Can you compartmentalize? How?
 

For the first time in my life, I'm really struggling with work/life balance. Job is going horribly and I'm in real danger of getting canned for low performance. My two biggest customers, who make up a disproportionate chunk of my annual revenue, have shifted plans and are spendning next to nothing this year. I'm not supposed to prospect for new business, so I'm stuck trying to offset these losses by upselling to existing customers and it's not going well.

I work from home, so I have a super work/life balance. I see my boss twice a year and haven't been to the main office in two years. In fact, I often have to try to burn up vacation days at the end of the year because I don't have to take time off to do personal stuff other than real vacation travel.

Anyway, I am having a very hard time not worrying about work stuff when I'm "off the clock." I am very customer service-oriented, so I always answer my phone and emails right away, no matter the time or night, weekend or holiday. And I actually like dealing with customers. I don't even consider it work. But the internal company BS is dragging me down and, geezus, I was on stage at a gig last night, playing some difficult music, and worrying about my next call with my boss tomorrow morning. WTF?

How do you separate work and personal time? I need to start working on this because it's getting me down and I never really worried about it in the past. Now it's becoming a big problem. Who's an expert at this and how did you get to be one?

Sounds like in my limited experience that you were doing well until the SHTF... It's normal to worry when there is danger on the horizon, and it would concern me more if you weren't worried about it.


Why won't they let you prospect for new clients? We actively push for new accounts all the time, for exactly the reason you mention.

We have a separate department for new business development and it has not been going well. But we're not supposed to compete with them. Though I suspect that will change soon. Doesn't matter now. New accounts always start out small and then grow big after a year or two. I was the best at it when we still did it along with account management. But that's all in the past. There's no chance of replacing my two biggest spenders with new accounts. Ain't gonna happen. I'm not so much worried about how to fix my work problems as I am how to learn how to compartmentalize. Work problems will always come and go. But compartmentalizing will be a skill for life.

I don't have much perspective because (as you know) my life is sort of a big tidal wave of strange stuff, especially when things are busy or going well.

My only suggestion is that you don't need to 'forget' one while you're doing the other, but you need to let your brain surrender to the task at hand, otherwise you're doing a disservice to EVERY part of your life.

Sometimes when I'm at work doing my fun daily job I find myself thinking about section 179 deductions or my GMCR trailing stop order and I have to mentally slap myself and give myself a STFU for a second.

In the same spirit I suggest if you can go play a gig and not feel guilty about enjoying it you'll do yourself a huge service intellectually at your day gig.

Don't compartmentalize. Start looking for your next job. It will put you in command of your destiny.

I doesn't sound to me you're actually worried about "compartmentalizing", you're worried about "getting canned." That's a good reason for worrying. As long as your existence is threatened, it'll intrude on the rest of your life. Good advice about beginning thinking about that next job. Another possibility would be proposing some arrangement where you can "assist" that part of the business that's supposed to be drumming up new accounts, or helping organize & intergrate that part of the business with yours and others like you. If you are as you describe, you should be an asset for developing new accounts and still servicing your existing ones - along with whatever new ones you get.

Yes, new job search is in full swing. But I don't want to make a lateral move unless I have to. My current gig is very good about getting you all fat and happy, so you'll be loathe to leave for anything less than a way better gig. And those gigs don't grow on trees.

I have no doubt they're going to fix things between account management and new business development. But everything they say they'll do takes 6-9 mos. longer to actually get moving and, even if I survive that long, my income is dropping like a rock. My boss, for all his ball busting and tough talk, has never once fired someone in the 11 yrs. I've worked for him. I don't take that to mean I'm safe. But it'd be a big move and he has to know it would make a lot of others start thinking about their next job. And all that means I will continue to be the target of regular verbal beatings because 1) I dont' see how I can make up my shortfall in 2013 and 2) in sales you're only as good as your last month.

