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Ethos
Business graduates sharing stories both serious and silly.
Writers
- Arnab Sen - posts - bio
- Leah Tse - posts - bio
- Ms. Career - posts - bio
- Parry Malm - posts - bio
- Peter Keung - posts - bio
- Shirley Ann Chu - posts - bio
- Thom S. - posts - bio
recent posts
recent shorts
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EAT! Vancouver
May 23, 2008 - I had some time available in my busy schedule before heading off to watch the premiere of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It also happened to ...
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The Madman
According to the Are You a Psychopath? Test, I am not one: "You have many of the same qualities of a psychopath while also showing some delusional tendencies. This is deeply concerning, but there is ...
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ARNABeckhamania
For 72 minutes on November 7, 2007, Vancouver's homegrown heartthrob shared the spotlight with international soccer superstar David Beckham, as his LA Galaxy club participated in an exhibition match with the Vancouver Whitecaps. He did ...
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- lim peh kalikong: "china cannes? Who was the..." in Singapore and its effort to shake its straight-laced image
- Peter: "Actually no. But I should..." in WordCamp Vancouver 2008 mini-recap — a great community event
- Julia: "Read this good little article about how to..." in Business communication: good responses to criticism
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Are you having a shitty day, Parry?
I have also faced similar situations with eating in the presence of individuals that I felt I needed to impress. Rather than enjoying my meal, I focused on finishing my meal at the same speed as the others. If I felt I was falling behind, I would speed up, and vice versa.
If I were you, I would have eaten the yummy duck!
Who cares if they have to wait…they should have been slowing down to match your eating speed!
Maybe the clock technician was on his way…you should go check again!
What good timing
Parth! Hah, tracked you down. It’s amazing what googling parry malm turns up.
OK yeah sorry if that’s creepy. Anyways. I was thinking about the difference in motivation between the salesman and the manager today while shopping for a new car. The salesman, you see, came on a bit too strong, like he was a little too desparate to make the sale. And maybe he was, given that he had an eye on his personal bottom line. He did seem a little under-nourished.
My point is, it reflected badly on the business as a whole. Even if the front-line dude was desparate to earn his commission, his business would’ve been better served if he’d kept his cool.
That’s it, ima go watch Glen Garry Glen Ross again.
Russ
Ewww. I like the logo but not there. Contemporary logo + Elegant(ish) clock =
Russ!
I think I’m LinkedIn with you as well, no? Googling me defo turns up a lot of neat stuff.
Agree about salesmen being hungry – but that is good. A good salesman knows when to lay back, when to go forward…
Glad I’m not in sales!
Perhaps you had best go to the Olsen Twins school of eating – jam it down your gullet and then bring’er back up at a later date…
And why did you switch tribes?
Good luck!
workaholic symptoms…
For more info on a workaholic…
Many provocative insights here, what are your thoughts on Apple’s hand in changing the world? Or is it simply taking the Microsoft formula and spicing it up with sexy, good looks?
Anyway – one other thought – DUDE! Jonny Lee Miller!!
LOL!! What the F is w/that comment??
Spam? Sounds like it’s time for an anti-spam plugin.
If Apple was going to change the world they would have by now. They have a nice brand… but their products are just ok, not great.
Now Joost, Joost will change the world. Or at least, TV…
FYI – I passed, and now I must tackle mod 5…
Wow, that was quick. First it was there, and then it was gone – faster than anyone could see.
Not many people in this world hold such high values and morals – it is something to be proud of.
textlinkads tried to sell me some links about 6 months ago… and i almost bought them, except they lacked the exact targeting i was going for. but, as rand fishkin of seomoz says, can’t live with ‘em, can’t rank without ‘em. as long as they’re white hat (preceded by no-follow tag and marked as sponsored links) then fair play. it’s the spurious link farmers who i disagree with… and google isn’t yet able to aptly differentiate them… yet…
You get more money, yes, but no more student discounts or “I’m a student, give me a break” excuses.
