March 2001

Anthony,

Last October, you and I had a one-hour conference call in follow-up to my career testing. I took several notes from that call and listened to the recording of our conversation a few times.

Things have developed very well in the time since. Immediately following the October phone conversation, I discussed our conversation with my manager (my company used me as a "guinea pig" and paid for the testing), but the pace went rather slowly for several weeks after that.

Since then, I used my feedback from the follow-up conference to help prepare a structured "Personal Growth" discussion with my manager. He was impressed with the orderliness and completeness of the discussion to the point that I am now tasked with championing the redefinition of our department within the corporation as it begins the transition to a lean manufacturing culture (our February test conference brought that idea to bloom), and preparation of a detailed proposal to our company president. He basically just handed me the task, told me to develop the new department definition, and keep him advised.

My testing results indicated that I would be more satisfied in pursuits that allowed expression of interests in art/history/music. I made a note from your conference statements that interests like mine work well with video producing. I haven't exactly gone into making of videos, but I've found opportunities to get involved as an extra in making of professional videos. I'm a Civil War re-enactor, and I managed to arrange participation in the filming of "Battle of Courage", an impressively professional one-hour video of the 1862 battle of Wilson's Creek, Missouri. For early May, I've accepted an invitation to take part in a similar filming of the 1863 battle of Raymond, Mississippi. In July, I'll drive to Gettysburg for three days to take part as an extra in a video that's being made there. Just this morning I sent correspondence to a film maker who wants to make a film this coming October for the National Park Service -- "The Outpost," about the battle of Chattanooga and Lookout Mountain in 1864. (When I started digging, I was amazed to learn how much is being done right now in terms of making short films.)

At the conclusion of our October 11 phone conversation, you asked me to get back with you in a few months to let you know how I was doing. In summary, you have made a significant difference in taking away the feelings of burnout that were developing. This testing, along with another company sponsored personal growth program gave me the knowledge and means to take charge in discussions that communicated my interests and skills, and how those can be applied for value-addedness to the company. (I've even been approached by human resources to consider becoming an Personal Growth facilitator.)

Murray