To make things worse, the way our goals and commission plan are structured, the company doesn't really expect many people to make 100% goal. And that's why they start paying commissions at 70% of goal. Fewer than 10% of the sales people finish the year at 100% goal. And when more than that have, they really raised the goals the next year, figuring it had gotten too easy for us. And that means I don't have a "proven track record" of having always blown away goals, which a lot of other sales jobs ask for in their ads.

Anyway, the point of it all is to figure out how to shut off all the job negativity when I'm doing personal stuff and am off the clock. I literally wake up in the middle of night and worry about the stuff I know I have to deal with a few hours later. Not good.

We already established that this is not your normal job situation, so it is natural to be more stressed out. I can only recommend plenty of daily cardio exercise. It will be good for your mind and make you tired. When I get stressed, I feel my body revving up to physically get away / fight / do something about the "danger", so the best thing is to move and put that energy to use.

I also think that there is nothing better to turn off than track driving. You will not think about work while you are doing 90 mph in a hard turn on a road course. ;)

In the end you have to get to the root of the stress, like everyone has already said. Lateral move or not, do it, get it over with, move on.

G

Wish I could help but I would be stressing too in the same situation. When you're livelihood is threatened, it's hard not to think about it. George's advice about cardio exercise is good, I should take it myself. I'm having a good year work wise but can't help thinking that it won't last...I'm trying to stay in the *now*, as they say. That's where the fun is.

Yes, I do a lot of cardio and it does help. I love to sweat to the extent you could wring my clothes out. I usually hit the gym at around 4pm. But, because I need to be avail. for work then, I put my Blackberry on the magazine rest on the eliptical machine. That doesn't stress me out. Only once or twice has it been so important, that I had to stop to go back to work. Most of my stress is on Sundays, when I'm starting to dread Monday morning, which I really have never done in any job until recently. I just need to figure out how to really not think about work except when I need to.

I was taking a nap on the couch today when I heard some emails come in on my work account. One was a referral from a current customer, which is always good news. Another was a meeting invite from my boss to discuss my numbers on Tues. morning. I didn't have to respond today, but I couldn't have not seen that email while looking at the other one, which was good and time sensitive. So now I'm worrying about it when I shouldn't be until Tues. morning.

Very interesting thread. There is a lot of stuff going on here and I think you have gotten a lot of good advice. My advice is going to be atypical. You keep focusing on trying to compartmentalize, but men are naturally good at that. It's a known fact men usually focus on one thing at a time. You are. All you think about is work. You say you want to turn it off but you haven't even said one thing about your off work life. That's the key to everything.

Sometimes, when we get too focused and "compartmentalized", we don't see the whole picture. That's where we mess up. In the short term and being "compartmentalized", I think you should focus on the job thing. Focus on finding a new job. That will take care of all this negativity and worrying. It sounds like this job has run its course anyway.

The separating of job and personal life is a very good lifelong skill to have and is a totally different topic. You guys are probably laughing at me because I am probably one of the younger ones on this forum and you are saying to yourselves what does she know about what life skills to have? I have said this before, being a hospice nurse teaches you a lot about life and death!

My male patients were always talking about how they wished they didn't take their job so seriously. That they saw how missed opportunities with their kids, spouse, friends, etc passed them by while they were trying to attain the next big career move. On your death bed, you are forced to look at the whole picture because you are there. Your picture is done. You can't paint anymore so you have to accept what you have painted. All of a sudden, men can separate work and personal life when they are forced to prioritize like this. Well, I shouldn't just say men. Women do too when faced with death.

One patient stands out in my mind. Successful architect. Beautiful house that was ceiling to floor windows that overlooked a beautiful valley of trees. He designed it. His bed faced out to this valley. We would both look out at the beautiful view as I organized his meds, emptied his catheter, called for his pain meds. His room with dressing room, closet, and bathroom was bigger than my house. But he died in that bed. Without a spouse or friends. His maid told me he had lost touch with all of them and she didn't know of any family. He had asked me once while I was taking care of him what I dreamed of. What I wanted in life. I told him I was still figuring it out. He said don't be like me. An old man on his death bed wishing he had done differently. I never forgot that.