Structure in the workplace is, for me anyway, a big positive. Unlike university where I spent a great deal of effort planning that “structure”, now I can focus more on the work itself.
They should have invested in hiring some business university grads to implement this system change!
With the extra $1,000+ they make a day (over 1,000 spots x $1) they could have implemented a better system and paid for some proper business analysis first. They are making over $5000 a week which translates to $260,000 a year (and that doesn’t include weekend revenues or event night revenues)!!!
And don’t forget all the double purchases per spot that may occur on one day. That being said, there is a way to take advantage of this. If you arrive later on during the day, you are almost guaranteed that the spot you find has already been paid for in the morning. Bacause payment is based on the spot and not the license (another money making option that would have been smart during the transition) and most people will not opt for the monthly pass now, you can park (with minmal risk of receiving a ticket) for free!
Wow! I’m very impressed! I was also skeptical that they would ever do anything or respond! I can’t wait to see an update on how your experience at Scott Road in a week or so!
Wow I’m also surprised!
I couldn’t believe your first story of the apparent bungling. And I’m still in shock about the pricing changes!!
Well we’ll see what unfolds.
Sounds like… one big cubicle farm?
Funny…I have also done this type of volunteering for a BC Lions game.
I also found that the 4 hours of serving was way more tiring than an 8-10 hour work day in the office.
I’m very relieved to find out that I’m not the only person who keeps most of the tasks in head, instead of writing them down. I’ve bought numerous day timers, but never had a discipline to write down all my appointments, tasks, projects, deadlines. So at the end of the year I was ending up with as good as new planners, with only a few filled out pages.
I do use stickies on my Mac’s Dashboard to keep track of my tasks, my cellphone reminds me about the appointments, and my Thunderbird at home and Mail at work are very organized, with clearly separated folders for individual clients, projects.
Anyhow, enough ramblings. Back to work.
Thanks for this entry!
[...] Time management: the un-techniques by Peter If you’re like me, you’ll be relieved to find out that it’s not necessary to write everything down to keep track of your daily tasks. How that works, read the article to find out. [...]
[...] Time management: the un-techniques by Peter [...]
[...] Time management: the un-techniques, The Work Blog [...]
[...] Time management: the un-techniques by Peter [...]
[...] Time management: the un-techniques – The Work Blog [...]
[...] Time management: the un-techniques by Peter [...]
[...] Time management: the un-techniques by Peter [...]
[...] Time management: the un-techniques by Peter Avoid bad habits. [...]
[...] Time management: the un-techniques by Peter Avoid bad habits. [...]
[...] home, I can test all kind of strategies for effective time management, until I become the master of the un-techniques, who often gets dIstressed or dEstressed trying to cope with freelancing and time [...]
[...] Time management: the un-techniques by Peter Avoid bad habits. [...]
How far are you on the way to 300 hours?
So what are you taking and does it relate to your job?
Wireless Programming. Not yet.
I am not even close to 300 hours…unless you count volunteering for CASB…hehehe. I am definitely not proud of this, hopefully in the future I can volunteer more.
So here’s something else. So I decided to purchase my parking ticket by phone. How convenient when you’re dealing with that long line-up at the ticket machine, which by the way, is not getting any better. I walked past the lineup for the ticket machine, pulled out my phone as I hopped onto the skytrain and proceeded to pay for my ticket using my credit card. And guess what?! It’s $2.35 instead of $2. There’s no indication on the signage that I would be required to pay more! And then I received a text message at midnight, while I’m sleeping, that tells me that my parking has expired… thanks for waking me up. How clueless are these people? Were they not thinking?
And my last gripe? If you’re going to increase the prices at Scott Road skytrain station, do something with that money – how about fixing the puddle situation when it rains? I’m sure all those business folks going to work don’t want to arrive to work with their nice dress pants and shoes soaking wet.
And one more, I promise. Why do we have to pay an extra zone at Scott Road when we don’t even get a seat?!!!!!!
