Managing bloopers

I've always been one to focus on the end product. I don't want to control how we get there, I control the end product and give you freedom to figure out how you get there. This allows for ownership for both employee and employer.

How wrong I was, time to do a 180 and revisit my rational behind this ridiculous mindset I had been in!

Life should NOT be about the end product, you shouldn't focus in on the goal in the distant future, you should focus on the present. Should your goal when playing football be to win? Or should it be to play to the best of your abilities and show good sportsmanship and teamwork? Should your goal be profit for the company? Or should it be providing great connections with life-long customers and a reliable product? Should your life goal be to get married? Or should it be to stay close with loved ones and surround yourself with amazing support systems? Should a personal goal be to get rich? Or should it be to stay honest in the workplace, work hard, and be satisfied with your career?

Goals are not a bad thing, but I think that many times goals make us anxious to reach them, therefore we try to take shortcuts and in the end we get off path and our goal falls apart. Setting a goal for the future makes your path go to the goal, but as life happens many times our goals need to change, you should let your life lead you to a more generic goal like, happiness, not 3 kids, a Lincoln SUV, 6 bedroom house on the upper East side, successful husband, perfect manicure, and 100 pound Saint Bernard. 

I have a recipe for these delicious toasted almond dark chocolate chip cookies! The first time I made them they were AMAZING, lot's of steps involved for a cookie, but everyone at work loved them! The second time I made them I didn't toast the almonds, I skipped sifting the dry ingredients, I ran out of vanilla, and I didn't refrigerate the dough as recommended. But, I basically had all the correct ingredients and when they were done they were still almond dark chocolate chip cookies! What a disappointment. They were not the delicious delicacy as I had tasted before. I had taken some shortcuts, just focused on the end goal, and was unsatisfied with the outcome. If I didn't have the energy and time to put into the delicacy cookie, I should have opted to make the more generic chocolate chip cookie.

This new realization that I have will reshape the structure of my very new department at adidas. Still going through a hard learning curve with this thing called "managing" I continue to push forward, stay honest with myself, and support my team in every way possible. But I admit always focusing on the end goal was a bit of a blooper. I need to help lay the groundwork for my team like a football coach. Then unleash them when it's game time and trust that we trained well and I helped build a strong playbook for them. Sorry in advance for the hiccup, and for the future hiccups, but I promise to admit when I screw up and promise to cut down on the managing bloopers. 

Hailey Schultz

The best way to use your vacation days

It has taken me three years but I think I finally have it, the perfect annual calendar. The below is assuming you have 15 days of vacation & 10 days of company holidays. 

The average person is only in the office 24% of their year, assuming they work 9 hour days, but still it is easy to get burnt out. Even if you love working like myself, the focus on the below is to give a variety of breaks, short and long. Don't let yourself burn out, the recovery could be detrimental. Here are a few tips I utilized when creating the perfect annual schedule:

> Love half days, you get twice as many of them, and they still keep you in your routine while giving you a break. These are especially helpful during busy times of the year when full days are harder to commit to.

> If you are taking a vacation, take a Friday off & a Monday off, that way you create two 4 day weeks and one 4 day weekend.

> I don't use vacation time around the holidays, usually there is adequate time given to travel, plus working around the holiday's in an office is usually a ghost town leading to a laid back day. 

> Try not to work 5 day weeks for an extended amount of time. Use a half day at the minimun to break up the week and give yourself a break. Remember the whole purpose of vacations are to rejuvenate, relax, and step away from your desk to focus on other areas of your life. 

Hailey Schultz

Best piece of advice to relate to any area of your life.

I just finished this book and have realized the #1 piece of advice that pertains to your personal life, work life, kids, future.....

"You must start with yourself."

Most people have called out the hypocrisy of others at one point in their life or another. Hypocrisy is one of those things that gets under my skin, but that I am guilty of as well. I can't expect others to be organized if I my desk looks like a teenagers closet, or expect my kids to get healthy if they see me eating Doritos every night with a layer of dust covering the exercise equipment in the basement.

"You must start with yourself" is the answer to every complaint, every question, every compliment. Be the person you want others to be, show them what they need to do, be the example and others will follow.

It is true, I have been told this many times throughout my life and finally at 27 it has sunk in. There is no need to judge or critique others when you have no control over their actions. But you can control yourself, you can mold yourself into the person you want to be, although it may take a lifetime. 

Everyday is another learning experience but control over your mind and body is what I believe to be the most important thing you should fight for. 

