Hi there! I'm new!

Hi, all!

I've been lurking in this group for about a week now and thought I'd 
give you an idea as to who I am and why I'm here...

A week or so ago, I heard Dale speak at the monthly SPIN meeting 
(Software Process Improvement Network) in our area and was very 
impressed with what he had to say about resistance as a resource--but 
even more impressed by the techniques he used to get his points 
across.  I picked up his business card and checked out his website, 
then came here, and the rest is history.

Throughout my entire career, I have always thought about myself as a 
pretty good communicator--and I think that, on the whole, I have been 
navigating the the cultural adjustments of being transplanted from 
Europe to California several years ago rather well.  In my first two 
jobs as educator for the University of California, I've done pretty 
well, to the point that I've mentored junior colleagues in 
communicating with and counseling their students; I've done 
mediations, been an institutional politico in the midst of a strike 
and union talk, won a few awards, and all that.  

Until I decided that I'd have a more exciting and fast-paced career 
in the industry.  Hence, I left the academy and joined the training 
department of a high-tech corporation, in the hopes of expanding my 
horizons and of using my creative and organizational potential and 
skills to contribute to the company's success.

The truth is that I have never ever experienced the level of 
resistance to change and the resulting need to watch my back when 
trying to implement process improvements as much as in "American 
corporate life."  What I am seeing here in terms of territory-
inspired politics and pub-based/ gender-based alignments often runs 
counter to the spirit of cooperation and level-headedness, to the 
point of impacting corporate interest.  Making a positive difference 
in such an environment (even as small as organizing a team and 
inspiring them to go into the same direction, when their (and my) 
former boss refuses to be in the same room with me) is a challenge 
that I am presently trying to master, both, on a personal and on a 
professional level.  On a personal level, I am presently trying hard 
to re-condition my automatic physical response to one co-worker's 
presence, who has decided to bombard any $$$-saving change I try to 
implement as soon as my name is associated with it.  On a 
professional level, I am trying to win as many allies in my future 
team as possible, without jeopardizing my commitment to honesty and 
integrity.

Since I am still rather new to American corporate culture (not yet 3 
years), I am hoping that I'll be able to glean a few helpful hints 
from this group here, and I'd love to be invited to contribute to the 
fascinating discussion threads that I've seen develop here...

This should cover Dale's first three questions.  As to the fourth 
question (what else should you know about me...):  I am an ENTJ who 
loves animals, hiking, and helping to make good things happen in 
other peoples' lives...

Looking forward to participating!

Cheers,

Sonja

--- In [email protected], Dale Emery 
<dale@d...> wrote:
> As a way to start the conversation, I invite all of you to 
> introduce yourselves.  One way to do that is to answer The Three 
> Questions (which I learned from one of this group's members):
> 
> 1. How did you come to be here?
> 
> 2. How do you feel about being here?
> 
> 3. What would you like to have happen here?
> 
> And one more question:  What else would you like us to know about 
> you?
> 
> Dale
> 
> -- 
> E-mail: dale@d...
> Web:    http://www.dhemery.com
> Weblog: http://www.dhemery.com/journal (Conversations with Dale)


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