On the bright side, if you have a non-concession monthly bus pass you can bring up to 6 people (2 adults, 4 babies) along with you for a pleasant Skytrain/Bus/Seabus journey on Sundays for free!
Does embracing technology increase my appeal?
Arnab – I would hope that it would be pleasant, but I have definitely experienced Sunday transit and it has not been pleasant for me. They decrease the number of trains on Sunday (fair enough considering it isn’t a work day and there are less commuters). The number of trains has not been adjusted for the number of passengers that use skytrain on the weekend. Recently I had to use it to get to a weekend course downtown and noted that it was almost as busy at the 7:30am traffic on a weekday…that’s really bad.
My biggest problem with translink is that they don’t keep up with the demand. They promote transit left, right and centre, but once they have the commuters, they don’t adjust their logistical plan to meet the needs of their customers. They could easily increase the length of their trains (you can fit 2 new trains on one platform). They could increase the frequency during times when it is busier (ie. the weekend). They really do need to do something.
Thanks for the tip Peter – this is a good newsletter!
Would the past you have been able to predict such a thing?
I like to think that all of this can be avoided if people were to… telecommute.
No, I could never have SENvisioned it.
Isn’t SENvision a bit of a stretch?
ARNABsolutely not!
Peter, thanks so much for the post… and I think you’re the first person to syndicate Noise to Signal!
I totally agree with you. As the time passes, those great connections are often lost due to everyone’s busy schedules. We all should definitely make a better effort to stay in touch.
Funny thing: My company’s slogan is: stay connected*
While a non-stop train from Surrey to downtown Vancouver would have been nice, I doubt three parallel tracks would be feasible in a system like SkyTrain where most of the track is elevated.
I actually don’t think we have much to fault BC Transit/TransLink for as far as the SkyTrain is concerned… I’ve missed far fewer trains than I have buses because they were full
.
Who is Ms. Career?
What about the embarrassment that self conscious consumers will feel when they are spotted carrying reusable containers?
Yeah, I should have mentioned that as a challenge. Personally, I don’t see what’s so “uncool” about carrying reusable containers. Hopefully it will soon be a “cool” thing to do (if we can get all the cool kids to do it). I don’t know how being wasteful ever became cool in the first place.
Seems like reasonable criteria – but surprisingly hard to find. Good luck!
I think it’s more embarrassing now adays to have excessive waste. People should feel guilty when they use more disposable items than absolutely necessary.
Peter – I have noticed some stores who have dishes and also disposable and sometimes they forget to ask you if you are having take out or staying and you end up having your food put in disposable when you could have used dishes. This is the most irritating situation of all!
Here’s an interesting situation:
My work had a awareness week on recycling, reusing and such. There were contests for prizes (that included a BC Hydro assessment on how to improve your house); the contest that was particularily intersting was the one where they asked for suggestions on how to improve our specific workplace. Some of the ideas were:
-eliminate paper/plastic cups, cutlery, plates, etc.
-eliminate our wasteful coffee makers which have packaging for each cup of coffee made
-eliminate excess printing
There were so many great ideas, but so far, nothing has been implemented…they still have paper everything in the kitchen and the stupid coffee maker has been upgraded to a fancier wasteful machine!
I guess my point is: we all talk about it, but how often is it actually implemented? We should be focusing on that step.
Good job Peter on looking on how we can actually improve, rather than just pointing out the bad.
As our friends Parry and Carissa have pointed out, success (in business) is more about execution than strategy!
I had a terrible experience today which I felt like I needed to share with someone…
I went to park in the lot (as in the picture above) today. When I went to pay, this is what I faced:
-Machine 1: Only accepting credit card
-Machine 2: Fully functional
-Machine 3: Not working at all
The picture above shows a nice sunny day…imagine what it is like to wait in a line up when it is raining…that was me.
