Summer Madness

A good Admin tracks calendars, meetings and the occasional UFO through out the course of her duties.  During the summer months the added stress of tracking the dates of the executives vacation schedules can be enough to send one around the bend.

The purpose of a good calendar system is to use it to block out vacation days.  Not to let everyone guess where you might be when you disappear.  On top of that people feel it necessary to guard the contents of their calendars like they are national secrets, privy only to the President himself.  REALLY?

Look, I don’t care if you are having lunch with the Dali Lama or your girlfriend.  If the boss is asking where you are and I can see if you are on vacation or in a meeting there are problems.

Do me a favor, as your Admin and let me when you are out of the office.

Meeting Hierarchy

As an admin, I find myself juggling calendars to arrange meetings of varying importance.  When arranging them, I have to take into account the attendees and their rank within the corporation.  I support a CIO, president of a business unit, a couple of Vice Presidents and various Directors.  Often my meeting notices include managers and other people whose presences are required but whose schedules are in conflict with my executives.

So here is a lesson to be learned.  When in the hierarchy of the business world, if your boss tells you that you are required to attend a meeting and the only time HE or SHE can hold it (according to their schedule) is at a specific time that does not jibe with your schedule — you need to be there.  So please don’t call me, telling me to reschedule a meeting that has people who rank higher than you in the company.  You won’t win.

In the grand scheme of things, you need to move your schedule to accommodate their schedule.  As an admin, I have done everything in my power to find a time that will work for everyone.  Failing that, the executives schedule win every time.

A Jury of My Peers

A good friend of the Admin Gal recently pointed out  her frustration of meetings that run over their allotted time.  Admin Gal realizes this is a common theme in this blog.  But with so much material and so many people to help, how can this topic not be revisited regularly?

Meetings are an opportunity for people to come together for a common purpose to come to a decision. Or realize that they won’t come to a mutual desired outcome.  Normally, attendees come prepared ready to make the needed decision or touch base on the current milestone.  All of this can be done with in the allotted meeting time.

Here is when things can go terribly, terribly wrong.  Sometimes, when an attendee feels slighted, for what ever reason, they decide to hold the meeting hostage.  If you will, a meeting filibuster.  Not letting anyone get a word in until they’ve made their pointless point.

5, 10, 30 minutes later.  Everyone’s schedules are in disarray,  other meetings have been held up because of this person’s axe to grind. AND no decision has been reached.

This is where you wonder if a jury of your peers would truly understand if you went postal?

You’d Better Ask Permission!

The old adage ‘better to say you’re sorry than to ask permission’ is getting really old where I work.  On the food chain of reality, the people who are trying to get away with this are not high enough on the food chain to even merit a pass at this.

A manager –  maybe, a director – okay, a vice president – if they must, the president of the business unit – no choice, he can do anything he wants.  Anyone else, absolutely not.  If you don’t book enough time for your meeting.  That’s not my fault.  It’s yours.

I’m really getting tired of having to kick people out of conference rooms because they think they are important enough to need a door.  Just sitting in a room for 45 minutes after your meeting is done because you think the room is free is not correct behavior.  Nor is it acceptable.

My last nerve it getting stretched beyond polite.

Extreme Calendaring

Coordinating a calendar is a challenge at the best of times.  Multiple calendars – well – it’s time to bring out the heavy drink or at least the good chocolate.

I coordinate the calendar needs for 3 busy executives, 2 directors and manage multiple conference rooms.  Not to mention division wide meetings.

When everything goes well, calendar coordination is that moment when you listen to an orchestra who has performed the most difficult piece of their lives flawlessly.  Everyone knows it – the director, orchestra members and the audience. Everyone is flying so high, no one wants to re-enter the mundane world.

On a bad day – enter the gremlins of the calendar.  Buggy software, bi-polar executives and people who demand that, I the admin magically, against all the laws of physics, produce something that can’t possibly exist - 25 hours in a 24 hour day.  Those are the days, I sit muttering at my monitor.  People are afraid to enter my cube – with good cause – for fear that my brand of insanity might be contagious.

Calendaring is not for the feint of heart.  An admin must strong of heart, canny of mind and tenacious.  Willing to wallow in the mud and muck so you can fly on those wonderful days.