The most current challenge I am enduring is my sick dog. He is extremely needy at this point in his life, financially draining, and overall exhausting. But I am learning patience, compassion, and how to live on little to no sleep. Although my apartment smells like sick dog and old urine, meals are now frozen as I spend a good 30 minutes trying to figure out what Sam might eat that day, and bills are stacking up as vet appointments and pain killers are a must, I will come out of this just fine. I expect to learn a lot, and once I have figured out what it is that I have learned I will be sure to let you know. 

Hailey Schultz

My first promotion

--> When I was 12 my dream was to be Kimberly Williams from "Father of the Bride." A recent graduate, thriving architect, beautiful married woman, all before the age of 26. A few years later I would discover being a successful architect in your mid-twenties is about as common as Alsup's Burritos in the Midwest.

But I wasn't too far off from that dream, I'm not a thriving architect but I'm currently managing a post production team at 26! I'll pat myself on the back for this one, after 2 years I got my first promotion. My new role is to help develop a new department and manage a handful of employees under me. Management sure must have a lot of trust in me...

(Don't tell them, but I have no idea what I am doing...)

I can't remember the last time I have hit a learning curve this steep. I find myself googling things like "how to be a successful manager," "when you think you're in over your head," "organizing chaos," "building a new department..." And what I have found is there is limited information on how to organize, develop, and manage something before it is created. There is no 1,2,3 or someone to tell me what is right.

So far I have survived the first few months and have learned:
Number 1: you better hope you have smart, understanding bosses to help you through this process Number 2: you better hope you have a strong team that works well together to help you through this process

I was pleasantly blessed with both.

This has been an amazing experience so far, pushing me further than I would have thought I could go at this point in my career. I shifted to something I didn't know I wanted to do, into something that wasn't even created yet. Watching a department develop and to be a part of that is a truly awesome experience. Your progress is continuously tracked pushing you and challenging your mind hourly. Sure there are times where I'm certain my brain is going to explode through my skull, but what I am learning right now is priceless and will strengthen me for anything that falls onto my path in the future. Our department should be in full motion come May, wish me luck!

Hailey Schultz

Employee of the Quarter

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What an awkward thrill, yet guilty reflex, to receive this honor. I was extremely surprised as I walked into a room filled with a few departments, I knew something must be going on. Then when all eyes sprung to me and my boss pulled out a paper the edges of my mouth started to tick and my eyes started sprinting around the room not sure where to stop. It is always a relief to know that others see your hard work, but once they acknowledge it for me, the relief turns to guilt.

I immediately started remembering the hour and a half lunch break I took last week, and that mistake I made on a recent project, and the times I’ve checked my Facebook during work hours. All my mistakes and moments of slacking come to the surface as I try to fight through the muck as my boss is validating and complimenting the ways I have contributed to the team.

Team…yes team, so many people on our team, is management sure I deserve this achievement more than anyone else? Will anyone become resentful? Does anyone think I don’t deserve it? How can I thank everyone for giving this to me?

Don’t get me wrong I love compliments, but I am hard on myself so if you give me a compliment I take that as a challenge. Now not only do I have to live up to that compliment, I have to do BETTER than the compliment you just gave me…

And now since I’m parked right in the front I feel obligated to come to work a little early, stay a little later, and make sure I’m living up to the praises others said I contributed. The pressure is now greater, that I place on myself, even though the thanks was for my hard work, I feel as if I need to work harder.

As I keep striving to be the best person I can be, in that process I let myself down continuously. I also reward myself, guilt myself, confuse myself, and doubt myself. Thank you SLD employees for your shown appreciation to all of my successes and failures, I take the achievement humbly, and am loving the reserved parking spot so close to the entrance during these cold temperatures!

Hailey Schultz

What Mike Wazowski will teach you about your career path

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Mike Wazowski in Monsters University

Photo snatched from: (http://weheartit.com/entry/65770931)

 

If you have seen Monsters Inc, I’m sure you are one of the millions that fell in love with the little one-eyed green creature named Mike Wazowski. Awesome movie, everyone should watch it if you haven’t already…then came Monsters University. I am always leery to watch sequels/prequels, but occasionally I give in to the temptation as I did with Monsters University. Although the film wasn’t up to “Despicable Me’s” impressive animation, I still give it a thumbs up for the underlying message that comes across.