I really enjoyed your article, Leah. I mean, I know a lot of us just went through the motions of obtaining our respective degrees for the sake of obtaining a degree and not really having a clear idea of WTF one wants to do. It’s a shame that you feel that there is a negative attitude towards people without a university education (I know that’s prevalent with some Asian families). Clearly, that’s unwarranted, and this viewpoint likely stems from the ignorant bunch that ironically did attend university. Good luck with both you and SMV.
While you mention that us accountants have figured things out, I think it really is a prolonging the process for us. In about one year from now (after 30 months of completing the CA Program) I think I will face the same things you are. I will then have to choose where I want my career path to go and will face the “free time” after work that I have yet to really truly experience!
I like how you mentioned Maslow’s hierarchy!
There’s a good lesson to learn here – I think you do offer great insight!
Many of my company’s events include alcohol as well – and I think it is important to restrict yourself to a certain amount so that you don’t do stupid things. True story: one guy got so drunk at a company event that he smacked the ass of a partner’s wife. He’s still here today…but we’ll see what the future holds for him.
Umm….this is like a mix of tupperware and the towel service offered at all-inclusive resorts…
Who pays for this if neither the consumers or fast food outlets are willing to change their ways?
Hahah for real, Leah. Not everyone can gracefully pull off alcohol-induced misadventures like yours truly.
I hope you don’t think I’m the token fumbling drunk at company parties. I’m really not! I promise. There’s always a group of us.
Sarcasm aside – I totally agree with you. Alcohol + work functions can be a scary mixture. I work in PR though, a profession built on relationships. Most of the media I have ’solid’ relationships with, I met and got to know over a few drinks. People are loose and relaxed, free of all pretensions, and thus making everybody more personable (usually). So I think, in healthy doses, alcohol can be a positive contributor to business relationships. Just don’t get all S&M on them – that’s bad news.
The key is pacing. Observe those around you and carefully note their level of intoxication. If the conversations are still predominantly business-related and you’re slurring words then you’re going too fast. Cross your fingers and hope no one important talks to you.
If, on the other hand, your boss is moon walking on the table and co-workers are making out in the corners of the room then you’re way behind and have a lot of catching up to do. So pick up the glass and get to work – and give me a call while you’re at it, ’cause that sounds like a damn fun party.
Do you have a more appropriate job title in mind that would cover all your tasks?
How many drinks did you have?
Assuming that one or other is not willing to cover all or any of the costs, funding could be provided by environmentally concerned philanthropists or organizations, governments, or anyone who wants to distribute boxes with their name on it.
No, I don’t think that many jobs can be completely described by their title. And it’s just a title, after all.
I think there’s always more than proofreading in all editing jobs — personally, I would find it quite a drag to be just a proofreader…
Um, like two? Hahah…It’s sad. I don’t drink. I think the key is to become a seasoned drunkard to build a higher tolerance.
Where was it held?
I believe this skill is learned during the university years?
It was held at the Commodore Ballroom downtown. We had the whole venue to ourselves!
Congrats on the new job – can’t wait to hear more about it.
So what are your interview strategies? Or is that for a whole other post?
I’m going to start doing this, and to add a helpful hint for others, I have been washing my plastic cutlery in the dishwasher for quite some time. There has not been any problem with melting, although my water heater is also turned down fairly low for energy-conservation purposes. But it is still capable of getting quite hot, and the plasticware goes into the silverware rack along with my metal.
Thanks! From what I remember, I start sputtering out answers to questions and focus on telling stories of my experiences.
Try battling against lunch time waste.
It’s interesting these things are discussed so openly as legitimate ‘tips’ in a business magazine.
However, I don’t think giving the tips or using them necessarily warrants an automatic assumption of ’shallowness’. I think using tips like these can actually be a legit way to conduct yourself. There’s something to be said for ‘playing the game’. As it is human nature to take in other people’s appearance, actions, tone of voice etc in order to form judgements, in order to get what you want accomplished (and this doesn’t always mean selfish items, but can equally also be a philanthropic reason) you may need to utilize some specific signals (ie wearing nice socks) to give off signals to other people that will produce the desired behaviour.
