2016 Christmas Letter: Year in Review

I just re-read my Christmas letter from 2010 recapping all the things I did that year.  It's truly amazing how much one can pack in to a single year.  I definitely have a feeling of being a slacker, as if my old age has slowed me down.  My past self put my present self to shame.  But I did have a pretty exciting year, and I still think it's worth celebrating, even if it doesn't top every other year of my life.  Jaiman and I spend most of our free time together, so there's a lot of "we" where there used to be an "I" in my stories, which is also really awesome.  So, here it goes. 

 

Dear Friends & Family,

We started the year off with a new hike we'd been wanting to do called Peralta Trail in the Superstition Mountains.  It looks like it was exhausting from the pictures, but I don't remember it being too painful, so it couldn't have been that bad.  For Jaiman's birthday we hosted a party at Ah-So with members of both of our families as well as some of Jaiman's closest friends.  The chef sprayed sake into everyone's mouths relentlessly.  Even the kids got to partake, but it was water for them.  We had a bit of an after-party at our house.

For Valentine's Day, Jaiman and I had a romantic getaway in Sedona, complete with a short hike, some good beer, and a chocolate lover's train ride through the wilderness, during which we saw a bald eagle!  In March we went to the Sonoran Light exhibit at the Desert Botanical Gardens.  I'm not sure if this makes me feel fancy, or old, but I like excursions to the DBG.  In April, my colleagues, Jaiman and my sister Christy and I did the Bubble Run and got covered in glorious colored bubbles.  

Perhaps the highlight of our year came in May, when we took a long-awaited vacation to Japan.  The trip got off to a rocky start, but we made it to Tokyo where we experienced Disney like only the Japanese can do it, as well as a sumo wrestling match, checking off one of my life list goals.  We visited a legit owl cafe and got to hold all sizes and sorts of owls, and got to play video games a bajillion-story arcade in Akihabara. I parted with Jaiman for one night and checked myself into a capsule hotel, which was one of the more amazing things I think I've ever done, and another checkmark on my life list.  What would be a Jaiman trip without a roller coaster?  We went on a ride which was rather mediocre, but hey, Japan!  Checking off yet another item on our life lists, we took a bullet train from Tokyo to Hiroshima, and then jumped on a ferry to Miyajima where we stayed two nights in the most luxurious of Japanese resorts.  Our room had a private hot spring bath which I obsessed with day and night, but we also managed to eat incredible food, tour the Itsukishima Shrine, take a rope car to the top of the mountain and hike down it.  Before leaving the area, we tour the Hiroshima Peace Park Museum and saw children singing at the Children's Memorial.  We hopped back on a bullet train and arrived in Kyoto in no time, where we searched for and found both the old and new Nintendo headquarters.  Back in Tokyo, we went to a baseball game, which was an unbelievably hilarious good time.  Some craft beer and shopping ensued in our last day in Tokyo; I helped Jaiman with the Japanese alphabet, allowing him to locate a rare CD he's been on the hunt for, and Jaiman having mastered a few key Japanese phrases to interact with the retail workers.

Upon returning from Japan, Jaiman and I were both mysteriously awarded with "matching promotions," Jaiman promoted to Store Manager of his own store not two miles from our house (a much shorter commute than what he previously had), and I was promoted to Demand Manager for laundry, taking on our very challenging brand, Persil (challenging because it keeps GROWING!!).  Lesson learned, we need to take more trips out of the country for weeks at a time, apparently it makes our employers promote us.  

I performed multiple times this year with the Gypsy Jitterbugs, including at Swingdependance in July.  For my birthday, we did another little getaway, this time down in Bisbee.  We played Knockerball with some friends from swing dance, and went to multiple ASU football games.  Jaiman and I also went to California to activate our Six Flags passes and catch some Pokemon.  For a birthday present, Christy got us tickets to see Straight No Chaser down in Tucson, a group we saw in 2015 in Mesa, and we will be seeing again on New Year's Eve this year.  You could say we're fans.  

For Thanksgiving, we went to Las Vegas with the intent of gorging at a buffet.  Unfortunately, our first choice buffet had a 4 hour wait just to get in, so we opted for our second choice, which still had a 3 hour wait, but we paid the extra for the "express pass" to

get in with just a 45 minute wait.  Christy, Jaiman and I also did the Hot Chocolate 5k, and we cheered Matthew on as he completed his first (and last?) 15k there.  For an early Christmas present, Jaiman took me to an Arizona Cardinals game.  When I asked if he had a shirt I could wear (meaning borrow from him), he presented me with another gift - my very own Cardinals shirt - a shirt I'd been eyeing in his store.  Jordin Sparks sang the National Anthem and the halftime show.  We lost, but it was still a fun time to see Arizona play their last home game.  

