherlands (don’t ask), and very quickly the Christening of Gaston and Capucine. And who knows, we might even get time for a holiday over the summer....