Welcome back to another episode of the corporate Cowboys podcast my name is Alex as always your host and today’s proof of life it’s Monday May 15 2023. if you’re not familiar with the format of this podcast by now just know that the next 30 minutes you can relax well
Actually no take [ __ ] notes take notes see man already custom ones will I be demonetized who knows but take notes for the next 30 minutes you’ll have a free technically consult it’ll just cost you 30 minutes of time to listen unless you want to speed this up to one and a
Half or two times the speed sometimes I do speak rather rapidly rather speedily so um sometimes I speak but I say speaker speed whatever and just kind of catch up with my thoughts to be able to give them to you in a manner that you could understand so if I beat around the
Bush some just know that I’m looking for the root all right well this podcast is geared towards professional development and corporate navigation you want to think like a corporate Cowboy you want to move like a corporate cowboy learn to do it moving shoot and Scoot if you will
Then you’re in the right place so a lot of the questions that we get asked or that we get or that we find online specifically for this podcast a lot of the questions that we find online are geared toward how to improve their position how to improve one’s position in corporate
At the same time be able to innovate around their work or around their professional development right also this podcast has served since its Inception That season one episode one has served as a form of professional practice for me to be able to orate and think through my ideas and map them
Out outline them to be able to present them to you in a manner that isn’t so um so crowded right that’s why these 30 minute exercises are like um like practice problems problem sets if you will hypothetical clients at bat and that’s how we refer them as
Refer to them as because I mean they haven’t retained us so I guess the disclaimer comes in right here where none of what you hear that’s published by the corporate Cowboys podcast or by incorporating Associates any of our Affiliates none of it should be construed as legal advice to you
Right and we do not promote nor do we condone any wrongful activity or any wrongdoing okay so what you hear hear but you what you hear over this podcast and in any of our Publications is meant just as a general advisory it’s not even legal advice okay professional it’s professional we’re
Professionals after all we’re in the business of cultivating other professionals to move professionally today’s question comes from r slash career guidance and they’re asking for guidance they’re asking for some advice here they’ve flared it right they’ve put a little marker on it that’s asking for advice
And we will do our best given the facts to provide some advice right if we feel that we can you know create some inferences draw some inferences that’ll inform an opinion we’ll do that otherwise we’ll highlight and identify areas of um factual weakness where we might need to
Ask questions you know probe a little further we would need the clients in front of us to you know ask ask an interview just um to drill down and get the particulars of their specific situation and circumstances so the question today is asking how long
Is it’s normal to work at a new job before you start to grasp everything and they’re feeling insanely overwhelmed at the moment how long how long is it normal to work at a new job before you grasp everything me personally I mean honestly it depends on the policies and the procedures
I think first and foremost granted that it might vary from industry to Industry especially when when you’re moving into something that’s more technical or highly Technical and requires a specific level of Education or expertise right so if the training say if you’re going through a training period or a probationary period
Typically I feel like in the past human resources or a competent hiring manager might have imposed a a requisite training period or probationary period because they know that it takes some time to grasp the work to get to get acclimated right to get used to the routine the the programming the systemization
Um of of the workplace it’s not unheard of I think a competent manager knows that if you hire somebody in off the street even if they’ve got the educational background you’re looking for and they’ve got some transferable skills from past work experiences even they are
Going to take some amount of time to get used to the customs and the practices and the trade the actual organizational processes for your particular firm for your particular organization right and that might be the difference between a two-week training period or a three-month training period slash probationary period while where they
Might put you like on a trial basis right where at the end of your three months they’ll sit down with you and review your performance how well you’ve performed and if you’ve taken to the work in a manner that satisfies them but a lot of that would be negotiated on contract
From the moment that you were hired so again if you weren’t reviewing your contracts if you aren’t negotiating your contracts from the get-go that’s where you’re [ __ ] up but oftentimes we cannot expect uh younger professionals or novices or amateurs and I don’t mean amateurs in a derogatory sense like these [ __ ]
Amateurs no I mean just amateurs who may not have that that knowledge that know-how the technical prowess I guess to want to want to even review their contracts they might be more of a they might have more of that Workhorse mentality where they’re just there for
The job and to get the job done and they’ve got a passion for it I’ve worked with plenty of those in my time where they’re just there to take orders and to execute and for a while I think most uh most professionals most and OG once told me that most all badass
Professionals most all badass [ __ ] start out as [ __ ] eating grunts right and when you’re a grunt and you’re doing grunt work it’s because you show up and you put the work in and and you move with a sense of urgency and that translates into passion almost