In June, my company announced the exciting news that we would be acquiring Sun Products, doubling our presence and position in the US laundry market.  This was especially exciting since I had just joined the laundry team with my promotion.  However, the writing on the wall was a potential re-structuring and re-location.  Sure enough, in October, it was announced that we would be moving our North American headquarters to Stamford, CT.  I have recently accepted a position as part of this re-location, doing the same thing I am currently doing but back on the beauty side of the business where I came from.  So, sometime next year, Jaiman and I are expecting to move to Connecticut.  We expect to take lots of weekend trips to theme parks and cities of historical and cultural significance, eat lots of new foods, see lots of shows on Broadway, and experience all sorts of different things.  

For Christmas this year, my family decided to rent a cabin in Show Low, Arizona.  The weather forecast does not show snow, but we're still hoping for a little holiday miracle.  Matching pajamas, karaoke, board games and typical Winger craziness is sure to ensue.  Stay tuned for more on that, and for our big adventures in 2017!  

Happy holidays! 

Laura

Your Questions Suck: Why You Don't Get the Answers You Need and How to Fix It

Multiple choice. If you had a question regarding your employee benefits, who would you ask?
a) Your colleague in the cubicle next to yours.
b) HR or the benefits hotline.
c) The Senior Vice President of Supply Chain.
d) Read the website. 

There are really right answers and kinda right answers to this question, but I think logically, nobody would choose c.  However, my workplace has been thrown into a little bit of a stressful situation with the announcement that we'd be relocating across the country.  The announcement has put us into a state of uncertainty, and there are a lot of questions.  Certainly, people are nervous and trying to figure out whether or not they will take the generous relocation package or settle for the severance and stay in the desert.  But I still couldn't believe some of the questions that were being asked of our Senior VP when he offered to have lunch with us and talk through some of the anxiety and concerns.  Some of them were good questions, just directed at the wrong audience; some were very individual questions that should have been addressed one-on-one.  Some questions were just dumb questions.  I'm sorry, but I am a strong believer in stupid questions, and I've heard a ton this past week.

Beyond the relocation, I've felt compelled to discuss the idea of asking the right questions based on questions that have been brought to me and also my own work requiring me to ask questions as I learn my new job and new franchise. 

Provide Context

Sometimes people ask a very general question and don't tell you what they intend to use the information for.  I'm not really sure why people to do this, to be honest, and if someone can enlighten me, please do.  I can only speculate that they either assume they are asking the right question, or that the answer shouldn't change depending on the context.  But when you're asking a question, it is because you probably don't have direct access to the information, and you are not the subject matter expert.  You should direct your question to the subject matter expert (SME), and by providing context, the SME can help clarify the question and get you a better quality answer. 

For example, someone asked me what our launch quantities were for a new product, and added the context that he was planning to add coupons.  If he had not provided the context, I would have given him the total launch quantities.  However, because he mentioned the coupons, a light bulb went off in my head signaling that he probably doesn't want the quantities for items that we don't put coupons on.  So while he probably thought he was asking the right question, I was able to clarify his question to only include those items that were relevant, and give him a more correct answer than I would have otherwise. 

I'd be remiss not to mention that context does not mean the history of the world or your life's story.  It should be concise, one line or one sentence should suffice in most cases.  "I am preparing for Friday's supply chain operations meeting," or "Marketing was concerned about whether inventory levels would be sufficient in Q4," are simple examples of providing context.  The bottom line is that the SME you are asking wants to get you the information you need, so providing context helps to see the underlying need behind the question. 

Ask the Right Audience

Asking the wrong person is a pet peeve of mine, and the pet peeve which has been irritated the most recently, hence partially prompting this blog post.  If person Ashley trained you on topic A, and Bill trained you on topic B, you wouldn't go ask Ashley about topic B, unless you either wanted to test her knowledge or the consistency of the organization's understanding, or get a different viewpoint.  But if Ashley knows that Bill trained you on topic B, she may react to the question negatively.  Either she makes assumptions about why you are asking her (i.e. you are testing her or your training was insufficient), you have forgotten or are incompetent, or she may feel you are bogging her down or annoying.  If you frame it up as a verification, i.e. "Bill said X but that seems to conflict with what you said about topic A..." then she should better understand why you are asking in order to help get you the information you need.  Context helps a ton in this case, but more importantly, if Bill is really the right person to ask, then why are you asking Ashley at all?  You may not get the most correct answer by asking someone other than the subject matter expert, so think about why you are asking a specific person before doing so.