Further if the absolutely only thing you have going for you is crafty tricks, people will quickly see through you, substance does speak louder – but a full package will speak loudest and quickest.
Some people at Translink care? That’s bullocks!!! The only thing those beaurocrats care about is one thing — MONEY!! The more they steal from their customers the better!!!
I’ve never heard of the term CLM and am quite tired of TLAs…
There is a very good lesson here, though. Perhaps the test on whether to write something or not is — if your post is publicly viewable (in other words, you don’t have a private, password-protected blog), would you be fine if it was sent out to all of your co-workers? If not, then don’t write it
You must be from Western Canada because those are the only ones with CASB. As for the exam I wouldn’t be too terrified, it is not that bad. Everyone gets all worked up, but just think of it as three days of meeting and working with clients. No big deal.
Nice Post!
I have also been very aware of this as I am posting about my work experiences openingly. I have followed what Peter said…if I don’t feel comfortable with my co-workers and boss reading my posts, then it is not worth posting.
Even though I have not posted what company I work for – I’m pretty sure that it is easy to figure out whether it be through word of mouth or association.
Peter sounds like a smart young fellow. I am also an editor and I can assure you that my job differs dramatically from what he is describing here. But both of us started from similar, humble roots. I went to UBC and held a full-time editorial assistant job at CGA-Canada where Peter did a co-op placement. He was the brilliant young student who so impressed everyone and motivated the organization to create the permanent position which I fortunately ended up with. He’s got great skills.
I blog about my work quite often. Sometimes, the question of confidentiality comes up and I may decide not to post certain pictures or write about certain events because I’m not sure how they will affect the organization.
As someone who’s currently living abroad (Vietnam) I view most of my experiences as something that could be written about. But with work stuff, I do see myself questioning the practicality of posting on our activities. To bring in publicity for the organization or to share a touching story is one thing (I work for a non-profit), but sometimes I am reminded of how easily accessible a blog is. And then, that’s where I falter and question myself.
Yes, there is freedom, but there is also compromising along the way.
“there’s many different types of editing that goes on”
ought to read:
“there are many different types of editing that goes on”
not “there’s many different types.” There’s is a contraction of There Is. So you have a singular verb (is)and a plural noun (types). Naughty. Naughty.
Sorry to be a grammar nitpicker, but hey, when you’re writing about correct grammar & editing, you ought to catch something like this.
Hehehe, thanks for pointing that out. *I* need an editor!
But do they explain how to get rid of that raunchy foot odor while wearing nice socks?
Red stains are perilous.
Blogging while unemployed might also be a CLM if your prospective employer does not enjoy your reflections on your past company. How to be discrete but still write about the workplace?
Apart from possibly getting a fancy postal code, aren’t all the other items on the list are beneficial by themselves – Walking faster, expanding your vocabulary, updating your wardrobe, traveling the world?
You need to answer this question for us: is accounting sexy and why? This weekend, The Province and the Vancouver Sun newspapers claimed that accounting is indeed sexy.
I need to add one more thing to my list: stiff body.
Let me elaborate…
My back is sore from sitting to long, my neck is sore from being in the same position with my hands in front of me and my head looking down at my laptop. My legs have no circulation and I am getting headaches now (probably from staring at a computer for 12+ hours a day.
My weight has remained steady throughout the past 1.5 years.
It is surprising how much exercise I get running to and from the bus stop, running to and from the SkyTrain, and running up and down the stairs at work.
Also, I try to eat smaller lunches and simply snack (on healthy foods) throughout the day. It took a while for my stomach to adjust to less food at lunch time, but it has been good to my wallet – since I’m more prone to eat out at lunch time than at snack time, the total expenditure is now less
Consider the situation where you might date someone without really being into them, while searching for something better. While I don’t recommend taking this approach to relationships, it can work out quite well for the job search.
Great metaphor…it put a smile on my face!
I believe what you are referring to, Pete, is the monkey-bar strategy: grasp onto the next bar before letting go of the one you’re currently holding on to. Point well taken.
