Back in 2004, I went to New York to do a summer business program at NYU
for non-business majors. It was six weeks of pretty fun times. Hanging
out with Jess, shopping, eating and sweating it out. I may have
developed a tan that summer, I can't be sure.
Our classes were about accounting, marketing, how the financial markets work and "strategy." I jotted down dozens of pages of notes into a notebook that I lost on the last day of the program. So awesome.
We had to break out into teams to research and present case studies on companies with unique business models. Man, I hate teams outside of real work situations. My team picked "Red Hat" because I pushed really hard for it. Who knows why. Oh right, because I grew up reading my dad's Fortune magazines and I'm a business nerd. And because the alternative was Hersheys. Psshttt. Hersheys tastes terrible.
So for six weeks, we discussed the amazing stories behind some of these cool companies. And one day towards the end of the course, a lecturer came in to talk to us about business communications. Specifically, how to write effectively in the business world. Get your point across, things like that.
Turned out I was actually okay at it. I was hurled a candy bar for condensing a ridiculously wordy paragraph into a single sentence. And shazaam -- that was the start of this whole business communications thing.
So now it's February 2009, which means I'm closing in on two years here in Chicago. Next month I'll be heading back to Sydney to renew my work visa, eat sushi train, cruise around in Mum's new car and go to Janice's sister's house for pavlova. I can't believe it's been almost two years since I've been back.
This milestone is making me think a little about the work I do and where I want to be. It might also be making me really cranky. I think maybe it is. No one likes to think about this kind of stuff.
Today I was working on the voiceovers for two videos that will be part of the GE annual report web site. One of the videos is set in Shanghai. The other in Greenville, South Carolina. I got to go on both those video shoots and do the interviews that I'm now editing.
For someone who came to Chicago with the dream of one day working on the IBM annual report (I'm not joking. I repeat, not joking), that's pretty cool. It's probably as good as it gets. But most days I forget that. This afternoon, on my way back to the office from the video production company, I remembered. And I felt surprised and lucky. And it was 16C degrees out. And the sky was blue, which helped. Nice job, Chicago.
It's a really strange thing to say, but I love that I work on GE. The five of you who read my blog probably just scrunched up your faces. But I mean it. It's part of being a business nerd.
(And if you think annual reports are a waste of paper, go here and download the 2000 IBM annual report -- editorial only. That AR blew my mind when I was 23.)
So why do I love working on GE? I love it because the things the company stands for are all good things. They are about profits, of course. But they're also about progress. And its businesses make products that actually matter to people. They make seawater drinkable. They turn the sun and wind into clean energy. They make new healthcare technologies available for more people. And they are responsible for 30 Rock and Hulu -- two of my favorite things.
The work I do doesn't really matter that much. All I do is write some of the stuff that helps people better understand what GE is about, and hopefully like the company even more. But what I really enjoy is playing a very tiny part in all this. If I want to get all romantic about it, I could say that's why I moved to Chicago in the first place.
So almost two years later, I have yet to work on IBM. But I'm really happy I get to work on GE.
This is what I've been thinking about lately.
Our classes were about accounting, marketing, how the financial markets work and "strategy." I jotted down dozens of pages of notes into a notebook that I lost on the last day of the program. So awesome.
We had to break out into teams to research and present case studies on companies with unique business models. Man, I hate teams outside of real work situations. My team picked "Red Hat" because I pushed really hard for it. Who knows why. Oh right, because I grew up reading my dad's Fortune magazines and I'm a business nerd. And because the alternative was Hersheys. Psshttt. Hersheys tastes terrible.
So for six weeks, we discussed the amazing stories behind some of these cool companies. And one day towards the end of the course, a lecturer came in to talk to us about business communications. Specifically, how to write effectively in the business world. Get your point across, things like that.
Turned out I was actually okay at it. I was hurled a candy bar for condensing a ridiculously wordy paragraph into a single sentence. And shazaam -- that was the start of this whole business communications thing.
So now it's February 2009, which means I'm closing in on two years here in Chicago. Next month I'll be heading back to Sydney to renew my work visa, eat sushi train, cruise around in Mum's new car and go to Janice's sister's house for pavlova. I can't believe it's been almost two years since I've been back.
This milestone is making me think a little about the work I do and where I want to be. It might also be making me really cranky. I think maybe it is. No one likes to think about this kind of stuff.
Today I was working on the voiceovers for two videos that will be part of the GE annual report web site. One of the videos is set in Shanghai. The other in Greenville, South Carolina. I got to go on both those video shoots and do the interviews that I'm now editing.
For someone who came to Chicago with the dream of one day working on the IBM annual report (I'm not joking. I repeat, not joking), that's pretty cool. It's probably as good as it gets. But most days I forget that. This afternoon, on my way back to the office from the video production company, I remembered. And I felt surprised and lucky. And it was 16C degrees out. And the sky was blue, which helped. Nice job, Chicago.
It's a really strange thing to say, but I love that I work on GE. The five of you who read my blog probably just scrunched up your faces. But I mean it. It's part of being a business nerd.
(And if you think annual reports are a waste of paper, go here and download the 2000 IBM annual report -- editorial only. That AR blew my mind when I was 23.)
So why do I love working on GE? I love it because the things the company stands for are all good things. They are about profits, of course. But they're also about progress. And its businesses make products that actually matter to people. They make seawater drinkable. They turn the sun and wind into clean energy. They make new healthcare technologies available for more people. And they are responsible for 30 Rock and Hulu -- two of my favorite things.
The work I do doesn't really matter that much. All I do is write some of the stuff that helps people better understand what GE is about, and hopefully like the company even more. But what I really enjoy is playing a very tiny part in all this. If I want to get all romantic about it, I could say that's why I moved to Chicago in the first place.
So almost two years later, I have yet to work on IBM. But I'm really happy I get to work on GE.
This is what I've been thinking about lately.
thats epic kathy!!! ;) i still can't believe i wont be in sydney when youre back....
Posted by: moe | Feb 11, 2009 at 12:06
Kathy:
Very pleased that are working out so well for you. Glad you made the jump... or rather leap and landed so solidly. I knew you could. Two years in and thriving. Simply fantastic.
Thanks for making my day!
Matt
Posted by: Matt | Apr 02, 2009 at 14:18