Quick summary for Monsters University: Mike Wazowski dreamed about becoming a scare monster since he was in elementary school. He was a leader & studied harder than anyone else, his blood, sweat, and tears ozed with an appetite to scare... But in the end Mike was not the right fit for a scare monster, he just wasn’t scary. Although it had been Mike’s life-long dream he was able to courageously step down. He realized alone he couldn’t live his childhood dream, but with Sully and himself working together, they were an unstoppable force.

If this were real life I would scoop up Mike and promote him as a CEO! When someone realizes his or her dream has changed, that is something to be admired. Your dreams can change, and likely should! The more you learn about yourself, the more you should evaluate your future goals. One of the first hits I took in my life was giving up architecture. I realized after 7 devout years my dream wasn’t to be an architect anymore, and that was a tough thing to say out loud. After investing so much time, money, and effort into a dream it can be disheartening to reassess.

Are you the part? Or are you forcing it?

Mentally and physically there are blockades in the road. Sometimes they are worth tearing down, sometimes it is best to find another route. Personally I related to Mike on the physical level. Obviously I’m not a little green monster, but physically I have every indication for the stereotypical uncultured, spoiled, young ditzy professional that you might catch yourself rolling your eyes at. I will be the first to admit I have a young vocabulary, I have a tremendous amount of growing to do, I look 20, my voice sounds like an 8 year olds, and at this point if you are an older male it is fairly easy to intimidate me if you try. But you shouldn’t take your eyes off me because this façade is hiding a sponge beneath it. I know my limitations right now, but once I find my Sully, I’ll be something to compete with.

Go find your Sully, whether it be the perfect job, the perfect boss, a degree, or even a new found confidence in yourself. I’ll let you know what mine is when I find it, best of luck!

Hailey Schultz

If you procrastinate, you will get stuck in an elevator and miss your deadline.

My first Chicago apartment was....a great experience that taught me street smarts & peeled off a layer of culture shock I once had. I also learned that you should never, ever procrastinate, because you might get stuck in an elevator and miss your deadline.

My mom dropped me off May 2008 in the Chicago neighborhood Goldcoast. With the richest zip code in Chicago I thought it would be the safest and most luxurious. The hallways were covered in thick layers of glossy black and red paint, the faded carpet was ripped up with animal droppings and the 2 person elevator leaned to the right. There was a homeless man living in the laundry room and another tenet who carted around Styrofoam heads bunggie corded to wire racks. And even though my oven didn't work, giant rats had made it up the the 6th floor where I stayed, and my toilet never stopped flushing, I was thrilled to call this place mine. 

There were quite a few events in this apartment, I could probably write a novel...but the most memorable for me was in April 2009. I was preparing for my last 2 finals, sleep deprived, food deprived, money deprived...the day didn't seem as if it could get any more stressful. I had to run to school and take a morning final, come back home to finish my evening final, run back to school to submit it, and then make it to work by 6pm.

The elevator was not suppose to transport animals but I was in too much of a rush to run up and down 6 flights of steep winding stairs so I pulled my dog Sam into the elevator with me, pushed the half-broken off Lobby button that sometimes shocked you, and then the elevator stopped, the lights shut off, and there was an odd silence in the building. It was the middle of the day and the electricity went out-just my luck! I started banging on the door, without my cell phone, with a dog whom had to pee, and mid-day while everyone was at lunch.

Finally about 10 minutes later I can hear a woman asking if someone is in the elevator, she keeps asking me if I'm ok, if I need an ambulance, am I claustrophobic...Some time later I hear sirens, honking, and I think 'surely that can't be for me...' but it was, a whole fire truck, ambulance, cop cars all came to rescue me from the 18th century elevator.

At this point everyone in the building was waiting outside the elevator to see the rescue. I could hear the firefighters prying the doors open and cops pushing people back. I was in-between floors so they weren't sure how to pull me out. Finally about an hour later I saw a stream of light. The hallway was packed and everyone cheered, how embarrassing!!!! They successfully pulled me out but Sam the dog was shaking in the corner. The firefighters where nice enough to climb up into the elevator and try to sooth him, my neighbors brought out treats to try to bribe him but I could tell that dog was not going to be tempted and I would be the only one to talk him into jumping out. With a 4 story drop under the elevator you had to be careful not to get fall down the elevator shoot. I stood a few feet from the drop, clapped my hands, got Sam's attention and finally he pulled himself together ran out of the elevator and I had 65 pounds of Labrador flying at me. Sam jumped right into my arms knocking me over but finally we had both escaped. 

