An Unexpected Work Email

Soon after my son entered this world my wife and I were both on Facebook sending the first photos of his arrival and chatting with some family and friends about his early arrival. While on the social media site I also came across an interesting message from a company that I had not worked with for over three years. At my previous public relations firm I had led the account for this company and every now and again I would read the updates posted by the CEO and send a quick message here and there about where I was and what I was doing. However, this message was completely out of the blue.

The note was very simple requesting my email address so that he could have his head of PR get in touch with me. I didn’t give it a second thought and gladly sent him my work email. As day turned into night and other events clearly taking precedence in my mind, I had forgotten about the brief chat by the next morning. A couple of days later, having just woken up from a less than refreshing sleep in a hospital bed, I opened my work email and found a message which filled in a few of the missing pieces.

As it turns out, the company was once again looking to invest in public relation in the US and I was one whom the CEO thought of to get the process moving. Keep in mind that this was my favorite company and CEO to work with in the past but since that time I had little contact with him. It was flattering to say the least that he thought enough of me to circle back after such a long time.

When I first started working with this company they really were in the early stages of development and exposure. Over time we worked together to hit a number of milestones both in the size of the company and the funding that it had behind its continued development. Since I last worked with them they have increased in size by over 400% and all the things that we talked about in the past of wanting to do were now coming to fruition.

Since those email correspondences, I have spoken with the company over the phone and provided a little more background on what I am going now and the vast capabilities of my current company. We are moving forward in this exploratory process and I am hopeful that we will be able to work together as this is still a company that I am very excited about and I want to be a part of the growth and immense potential that it continues to possess. However, at the very least, I am happy that the CEO felt the same about me and that all the things that we discussed over three years ago are now a reality.

Mil Spec Is Not Always Best!

That title will have some firearms enthusiasts writing long responses about the fact that I must be full of it. All of their words penned before they even read this sentence. But, unbeknownst to those raging individuals, this post has nothing to do with firearms beyond the brief mentions in this paragraph.

Mil Spec in this instance stands for ‘Mother-In-Law Specifications’. Having a MIL as a realtor and looking for an apartment can either be a valuable asset in our search to find a new place to live or it can be a challenge. While I don’t anticipate any problems in the process there is always the possibility but I guess you can say that about any realtor.

My wife and I have our list of what we want in an apartment and it really isn’t complicated. However, it is the gray area that usually determines the final outcome. I guess, for me, it comes down to treating my MIL as a realtor and, in this instance, setting aside the fact that we are part of the same extended family. There is a particular saying about opinions which will not be repeated at this time. Sometimes the opinion of a family member (weighted based on how closely you are related of course) makes a difference but there are other decisions that have to be made differently.

As a realtor, I will take her suggestions but once it goes beyond that and there is an attempt to add extra weight to those opinion, that is when we could run into some problems. It is for this reason that I have stated quite clearly, and I am now repeating, that I have no qualms about changing realtors during this process. I definitely know, and have them saved in my phone, other realtors in the area who would be happy to help.

That may seem cold to some but it allows for the separation of what needs to be done and the relationships I have with family members. I have done this my whole life and, up to this point, it has kept my professional life out of my family life (for the most part). Another thing to keep in mind is that this is more for the protection of my family as I am a different person when it comes to work in comparison to my personal family life. Some may use a certain unpleasant descriptor at times similar to donkey cave.

So, while there is nothing really wrong with Mil Spec, sometimes it is not the best option. You have to find what is right for you and what fits your needs. After all, Mil Spec represents one person, one view, and one way of doing things among a plethora of potential options.

Half-life Of Humor

There is always something that happens during the day that throws you a little bit off. To a certain extent, everyone experiences this on a daily basis. Some a little more, some a little less. This is how we gradually learn how to deal with those instances and move forward without much interruption. However, the real challenge, at least for me, is making sure those moments don’t interfere with the client. The best solution for me was simply to make the client laugh.

Making them laugh eases the impact of whatever news that you have for them. It makes the bad or unpleasant news a little more palatable and makes the good news that much better. Sometimes it can even do wonders for minor errors in a document, email, or other collateral during the draft stages. This is also where creativity comes into play. Basically, you can either take errors at face value or you can transform them into a joke. When done well it can be a great thing that makes everyone’s day better if for only a minute or two.

With that said, there is a line that you can’t cross and you have to know what kind of humor that will work with each person. If a situation gets to a certain point a joke or simple moment of attempted levity can do much more harm than good. Also, the same negative impact can occur when there is a complete mismatch in sense of humor. Thankfully, I have, thus far, been able to match up the humorous comments with the individuals with a fair amount of accuracy. Except for George from Georgia but he is a real prick. There have also been people like George that I don’t even attempt to go that route as the chance for success is far too slim.

The half-life of a joke is also something to consider. Today I made a comment which was received well. I used it once in the morning in response to an innocent typo in a document we were reviewing and everyone in the email chain received it well. At the end of the day, there was an opportunity to neatly fit the premise into another email with the client. It worked again. However, that joke is now spent. Most likely, I will not be able to continue the world play without it seeming forced.

Sometimes you just have to know when to stop!