My First Entry

Hi.  My name is Brian.  I am not a big CEO of a Fortune 500 company and I am not a successful corporate executive who has written hundreds of books on how to make you money.  I am just a 40 year old guy (technically I am 35 for the 5th straight year, but I digress) who has some thoughts on how businesses really do work.  I am just an average schmoe who works hard for a living and has had a number of jobs (usually when my wife is mad at me she will tell me I have had WAY too many jobs, but again, I digress).  But I am not the kind of person who jumps from job to job.  I actually would love to be one of those people who have been at their job for 25 years or so.  I envy those people.  They found a job that they liked and stuck with it (or they hated their job but liked the benefits, either way, good for them).  But unfortunately with today's economy and today's idiot management staff, that is not always the case.  Sometimes you have to roll with the punches and take whatever job will put food on the table or insurance for your family.  I currently have a wife and 2 sons who mean more to me then my comic book collection that I built up for 25 years (sometimes I lie awake crying about that, but that would really be digressing, on in this case, regressing).  Sometimes you have to take a job that will look horrible on your resume.  For example, I once worked for Walt Disney World as a PM Runner and a PM Custodian just to put food on the table, pay for the electricity in the house and have insurance for my family.  These jobs were a definite step back in my rise up the corporate ladder, but with about a 12% unemployment rate in Polk County, FL (the meth capital of the world, thank you very much) beggars can't be choosers.  Actually working for Disney was fun.  I got into the parks for free (it was not like I could afford to go at the prices Disney charges) and I did receive hefty discounts.  PLUS GREAT INSURANCE!  Did I mention insurance?  Also my older son was in love with Cinderella and actually got to meet her.  You can't put a price tag on that (if you could I would put it at $49.95).  But was working for Disney a great career move?  Probably not.  I do not think Corporate America looks too kindly on someone who cleaned toilets.  Maybe that is because the hiring managers of Corporate America need to get their hands dirty, literally.  Instead of putting their hands in the cookie jar (can we say Enron or Worldcom?) maybe they should put their hands in a toilet.  And if you do, I recommend wearing rubber gloves.  Safety first. 
I have thought about what I have learned in about 25 years in the business world; from working my first job as a burger flipper at a Hardees Restaurant to my current job as the store manager for a baby store.  I have worked at temp agencies, to a back office controller for a large investment firm, to an adminstrative assistant for working at the front desk of an apartment complex.  I have come up with at least 9 observations about corporate life.  These observations are:

1. Fix the Problem, Not The Blame


2. Quantity of Work Does Not Equal Quality of Work

3. Human Resources are Neither Human Nor Resourceful

4. Human Resources Are People Too

5. Most Managers are Idiots

6. When a Company Loses Money, Managers are Retained and Staff are Fired

7. Managers Need HR Training Too

8. HR Training Classes are the Worst Idea Ever

9. Butt-Kissers Make the Worst Managers

I know some of the observations contradict each other, but bear with me and I will explain it all.  And if you do not like what I have to say, tough luck, this is my blog and you cannot have it.  So sit back, relax, put your tray in the upright position, extinguish all smoking products, turn off your cellphones and keep your hands and arms inside the ride vehicle at all time because this is going to be a bumpy ride.