Quick Catcher Upper

I went back to work June 27, 2011 in, of all places, Omaha Nebraska. We had never been to Omaha. In fact, when the recruiter from an international independent service organization asked me, "What do you think about Omaha?". I answered, "I don't think about Omaha."

I joined the company which, among other things like providing food services for little things like the Olympics, housekeeping for Chrysler, and others, provides medical technology management services for hospitals from small doctor's offices to major medical centers and hospital chains.

My assignment, if I chose to accept it, was to enter an account in Omaha that had recently been added to the fold through the acquisition of a competitor. Six months later after failing in my attempts at renewing the account I find myself in Louisville KY at another large account. I have now been back to work for almost a year. Sometimes it seems like forever, sometimes like no time has passed at all.

During the last year I've had to remove two individuals from my employ. Both seemed untouchable, imminently qualified, and leaders (real or perceived) in their fields. It occurred to me that our American society, in an attempt to specialize in a particular field or task has focused training and education on technical knowledge and skill in a profession and have left neglected, wholly, training in how to be a good employee. When once this training was balanced, it seems weighted toward credentials, technical expertise, and longevity. It was with this in mind that I wrote a small book that addresses this lack of training amongst those employed. The surprising thing I found, is this phenomenon is not limited to the United States. In my recent experience, this trend is international in scope.

The book finished, unpublished at this point is being posted as my reentrance into the blogosphere.

There is an overflow of self-help books on the shelves at just about any bookstore these days. I have never seen one addressed to or written for front line staff. Maybe the meat and potatoes workers do not read. There are any number of books for managers, supervisors, and executives. None for the guy or gal that makes the CEO, manager, or supervisor successful.

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.