Use Clarity and Specifics

If you find that your e-mailed questions don't get answered in a timely manner, it could be that your questions are vague.  Many people get stuck on questions that are unclear, and put off answering them until they can spend time forming a good response or until they can talk to you in person to get or provide clarification.  To get your answers promptly and avoid putting people in this uncomfortable struggle, add specifics in measurables and scope.  Quantitatively, make sure you specify which unit(s) you are interested in (i.e. gross profits in US dollars versus net sales in Euros, consumer units versus pallet quantities versus batches sizes in pounds).  Also make sure you include which timeframe you are focused on (i.e. inventory as of today, sales month-to-date, actual and projected shipments for the year, last three years of history, etc).  If you are asking for an excessive timeframe, which I'll define as more than 3 times what your business normally covers in weekly or monthly reviews, make sure to include the minimum timeframe you absolutely need, and your preferred timeframe of what you would like, if its available.  Sometimes, it is much easier to provide shorter timeframes, so by providing this flexibility in your question, you will likely get a faster answer on one or the other, and you could always follow up to ask for the longer timeframe, understanding that it may take longer to gather that data.  From a scope perspective, provide parameters that make it easy for the requestee to understand.  If there's a specific forum in which the topic is discussed, reference that forum (i.e. "What was the projected service level in this week's critical item review meeting?").  If you are asking about a specific product or part, make sure to provide a part number or reference number if you have it, or if not, be as descriptive as possible (i.e. "40 oz Original Formula" means a lot more than "small liquid"). 

Write a Good Subject Line

So often, huge email chains are started by forwarding a generic email, and nobody changes the subject.  Five or ten emails in, a recipient needs to scroll all the way down to the first or second email to see what the heck the email is about.  When forwarding an email to ask a specific question, consider changing the subject line or amending it with clarifying details, so that recipients understand context right away.  If you're starting from a blank email, including in the subject line the general topic will again help set the context.  I do not recommend including the actual question in the subject line; this may be another bit of a silly pet peeve, but then every response (without changing the subject) looks like it's asking the question again.  Instead, save the questions for the body, and put a topic that is clear and specific in the subject. 

Determine What Questions to Ask

All of the above assumes that you have a question to ask.  Often, however, good business people are distinguished not because they ask questions well, but because they ask the right questions.  So the crux of the issue is knowing what the right question is, and this cannot be specified by a simple formula.  But I'd like to try to at least describe the thought process that goes into forming the right questions. 

When receiving good or bad news:

1. Is there a process to handle this situation?  Is the process working?  Process improvement is a great way to set yourself apart from your peers, so understanding first what the process is and then helping to improve it not only helps the immediate situation, but it could help your colleagues and yourself in future similar situations. 
2. How does this impact my metrics (i.e. timeline, inventory, projected sales, customer fill rate, etc.)?  It all comes down to the bottom line, and often people on the ground are reacting and trying to solve the problem, and not necessarily focusing their attention on quantifying the issue.  Quantifying the impact can help you and your superiors prioritize and have the conversations at the right level in the business. 
3. What options do we have to resolve the issue?  Think of both the "normal" means of resolving such an issue, and use the specific circumstances to see if there are creative solutions that could be utilized. 
4. Are the right people involved?  Part of being a good leader is knowing that you don't know everything, and instead, knowing when to delegate and pull the right people in.  Evaluate what you know about the situation, and bounce that off of similar situations or ask a colleague if there are certain people that need to be involved.
5. What can we learn from this?  Can we apply this learning elsewhere? 

When identifying a trend:

1. Did we expect this trend?  Even positive changes can be troublesome if you're not prepared for it, i.e. not having sufficient supply chain capacity or customer service representatives or server capacity. 
2. What is driving it?  Do we have evidence or a control group that indicates the effectiveness of the driving factor?  Look as much as possible at the data, but also consider the qualitative intuitions of the people closest to the trend.  How can we reverse this trend (if negative) or amplify it (if positive)? 
3. Can we duplicate this trend (if positive) or prevent this trend (if negative) in other areas of the business?

When faced with a disagreement:

1. What are the core issues of the person you disagree with?  Has he/she been "burned" before?  Look for a way to drive down to a common goal, and then build up from there to a place where you do agree.
2. What are the metric implications of both sides?  Try to take the personal aspects out of the issue, and present the data. 
3. Can we proceed with a trial instead of a cart-blanche implementation?  What can be included in the trial that is low-risk or can be monitored more easily?  What are the metrics for success in the trial?
4. Is there a policy, contractual agreement or precedent you can refer to?  Seek to understand how those things apply and how they differ from the issue at hand, and what that means for risk to metrics.

As with so many things in life, practice makes perfect (or at least better).  Practicing clarity, with context, scope, and units of measure, along with thinking through the impact and paths to follow, will help you ask better questions, get answers that you need faster, and ultimately should improve your leadership ability and career projectory.  A lot of these things seem simple, mundane or obvious, and yet so many people neglect or fail to consider them in their day-to-day work, but it makes a big difference. 

