Caryn
Change Engineer
7:15 – Get on the road. I've had clients on the metro line, and clients where I drive in. I happen to get to this client by car, so if I leave early, I can miss most of the traffic, plus, their garage fills up quickly!
8:00 – Arrive. Get connected. Check email. There's something energizing about being in the office when it's still quiet, before all the chaos of the day kicks in. I know myself, and I'm much better at sitting still in the morning. My colleagues laugh that you could set a clock by when my afternoon slump kicks in—2:30 on the dot!
8:30 – Review to-do list I created the day before. I'm preparing for a workshop for 200 associates that will be delivered by senior leadership at my client's office next week.
- Print materials for workshop dry run
- Make presentation edits
- Review attendance list and RSVPs
- Confirm logistics with facilities, copy center, cafeteria, technology
- Make extra copies of presentation in several places
9:00 – Make phone calls. I check in with the Facilities department to confirm that the seats will be set-up auditorium style and that we'll have access to two lapel microphones on the lectern. Next, I call the catering group—drinks and snacks will be available and set up prior to the start of the meeting. Copy Center calls—the participant binders are ready and will be delivered straight to the auditorium (addition to to-do list: confirm that boxes made it to the room).
12:00 – Lunch at desk and review the final comments on the presentation. It will be great if I can make their edits prior to getting together at 3, that way we can make sure the updates work real time. Luckily, there aren't too many changes. It's motivating to hear that the prep work I did to get up to speed on their business paid off and I was able to put together a credible presentation. That's especially true since client is facing difficult task in communicating the reasons for change to a variety of constituents.
2:20 – I negotiate my mid-afternoon slump by taking a quick break to check in (IM) with an Infinitive colleague to say hello and touch base. We're trying to plan a baby shower for another Infinitivian. It can be hard working at all different locations, especially when you've built friendships with colleagues who are staffed on different projects. Thank goodness for technology!
2:30 – Prep for meeting this afternoon, making sure I've got answers to all possible questions at my finger tips—the better prepared you are, the more comfortable the client is, and I want to make sure the meeting stays on track. Quick tally of the RSVP list—Who is coming? What levels? Who hasn't RSVP'd? I print a copy of the attendance list in case the VP wants to take it with her. I also print a few extra copies of the presentation just in case anyone forgets the copies I delivered at the beginning of the week.
3:00 – Workshop Dry Run. I'm a stickler for conducting a dry run before a training session. The presenters don't usually like this part, they consider themselves excellent public speakers, and as senior leaders of the company, it is second nature to them. But facilitation is a whole different animal. Knowing how long to pause when asking for questions. Knowing how quickly or slowly to cover information. How do you read your audience to make sure they understand you and follow you? What are some good ice breakers if no one is volunteering?
The dry run goes smoothly, I have everyone's undivided attention, and we made it through all of the content (I'm not always this lucky).
5:15 – Back at my desk, I close out my immediate action items from the dry run, send a quick email reminding attendees of their outstanding items, and then draw up my to-do list for tomorrow.
5:35 – My stomach is growling, it must be getting close to dinner time. I'll take a quick spin by the auditorium to see if my boxes arrived on my way out... am feeling good about tomorrow's meeting.
On the car ride home, I start to brainstorm about the brown bag presentation I'm making on Friday morning to the internal Infinitive team who are onsite at the same client location with me. We take turns presenting on different topics. It's amazing how many common threads we can find between our projects even though we're all working with separate groups. It's a great way to "get smart" about the client's business and to find opportunities to partner or offer additional Infinitive support in new areas.