Thom, I think you’re hot.
Monkey bars are dangerous. I fell once trying to reach for the next bar, thinking I was ready and then plummeted to the ground. I courageously tried again, even though I was scared.
I never made it across.
No metaphor intended. I just have a weak upper body =/
yeah, what can you do. i’m pete’s cousin, i just moved to van from toronto, apparently you’re the same but opposite. i’m going to the temp agency next week too. woo!
Yes, so it seems we are in opposite situations. You know what they say…opposites attract
Well, at least if you went to a university in Ontario, most business folk will have heard about it. The woman interviewing me at the agency had the look of “WTF is SFU?”. I was like…uh…it’s legit. Good luck, dude.
How did it go with the staffing agency?
Are you having trouble locating ugly women?
so no luck eh ..?:)
By positive criticism, do you mean viewing criticism in a positive way so that you’ll learn, improve, etc, or did you mean there can be a variation of criticism in itself: positive vs. negative criticism. From my understanding, criticism is to find a fault in or denounce something. I don’t want to criticize the use of criticize in your post, but maybe “feedback”, which you indicated in parenthesis as a synonym throughout would be more apropos.
Yes, I mean to view criticism in a positive way.
You are right in that “feedback” is a better word. I had specifically chosen the word “criticism” because I believe that everybody knows how to criticize, but not everybody knows how to give feedback. Therefore, we must learn to take even the most negative things that people say and use them for good, or at the very least not let more negative things arise as a result.
I could have certainly explained my definitions better and I thank you for your criticism
So what’s the new job?!
Congrats! So there’s hope for business grads everywhere!
Good points Peter. I wish more people were ‘brave’ enough to give feedback – because as you point out it’s a critical way to further learning (and sometimes the only way, as you are often oblivious to your own mistakes).
Great poem!
It would be great to hear more about how you knew it was the right job for you.
I’m doing marketing for an IT company (vague, I know
) There are a number of reasons why I feel the job is right, but the most pertinent are: (1) I am interested in what the company does, (2) it is a smaller company, so I am able to be involved in different projects, and (3) it’s related to what I actually studied back at SFU.
@Peter: So what you’re saying is if I can get a job, any ol’ business grad can?
…Yes, you are absolutely correct!
None, whatsoever.
What did you actually study back at SFU?
Positive criticism is constructive and negative criticism is destructive, but both are forms of feedback? Sometimes I receive dirty looks from ARNABabes but I cannot determine whether it is positive or negative.
You started eating less because its cheaper or because its healthier?
Sexy.
Marketing and MIS.
Because it’s healthier. The fact that it’s cheaper simply makes it easier to keep it up
Hey Peter we went to high school together…In response to your blog, even though I help others in my job it is not always what one may think. I am a nurse, I work in the emergency department and sometimes I come off shift wondering if I’ve made a difference. It’s hard to think that my coworkers and I are ’striving together toward the greater good’ when you feel so stressed and unable to provide proper care due to health care shortages. I hope that we are all making an impact beyond what we think/hope that we are, regardless of our professions or career. Impact is what helps give our jobs meaning. Cheers!
Thanks for the comment. I don’t have much to say beyond that — you wrote some inspirational words! I wish you well in your nursing career and wherever else you choose to make an impact.
Thanks, there is no green space near my work — is looking at pictures of green space the same? Either way, reading blogs is also a good way to take a break during the work day, unless your eyes are sore from staring at a computer screen. Time for a walk.
WOW! What a coincidence…
Will you be using any of the tools demoed for this site?
Read this good little article about how to take criticism from your boss
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2008/6/30/how-to-take-criticism-without-getting-defensive.html
I disliked CASB. I learned more in the CGA program.
Actually no. But I should probably mobile-enable theworkblog.ca with WPTouch.
Make sure you take advantage of all those business deductions now that you are in a partnership!
china cannes?
Who was the creative director for this? If H? Chí Minh and mao was alive this would be their propaganda.