A roller coaster ride this week for the A initiative. We achieved the milestone target ahead of schedule. Before having time to celebrate or take a break, we ran into system performance and capacity issues, on top of that, accidental system shutdown. No question of the stress to teams and long hours of works yet …
Author Archives: admin
Buffer
I have a conference starting at 9AM today. Compared to a normal (working) day, it’s 1hr later start and I don’t need to make breakfast at home yet I decided to get up at 6AM as usual. When I took out the vest I plan to wear, there were 2 big folding marks on the …
Change Management
I started the new role as a key initiative lead this week, learning, discussing with teams, and preparing for the executive meeting on Friday. It started well, I had good conversations to form/ continue the partnership with 3 key players. My manager initiated a meeting to share/ discuss the new structure/ plan for the initiative …
Customer Service
I love Trader Joe’s, not only for its unique and often-refreshing selection of goods but also (more) for its excellent service/ staffs. Let me share with you 2 recent experiences… A few weeks ago, I was at a store and overheard 2 young staffs talking about a colleague who got promoted and will be moving …
中秋節Mid-Autumn Festival
A different day today! Not only it’s Mid-Autumn Festival, 1 of the top 3 celebrations in Chinese culture but also a big moment/ transition at work… I’ll be leading a big project/ system development forward. It’s highly visible, highly anticipated, and what colleagues called the ‘most technical complex and changes-involved’ initiative the company has ever …
WoW, What a Fortune!
I went home opening the fridge…WoW, a food truck just landed with 10 boxes of food. My roommate said his company had a welcome new employee party; nobody wanted to take the ‘left-over’ food home so he did. I was at the restroom of a public library. A young woman came in and left her …
9/11
I noticed flag half way while having lunch with 2 young colleagues A and C. I asked why and was suggested (A guessed) in memory of 9/11. It has been 18 years yet it’s still vivid. A and C said 9/11 had ‘forever’ changed America. They were in elementary school then. A remembered worrying about …
Marathon Bike Ride
2nd week into my new home/ life and an Art Festival in downtown, I decided to ride a bike there before it’s getting cold. I haven’t rode for the whole summer because of moving (bike in storage). It’s ~10 miles each way so quite an exercise and ambitious adventure. A beautiful day to ride, sunny …
New Month Exercise
I did a monthly experiment – between 7/21-8/20, intentionally chose something new or did differently. I tracked and wrote the experience in ‘Open Mind’ and ‘1 Month Anniversary’ posts. It was fun and expanded my comfort zone. For September, I’d like a new exercise to get to know 3 new people or acquaintances more each …
Feeling
My manager and I had a meeting with the group president to confirm I’d be the product lead of a high priority project. I started right away to put together the vision, scope, and requirements, consolidate prior works, and gather team inputs. A few days later, I was told the project would be led by …