Who Knew?

You know, often I feel like I am in the wrong job...someone is going to wake up and realize that I'm just a brainless fool and should never be in any position with any power, or responsibility. I'm not sure how I got where I am, so I feel like it will end at any moment.

Look, I'm not full of myself, or down of myself - really! I come from a family of really smart people (my brother and mother are computer programmers and my dad can sell ice to Eskimos). It isn't that I'm not smart, I'm just a different kind of smart. I'm killer at Math, but otherwise, I'm the creative one...the chef, the photographer, the artsy one. They are the analytical brainiacs in my family. I sew, I sing, I acted in my day...I'm a very friendly person and get along with most of the people I meet. I'm not a business person - or I never thought I was.

So yesterday I was put in a meeting with Directors and VPs (a frequent occurance in my current position). I am not intimidated by my superiors - I figure they earned their spot there, but they are just like everyone else at the end of the day. I actually like a lot of them, whereas others tend to dislike people in authority.

This meeting was to talk products and pricing. Not my area of expertise. My degree is in Culinary Arts - not business. Basically, I read weeks and weeks of customer surveys and listen to their complaints and make pretty little spreadsheets to summarize what I read. I pour through agent notes and figure out where the holes are and come up with ways to fill them. This is my life...a life called Strategy. So this meeting was to take what I learned about a frequent customer pain point, and give a summary of my findings to the people who make the decisions...fun, huh?

So I went in there, albeit a couple of minutes late (thanks for my birthday lunch, Nessa), and passed out a pretty report and went through it step by step.

They listened...I spoke more, they listened more...WOW! Okay, so I went for it - here is what we have to do...here is what we need...here is what the customers want.

DONE! Good ideas! Nice job! We can do that! We will do that!

VINDICATION!

I guess I am in the right job after all - sometimes I really wonder, but yesterday was actually worth it. Wow, I really like making a difference. Now, of course, the number crunchers have to crunch some numbers, but overall, they liked my ideas and suggestions and we had a little joint brainstorming that went well. Yea!

So tomorrow, I will be 32 and I think I just figured out that I like where I am and what I am doing. Nifty. This feeling should last me a week at least, right?

Weekend DVDs: (so far)
Star Trek First Contact
Star Trek Insurrection

I would have watched more, but I actually had to get caught up on TiVo stuff - I am WAY behind.