Luckiest Girl Alive

I recently listen to an audio book called "Luckiest Girl Alive." The beginning made me nauseous, with the narrator's stuck up view of the world. She had a giant rock on her finger, worked at The Women's Magazine and fluctuated between a size 0 and 1 (oh the poor thing had gained a pound and a half! ). I guess I get why the author titled the book so, but I would not consider this character, or even just the front she puts on, as lucky. She worked hard for those things, clearly, and anyone calling her lucky must be jealous, which I guess is the point. Anyways, as the story unfolds, you see that the past she is coming from is terribly unlucky. When everything is revealed, you may conclude that she is truly the unluckiest girl alive, if you assume luck had anything to do with it. The only way for her to be less lucky, perhaps, is to be dead, and that could really go either way.

Anyways, I've always considered myself lucky and fortunate and smart. I say these three together because some people associate the latter two with being lucky, and I think that's a grave disservice to all the people who have contributed to my life, and a downplay of my work ethic and insight. I'm fortunate that my parents supported me through college, that my Dad steered me into a major I loved and excelled at, that they had the money to send me to study in Japan. More recently, I'm fortunate that I have a sister in HR who gives me great career advice, that I have a colleague who has my back and helps me out, that I have an immensely supportive manager. These things are out of my control, so I consider them fortunate aspects of my life. I know all too well what it's like to be stuck with a two-faced, selfish ass-hole of a manager, and while leaving a job is always an option, sometimes staying is necessary or at least smart in the short-term. I am grateful for these blessings.

I am also grateful for the things in my life that I've worked at. I worked hard to get a house right out of college, I went through lots of relationships and growing pains to understand what I want and find a man to fill that role, and I continually work very hard on my career. So I don't consider those things lucky. They are, in my mind, more a result of effort, personal growth, and smart decisions. If it wasn't this house, it'd be another, if I didn't do this for work, I'd do something else, and if I wasn't with this man, I would still know what I want and not settle for anything less. I am grateful for these things, but they are not results of luck.

Luck is always getting the best parking spot in a crowded lot on the first pass. Luck is never getting rained on. Luck is getting good news immediately before a vacation, putting me at ease. You can't work to make these things happen. No amount of effort will stop the rain or free up the parking spot. And some how, right before leaving for Vegas after college graduation, I got a job offer. It happened again just before I left for Japan 10 years later - I got the news of my promotion. I think this is lucky because the timing of hiring people is always a bit unpredictable - things never seem to happen as fast as you think they will even if you don't think you're being overly optimistic. Vacation timing, however, is usually more planned and set, so the loose timing of hiring can float all around the firm timing of vacations. Yes, in the most recent situation, the hiring manager knew I'd be leaving for Japan, but still, he was restricted by other powers and barely was able to give me the news before my departure.

So here I am, on a plane headed for Tokyo with my loving, supportive boyfriend, and I get to enjoy comfortably knowing that I got the promotion. I think I am the luckiest girl alive.

What Musicals Can Teach Corporate America

I have always found inspiration, encouragement, and wisdom about life in musicals.  But it occurred to me not too long ago, that big companies could also learn a thing or two from the life lessons our on-stage heroes learn through song and dance.  Here are a handful of lessons I came up with.  Please feel free to add your own in the comment section below!

 

Pippin

While every company can dream about being extraordinary, and enter into spaces they know nothing about, only to fail, not everybody can be the next great battle hero (or facebook, or Apple).  Still, it is better to live, to make, and to have, then it is to mount a burning platform and die. 

Music Man

Be wary of the manager who comes along saying that there's something very bad going on here, and he has just the solution.  The manager who commands a reorg is the Music Man of the corporate world.  He need not be accountable for the results, because he will be on the next train, to the next town, before you can reach him with tar and feathers.  Oh, YOU got Trouble with a capital T when the Music Man comes to town.

Wicked

Sometimes perception becomes reality.  Acting on the best intentions can be misunderstood, misinterpreted, and made to look wrong.  However, being popular is also lonely and disappointing.  It's not enough just to do the right thing for the right reasons, or what you believe to be right, and it's certainly not enough to look good on the outside without actually doing good; charisma and presentation are are just as important as the actions.  

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Even in the face of the most extreme adversity, you can still rise to fulfill your dreams.  Be good and honest and good at what you do, and others will recognize your value.

Shrek the Musical

It doesn't matter what you look like on the outside; it's what's inside that counts.

Pirates of Penzance

When you make a commitment, make sure it's the right one, and that the terms are correct.  Catastrophe can be avoided with a little double checking and due diligence.  

Rent

Treat people right, because you never know when you'll need them to be on your side.