Right so you show up and and it’s as if you like the work you love the work you live for the work because you get a sense of fulfillment a sense of satisfaction from doing it and there are some who who choose not to move up because they lose out
On that balanced sense of fulfillment and satisfaction where if they moved up into management then they’re doing less work and having to work with more people having to manage people managing people really is is where you take on greater responsibility greater degrees multiple degrees of responsibility
Because I mean then you pretty much are held accountable for the productive output of a team of your team and that’s multiple individuals not just your own output where a grunt a grunt and again do not mean that in a derogatory sense someone who only focuses on their work and their
Work only they can take the time not take their time but take the time to hone it down to really have their passion be manifest in their work in that and that can translate to uh that can result for or be what’s the term I’m looking for
That could be in in a perfect job and a job well done in us an Excellency in um yeah really that’s just excellent performance a perfect performance I guess we’re moving into legal legal Concepts but um otherwise you were your managers as they move up they also
Go through a training period or a trial period right and I’ve started at the bottom and I’ve moved up and managed teams managed whole divisions for organizations and given that there are a lot of moving Parts you must divide your attention to track not only your performance and and push that
Performance up to your superiors but Wrangle the performance of those uh that you oversee that of those that you supervise of those that are that are under your command to develop and to some extent help right so let me let me start by reading off the
Body on this one reading the body for this question so they write hi okay so I will try to keep it short and sweet okay I just got my first proper job at a car dealership in Europe and I am on day four it’s about day four
Tomorrow the first proper okay this is the it’s just off top their first proper job at a car dealership and they’re on day four I haven’t sold cars before but I’ve spoken so I’ve spoken I’ve talked to car salesman new used cars and there are a ton of moving Parts especially when you’re
Working in sales the ins and outs of sales just by themselves if it’s your first proper job we don’t know if it’s their first proper sales job or if they’ve got prior sales experience I mean I’ll keep reading here for a bit but if you’re if this is your
Introduction to sales as it is that’s going to be an uphill up hill climb for I would say three to six months I think for you to find now I’m gonna say two two to six months I think if you put your nose to the grindstone and you’re
Really devour all the knowledge that comes your way and the knowledge that you can go out and seek as far as supplementary uh just resources and and knowledge that’s available out there for you to consume you just go out there and just devour it voraciously look up videos read uh PDFs and manuals
And um and I mean there are some shorter books I probably wouldn’t dive into into novels at this point but to really learn hone and refine sales as a primary skill that you’ll be making your bread and butter with two to six months for you to get a good feel and feel
And and be comfortable selling so day four buddy you’ve just started they say my job is to treat customers note down their complaints check if they have warranty offer different service plans for their cars book appointments Etc the tasks considering customer support and talking to people has never
Been an issue of mine so that’s not why I feel overwhelmed but learning their systems software and how to properly use it is to meet insanely difficult to grasp and understand as of now you’re four days in you’re four days in I think the um the fact the fact that you’re
Only four days in and you haven’t been properly trained because it doesn’t sound like you’ve like you’ve gone like a two-week training like an orientation period on on how to use the systems the the not the property management what’s the term I’m looking for via the CMS the customer management
System or the the inventory management system to to know to know exactly the products you are selling the services you are selling and how to uh manage your clients profiles right it doesn’t sound like the first two weeks or the first couple of days have anything on that so really
Especially going into car sales I know sales in and of itself can be hit or miss as far as the infrastructure available to train and Orient new hires some of them might send you to like a two-week training camp on their systems and policies and procedures and and how to uh approach
Clients and attack objections right to close on sales While others which it sounds like you’re in this ladder Camp would just throw you onto the onto the skillet and have you dance on your own so they say they say but learning their systems their software and how to
Properly use it is to me insanely difficult to grasp and understand as of now I’ve noticed some of the things I do when for example noting down customer complaints regarding their car is that I just do what they taught me on the computer but I really don’t understand
The codes they use for each car I just do it by memory I ask them what this means note it down but In the Heat of the Moment I forget it all and sit there like a dumbass in front of the customer looking through my book or waiting for a
Colleague to free up so he or she can help I have also taken tons of notes in my book that I carry around all the time but the person teaching me is super busy so I always end up asking if we can run by let’s say quote how to check warranty
On this model using this program and they have and and we do half of it okay okay sorry I [ __ ] up the reading on that I also take tons of notes in a book that I carry around all the time and the person I mean it’s a little miswritten
So I’m I’m revising in like real ton to have you understand it so they take multiple notes in a notebook that I carry around all the time but the person teaching me is super busy so I always end up asking if we can run by say let’s