It took about 2 hours from start to finish and at this point I was already running late to turn in my final. As I walked into class and started to explain myself I felt like that kid from "And to think that I saw it on Mulberry street" by Dr. Seuss. This story was way to crazy to explain, and my professor obviously thought I was lying through my teeth, so I sucked it up, turned in my incomplete assignment, and got a C. 

So, I learned....you should never procrastinate because you never know when you will get stuck in an elevator and have to be rescued by firefighters.

Hailey Schultz

Personal Website

Don't forget to check out my Personal Website, there are some pretty cool additions!

http://schultzhailey.wix.com/visionary

Hailey Schultz

The Table of Contents to my Life

I finally put together a personal website!

The purpose of this website is to keep track of all running projects. It holds my contact information and keeps people up to date on my personal and professional life.

I love the idea of everyone having websites because unlike Facebook or Linkedin, you have total control of what to show, what things say, and it can be a great representation of who you are. So many of these prebuilt pages make it hard to stand out, they tend to communize everyone.

So here it is:
http://schultzhailey.wix.com/visionary

Hailey Schultz

What's a lunch?

Once you turn salary this is a question many of us ask. I step away from my desk to have lunch around once a month, as for the rest of the workdays I take a 15 minute internet/ snack break 2 or 3 times a day. 

Although personally I would like to not have a lunch break and leave 1 hour early from work everyday, I think lunch is something people should take advantage of, including myself. When I leave the office and come back I feel refreshed, empowered, and less tied down. I was not bothered by e-mails or a bright screen, I got to walk around, and I'm ready to push through the rest of my workload. 

I read an article recently of a CEO who works 4 days a week. How is that possible? Besides being very well organized and efficient, they don't get burnt out. They have a generous weekend with time to relax and rejuvenate themselves. 

Not very many people have the option to work only 4 days a week, but by taking your lunch break to relax and rejuvenate, I think your work and your day will be much more satisfying. 

Hailey Schultz

Personal vs. Business

When I go to work in the morning I bring a lot of myself, and little is turned off. So how do you tell if it is personal, or business?

At work I analyze work, everywhere else I analyze people. At work I am not judging you for what you do at home, I am only concerned about your work and professionalism.

We have quite a few temps that have been helping us with the Fall workload and they have taught me so much. Every so often I might e-mail a brisk comment to them, this is not meant to judge them as a person, but to judge their work and to help them learn. As far as I am concerned their work is a completely different subject than them as a person.

Many people take things personally, including myself, and it only hurts yourself. Don’t waste your energy, keep it professional on your end, and you will grow much easier.

Hailey Schultz

In over your ski tips

--> I taught one of my brothers how to ski when he was just shy of turning 3. He wore one of those crazy colorful ski hats so we would be sure not to loose him. One of my favorite things to do is go skiing on a weekday around 9pm when no one else is around, you can hear your skies cutting through the snow, you don’t have to worry about anyone else, and you can glide down the hill at your own leisure. It is the only thing in this world I have found to clear my head.

But there have been those days where I am skiing and, although usually I fall backwards, I have been “over my ski tips.” Sometimes you can redeem yourself, others result in an injury-like a sprained knee…yes this can carry over to other aspects of life ha! Many times I have taken on more than enough workload for two people, and as I try to slow down to process the information around me I usually redeem myself, however there are a few occasions where I have tripped up…

The good thing about spraining your knee every so often is it reminds you to be more cautious. You need to watch out for yourself and be careful with the choices you make. You might briefly look like an Olympic skier, but if you end the run with a broken neck, it wasn’t worth the fleeting glory.

Every year I learn more about my own abilities and limitations. I love pushing myself and seeing what happens. And don’t worry, I will keep you updated on the next success, or sprained knee.

Hailey Schultz

Your first job?

For you out there entering your first job...there are a few things I have learned in the past 21 months that I hope might make the first months at your new job run smooth.

1. Make a directory
When you start names will be thrown at you left and right, I started a word document that I still add to weekly with the names of new people and a short description. Organize however you feel fit, by category, department, importance...even after almost 2 years I still look at mine!

2. Project List
Much like my directory I have my own project list. I have three categories, Completed, Current, and Upcoming. I date Upcoming projects with the estimated start date, Current projects are dated when I start them, and then Completed projects are dated when I handed them off. Even if you find a better organization for yourself this would be a good starting point to keep all of your work organized.

3. Ask Questions
People at work now joke about how many questions I asked when I first started. But what they have also noticed is that I don't have that many questions anymore! And it fact I asked about such finite details that when we run into a curve-ball I am usually the one to take such weird requests and shake out the issues. Remember to try to find the answer yourself first...but never be scared to ask the most basic questions.

