Well that seems familiar…

A few of my close friends - hi Jason … hi Joe …can attest to the fact that when there is something that needs to get done - a “crisis” per say - I become very um…“focused.” Some of these friends say I change into my alter ego “Mr. CRM” in reference to an initiative I spent the better part of my time working on in my civilian career. This is my business face I suppose. The take charge, move out, make things happen and heaven help the individual or group there-of that gets in the way. Today the Al Askari mosque was attacked… again. This is the same Golden Domed Mosque of Samara that was blown up over a year ago and is attributed to initiating the wave of sectarian violence that has plagued Iraq since. While everything that happens here can be considered a “crisis” this one has the potential of really shocking the system. We had to start moving on this before we were over come by events. It is in this framework of changing our days plan that the following moment happened…

We have had a group of new folks around giving an assessment of our performance and implementing much needed organizational changes. It’s having a positive effect. Funny thing is I am the subject matter expert on some of these items and folks are asking my advice. Today one in particular told me he was having trouble getting around a rather difficult roadblock in the form of an “ego.” When I advised my shipmate on how to how to “Smartly address this ego with a couple of grenades and fifty pound sledge hammer he turned to me with great concern and said, “This guy is definitely not going to like you or me...” Without thinking I abruptly stopped, spun on heel and looked my friend directly in the eye and in a most serious and official tone channeled these words…“I didn’t come here to make friends… I came here to get it DONE!” I added a couple other choice words about 1) what I think of people who use their egos to gate-keep and block progress 2) how he might also want to spend more time getting it done less time worrying about friends and 3) if he really needed a friend which one of us he would rather have on the “friendly” side of the fence but that is of little consequence here. What is important is the familiar look I saw in this guys face as he stared back at me. Um - hi Jason… hi Joe… It was something in between “did someone get the name of that bus that just hit me?” and “Sir Yes Sir How - High Sir!”

I’m not sure he knew what hit him. For that matter I’m not sure what I threw at him. You see there is a subconscious part of me that just naturally stands up and takes charge of any given situation. I don’t know where it comes from it’s just always been there. The result… well the roadblock is gone and as for the crisis… initial feedback is that we are managing our area very well.

This incident tells me I’m coming into my own around here. As my friends Joe and Jason will say I not only know where to find the grenades, more importantly I know when and how to lob them for effect.

Finding life amongst the living…

OK… So it’s been about 3 weeks since I was last able to write and post something. I fully expect many of you have dropped off, lost patience or quite possibly just lost interest. Can’t say as I blame ya… Most of my writing is now relegated to opening remarks or responses to media or... Regardless this not so new job is now new all over again. A month ago “The Ninja cell” as we were called began a planned disintegration as one by one the members of this “elite” team began their rotations back to the states in anticipation of the boss ending his tour. With the loss of talent I went from 90mph to “ludicrous speed” – “light speed is too slow.” ;-p

My promise to the team members, who were going back to set up a support cell for the boss stateside, was that I would manage his engagements and get him out of here in his last month without any mistakes or incidents. No sooner was I in my new position of responsibility then we had a crisis that needed to be managed; Missing Soldiers. Moreover we got real pressure to ramp-up daily operations. Long story short – the past month was a real trial of patience and endurance. I suppose I passed the test because I am now let loose to do what I do best… develop strategic communications packages. I was also surprised with a CG coin for my efforts.

The boss is now home starting his 3 star job with the rest of the Ninja Team and I am still here fulfilling my second promise… transitioning the boss’s replacement - keeping the mission going without skipping a beat. So far so good…luckily for me he brought the cavalry with him. That’s right I have a replacement and it makes me very happy. Several weeks running without enough sleep have taken its toll. As things begin to shape up I am starting to feel human again. (Sleep – not milk – does a body good)

When I first arrived, people asked me how long I was scheduled to be here. After hearing the answer they continually told me that I would become the mayor of the town. As we go through this transition and pass along what I have learned I realize now what they meant. I am quickly becoming the “salty sailor” here… I am the old-timer. The number of people who arrived here before me is growing smaller by the day. Within the next month I will be one of a handful left with the corporate knowledge of last year. I know where things are and how to get things done. All this and I haven’t even hit the half-way mark yet. As far as I’m concerned I’ve been to the top of the hill – Now I’m ready to help someone else get there. I’d rather get 5 to 6 hours sleep.