How to check the warranty on this model using this program and we do half of it before he has to help someone else with something more urgent okay see that paragraph right there it’s just the run-on sentence but this paragraph right there is a clear indication that the uh the
Training isn’t regimented the training isn’t standardized even though they have apparently a standard program to be using one that operates for the sake of client management and inventory management they have a program that facilitates sales and it doesn’t sound like our hypothetical client is receiving any standardized training for
Any training at this point or or consistent support right consistent support leads to feedback which lets the hypothetical client know this feedback right if they have the consistent support they would also have this feedback uh this this access to feedback and the feedback would tell them what they’re doing right and what they’re
Doing wrong as far as I mean me personally my point of view I don’t even know if they’re supposed to know these codes off memory I’m sure some people do May maybe they are doing it right by carrying some type of of Notebook on them that lets them know at
Least how to navigate through the system so that when they find the appropriate code they’re able to code vehicle issues correctly right because sometimes memory can fail memory can fail or if you’re working off of heuristics they’re called heuristics are like mental shortcuts for analyzes if you’re working off of heuristics only
You might run into the circumstance of of a more senior technician who runs only off of their memories so whenever they apply to a code whenever they apply a code to something that’s like in the ballpark like like an estimate like an estimated code but because they’re
Relying on their memory it sounds it sounds [ __ ] badass like they don’t have to go look up this code and pretend I’m the senior I’m the senior Tech and you ask me hey Alex do you know how to code uh for because this is Europe for a Volkswagen they’re they’re having issues
With a misfire and the mass airflow sensors also reading a restricted rate you know I’m just making up terms here and I say oh yeah um I give you like a like a OBD code oh yeah that must be a po412 right it sounds badass that even though
In my mind I might have pulled it out of my ass as far as going through the issues that you diagnosed for me verbally and I tell you well I’ve had that code pop up for similar circumstances it might not be the exact circumstances for that exact
Car with the with the specific symptoms or specifications on it right so heuristics could also be a crutch that could end up crippling you if you if you employ them incorrectly that’s that’s funny to imagine a crutch that could potentially [ __ ] you but you’re four days in again four days
In isn’t even enough to develop those heuristics to really claim that you’re running off of memory I doubt it I doubt it you’re more than likely running off of off of fear of forgetting it’s not even it’s not even a a working memory or a permanent memory it’s just a fear of forgetting
So to continue the dealership also has five different brands they sell so that means five different programs and they include two exclamation points here five different programs if let’s say they handled one or two cars I would probably never write this but having so much shoved in my face constantly without
Being able to properly figure out one brand at a time is just really tough I get it I get it you don’t have enough time to uh properly learn and digest one brand before you’re working with another and and you could potentially be working with all five in one day and during one
Shift right that’s that can be uh that could be overwhelming I get it that could be over overly stimulating and overwhelming to the point where you don’t know born you’re questioning whether or not you’re competent for the job put your four days in you haven’t been trained at
Least not properly at least not individually right especially if you don’t have a dedicated trainer especially if this organization doesn’t have a dedicated training program if they’re not investing a little bit of money up front for the people that are making them a ton of money on the back end I mean
For all we know it could be a lack of managerial oversight a lack of leadership oversight a lack of director oversight so don’t uh don’t don’t feel so bad on yourself don’t get so don’t get so down on yourself they write the customers obviously expect me to understand how to implement
A service plan for their cars within a few minutes but sitting there with the phone ringing the stare of your customer and me trying to navigate this old ass system okay maybe they’re just talking [ __ ] but yeah if you got an old ass system too you could be dealing with the
Old ass organization and old ass policies and procedures old ass leadership and if they’re not innovating I mean there’s an opportunity there but you’re only four days in so I don’t know if you want to start pitching initiatives to innovate just yet uh maybe take it up with the manager first
They’re right they’re right uh with the phone ringing the stare of your customer me trying to navigate this old ass system completely different from each other is pretty crazy to me how am I supposed to know all this am I supposed to I should I should because it
Is expected of me I just have no idea how long this feeling will last damn damn okay well let me put some perspective on you I work in a field in the field that I’m in that’s uh Consulting legal and business and otherwise that uh that Innovations
Come at you fast right and if you’re not adaptive if you’re not on your toes if you’re not keeping up keeping abreast with Novelties that are happening the News That’s occurring right in real time or even if you’re not keeping up but if if you’re not thinking ahead if
You’re not thinking ahead of the curve thinking innovatively so that you could also start Treads of your own right then you’re necessarily falling behind you’re getting left the [ __ ] behind right so if if you’ve got a whole organization that’s doing this and they’re just stuck they’re clung they’re