4. Have a morning
The first year I arrived at least 15 minutes early everyday. This was helpful because I could organize myself before my boss got there. This way when they start sending e-mails, asking questions about projects, etc, you can answer quickly and confidently.

5. Healthy routine
Routine changes are really hard. Try to set a healthy routine from the beginning so that it is easier to stick with. A couple things I like to do is set out my clothes at night, make a healthy lunch & snack before I hit the hay, arrive at work early, and drink a ton of water everyday.

When you are new everyone is intrigued, they are excited to see what you will bring. So start looking around your niche and find the quality that you can add to the group. It will be quite a ride but most likely you will learn more in the first year of your first job then in all of your college years put together!

Hailey Schultz

The truth about being an independent single woman

-->      I have come from generation after generation of single women. My great grandmother was left a widow with 3 young children, my grandmother is divorced and has lived on her own for over 2 decades, and my mother is a single parent with 5 children, so being an independent woman runs in my blood.
     The glorified life of being a career driven young professional, traveling with no one to answer to, paving my own path, living my own dreams. My nights are mine, the remote is by my side, no one to judge, no one to answer to. 
     There is however a dark side to such a life. I would hope to someday have a family, but I am familiar and content with my life as it is. The control I have right now is both empowering and intimidating. The more I live on my own, the more alpha is infused inside of me.
     So if I'm the alpha, so who will be my betta? That's a tough one. This is still a new concept to society. How do 2 alpha's find love...well if that day comes I will let you know.

Hailey Schultz

Hitting milestones

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I am notorious for making lists, grocery lists, chore lists, birthday lists, to-buy lists, lists of goals, ‘what I want in a guy’ lists, lists of all my lists…Many go uncompleted or are lost and forgotten. But the satisfaction of making a list and crossing out every single thing on it is priceless.

I recently made a list of milestones in my life that I have accomplished and a list of milestones I want to accomplish. It was a very educational experience for myself and I was amazed at all of the challenges I had overcome. It was an extremely healthy and confidence-building exercise and I would push everyone to try it. My future now has a definite goal that links to all of the goals and milestones I have conquered, and the path is now crystal clear.

Hailey Schultz

birthday invitation

I just finished up a birthday invitation, great clients, fun job, I hope your Birthday Bash is amazing!

-Hailey Schultz

Wedding card

For all of the weddings this summer...

Giftwrapping

I have always had fun wrapping presents and making them feel personalized, giving them "Hand Touches." Hence my side card business' name "Hand Touches." This little gift holds 3 pictures of kitchen items I had sent to my friends apartment for their wedding shower. This way they did not have to transport the items 4 states away.

I favorite thing about this is it allows me to step away from the computer. Tip: find an outlet that is opposite of what you do during the workday. 

Hailey Schultz

sleepy days

There are those days where the snooze button is pressed 3 or 4 times, my bed feels like a cloud and I do not want to get up, I want to call in sick but my gut tells me no...today was one of those days, but I dragged myself out of bed reluctantly and started my morning.

I've read a lot about "how to get over Monday's," & "Enjoying your work days more." It's not that I don't like working, I just don't like waking up, and I have to do it everyday for the rest of my life so you would think I would get over it. There are many tips I have run accross:

• waking up and excersising
• making a good breakfast
• going out for lunch
• stretching
• laying everything out the night before so your morning is a breeze
• schedualing morning meetings 
• walking my dog
• turning on upbeat positive music
• waking up at the exact same time even on the weekends

I bet these work for some people...not me. I don't feel like cooking or running or music, I feel like sleep.


Hailey Schultz

Removing Wrinkles

I hope no one ever has to unwrinkle a shirt....but if you do run into this unfortunate situation you do not have to be a photoshot expert, you just have to have a lot of time on your hands. Especially for this one in particular that has a stripped pattern.

I spent about 2 hours on this and I could still have edited it 2 more. As small as these photos are you cannot quite appreciate the detail that went into it but with every stroke of the clone tool I had to match up the stripes. Click on the three photos to enlarge. The edges of the garment were liquified and smoothed, the right collar was straightened out, the left sleeve was brought in....the more you zoom into this image the more wrinkles you see vanish.

My biggest tips, use the clone tool at 90% opacity, keep your tool pretty small, don't overwork it, some areas are better left alone, next time just iron your shirt.

Hailey Schultz