The first was led by a very bubbly set of ladies that I not only enjoyed listening to but actually learned a lot from - so on that front mission accomplished. It was a short session, only about 30-35 minutes but I learned a great deal about their products so it was well worth it.
The second session (today, to which I wore Navy blue and chrome Nine West peeptoe heels) was the kind I think everyone dreads - training on government regulated procedures. Although a necessary measure to ensure the safety and quality of all products sold by the Stevens Company, the session was very dry and drawn out. Now I don't expect the guy to sing and dance while he is explaining proper quality control measures but I certainly think he could have stepped his tone up a notch.
I even asked questions, trying to stay involved but received no exciting answers. The instructor simply said what the government had told him to say and that's it. It is insane how clinical and thorough government regulated documents seem to be, yet truth be told they are all a lot of common sense and definitions for jargon and acronyms. Nothing is electronic, it's not allowed to be. Everything must be signed sealed and dated in hard copy in a white plastic binder, placed in the approved offices for employee reference. The government is forever concerned with efficacy though is oblivious to the concept of efficiency. This is where I feel my education is more a burden than an asset.
I have been taught that in this information age we have the ability to do things more quickly and efficiently than generations before could ever have dreamed - which is entirely true. The issue they don't teach you is that your bosses, and your bosses' bosses come from those generations and they make the rules. I understand that large companies cannot simply mature overnight and adapt new technologies instantly, however steps must be taken.
My generation would be taking those steps as quickly as realistically possible but the bosses generations would prefer to discuss it, have meetings, presentations, votes and manager input on everything before the first step could be methodically planned, forecast and then taken. The government fits right into your bosses' generation - not a specific political party or leader but the institution itself and therein the people who are employed there daily.
So for me it boils down to how do we effectively move forward in business and in government with constant resistance from people who simply didn't learn the same things that students of today do. Can we condemn our bosses and our bosses' bosses for simply being of a different frame of mind? Of course not. Nor do I propose by any stretch that this difference of opinion be called ignorance.
These higher ups have paved the way in business and have succeeded (for the most part) in getting this far. Their efforts, big and small have allowed recent graduates like myself to sit in lovely cubicles and blog about work experiences.
I think have to agree with Albert Einstein here (that chap knew what he was talking about from time to time) when he said, "Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.”
What we need to question is simple. We need to discover and develop harmony between learned experience and knew knowledge. Question what works, what doesn't and what can be improved. We need the higher ups to be open to fresh perspective while recent graduates absorb the lessons of their valuable experience.
Frankly, we need to learn to move forward together, in harmony, not at odds with one another over how, when and
why.So that's what I plan to do...In great shoes.