Clinging to the way things were or it’s always worked this way or if it ain’t broke don’t fix it right but they’re not moving to improve it right if it ain’t broke it doesn’t mean it can’t be better it can’t make money easier it can’t move smoother right that doesn’t mean that
But if they’re they’re stuck if they’re stubborn as to not wanting to change or to not wanting to improve innovate or adapt buddy again this is this is an uphill battle but this is your first formal job this is your first proper job moving uh within corporate
So you have to move accordingly you have to move accordingly first things first is look out for yourself now you could choose to uh speak out and ask if there is any formal training programs I don’t know how big the organization is again these are questions that we would ask uh in an
Interview with the hypothetical clients whether or not they did their homework before they applied so ask how big the organization is what type of what what span of control do the executives keep right who you report to and who do they report to so we would ask um yeah whether or not
This Corporation is is really outfitted for for a training program and if they have one why haven’t you been assigned to it yet right so again this is questions to ask yourself questions that we would be asking of you in regards to your position within corporate
I mean I mean you’ve you’ve now signed the line you’re you’re in the organization but if the organization isn’t working to keep you and the organization isn’t working to keep you alive and moving within the organization there um there’s some disconnect there’s some disconnect between objectives and naked higher all the money hungry
Young people they want all the money hungry sales people they want but but if they don’t provide any infrastructure any orientation or any training as far as their systems they’re just about it they’re as good as dead in the water right so yeah I mean you you throw uh
You throw a handful of money hungry sharks and the same kitty pull together but with no common purpose no common orientation they’re going to end up eating each other they’re going to end up hating each other because we’re not dealing with sharks we’re dealing with people we’re dealing with humans
And if this is your introduction to corporate as a professional you will become jaded you’ll become disillusioned quick and you’ll you’ll have to learn on your own how to move like a corporate Cowboy if they’re not teaching you and leading you to do that if if you find yourself in a position
Like this and and you need help you need someone to talk to if if your inner circle of friends doesn’t lend itself to these types of conversations that’s what we’re here for you can find us on Instagram it’s at corporate Cowboys with a z you can find us on patreon the podcast
Is the corporate Cowboys podcast and anywhere that podcasts are distributed Apple Amazon I believe we’re beginning to upload the archives onto archive.org right and they’re free there too so you want to donate to us keep this podcast free and by all means do that a couple of donation links available for you
Uh send send what you will and you can write to us too and send something that way that’s PO Box 3372 Rancho Cordova California 95741 all right let me finish out the body on this one and and give some party thoughts because we’re about at 30 minutes right now the customers obviously expecting
Already read that obviously I learned a lot since I started this Tuesday geez you see I mean don’t don’t make me feel bad don’t make me feel bad but yeah I do feel for uh aspiring professionals young and old I feel for the aspiring professional who has to strike out on their own
Because it’s going to be a lot of trial in there when in theory in theory in capitalist Theory not corporate Theory capitalist Theory your leaders should be backing you up should be supporting you from below right a good leader a good leader allows their subordinates if they want and if
They’re willing a good leader allows their subordinates the opportunity to step upon their shoulders to get up to move up obviously not to walk all over their [ __ ] back but to step up on their shoulders gives them a boost in position goes to bat for them even sticks out their neck
If it comes to it but but as we’ve learned in and um as you may or may not have experienced good managers good leaders are very few and far in between all right so don’t don’t be so hard on yourself you’re four days in your four days in of
A potential career if you choose to stay right at this point if they’re not going to give you uh some type of structured training within two months I’d be out with within two months because it doesn’t sound like it’s it’s it’s conducive to a proper professional development it
Might be your first proper job but whether or not it’s conducive to you developing professionally sure you might be developing you might be continuing to develop personally and I do this with every contract and every employment I’m always developing personally right just through lived experience but professionally if if I don’t think I’m
Growing or if I don’t think my growth is supported by the work environment that I’m in professionally I’m gonna start looking outside I’m gonna exhaust the resources that I have within the organization I’m going to exhaust whatever resources are available to me online or through books
But if it doesn’t if it doesn’t pan out and Leadership is stuck on this notion of you do what we say because because if it ain’t broke don’t fix it I’ma look I’ma look elsewhere I’m either gonna rock the boat some right I’m gonna do a proper three point shoot fade away right
Running and gunning or or I’m gonna look to the competition I’m gonna look for whatever else is in Market who’s doing it better who’s doing it better because that’s who I want to be working with again that’s it’s an overarching theme of the podcast as to empower the aspiring professional
Put them on a level to work with corporate not always be working for them see that’s some corporate Cowboy [ __ ] catch you on the next one
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