So how do you turn off the stress? By reminding yourself to look at the whole picture. Will not returning that customer phone call for 6 hours instead of 1 hour really make a huge difference? And if it does, fine, but is that how you want to live your life? I turn it off by telling myself that if I lost my job because I didn't answer a phone call or an email because I didn't check my phone or computer after picking my boys up from school, it's ok. When I got laid off, I worried but at night I enjoyed my boys. Why? Big picture. When I am on my death bed, I know I will want to know that I spent my time on the people I love and the things I enjoy. Because that can never be replaced or found again. Another job? Always can be found. Especially if you are good at what you do and it sounds like you are.

Enough of my two cents. Totally different than the advice I suspect you were seeking. Take what you want from it and forget the rest.

I wish you luck. In the end, it's just a job.

Thanks for that thoughtful post and a perspective other than a man's. But my problem isn't with the day-day duties of my job. I have literally had to skip going out to dinner on a Sat. night when I was on my way out the door and my biggest client called with an issue. And I was fine with it. That's rare. But I really do love dealing with my clients and I am happy to help. My clients don't shake my hand when I arrive at their offices. They hug me. I love dealing with them and am probably too informal about it all. It's the internal BS I struggle with. And that only lessens when you're crushing your numbers, which I have no chance of doing this year. I have to feign being upbeat when doing my monthly reviews with my boss and that's when he's not in Jeckyl-Hyde mode with in-between calls and emails.

As for my non-work life, rest assured, it's fulfilling and busy. Just had my third gig (between Pittsburgh and Phoenix) last night in two months after about a year of trying to put something together. And I think the gigs will be flooding in after last night's.

I have ridden my bike to CA twice so far this year for work and play and gotten paid to do it. It's a good gig and, when it's good, it's great.

FWIW, this is what I was doing last night (and got paid for it).

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/uG8fbGOrW3U" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

And I sheet you not, while I was playing this, I was thinking about the BS I have to deal with at work tomorrow, which is probably why I couldn't play this again if you held a gun to my head. I was in a different zone and that's not good.

"it only lessens when you're crushing your numbers.."

Life of sales. What you are doing is a typical response - you are in free fall since the typical routine isn't working and you are trying to get on track, and worrying about the two ton elephant (production #'s) in the room. You want a solution and you can't find it right now. It's concern for your future.

You got to level with yourself. If there is no hope of getting new prospects, the company isn't going to give you a hand on this, they changed the structure so it doesn't work well anymore and your paycheck is now destroyed, then maybe it's time to consider cutting your losses and moving on. Your income has to have taken a hit as well, and it's better to leave now before it's official news you got cut for production, it's just speculation at the moment.

Start putting your feelers out, and relax a bit. If it's gonna happen and you have exhausted all your resources, just acknowledge it and start seeking.

Good salespeople always, always have a job. Seek while your stats are good and you still have time. Also, don't be hard on yourself, every salesperson takes a beating once in awhile- it's chemistry, both with your product and your clients. If it was so easy to get along and sell product, they wouldn't need guys like us.

rjp

And this begs the question as to whether I've only been successful in this job because the boss likes me so much and I also get along with his boss pretty well. I dunno. I am pretty sure he's protected me in the past and he is a good guy and a stellar salesman and boss. I've simply been with him too long and need to get outside the comfort zone in order to get refreshed. But again, I can't make a lateral move unless I'm unemployed. I need to find a better gig and that's a tall order.

You got to level with yourself. If there is no hope of getting new prospects, the company isn't going to give you a hand on thishttp://www.gqtt.info/5b.jpg

"Most of my stress is on Sundays, when I'm starting to dread Monday morning"

Rick. I feel for you. I am in sales as well. I don't know why but I have stress cycles. Sometimes, it gets very bad. I have always had the stress creep up on me and then slide back down somehow. It isn't that great for me right now. Not certain what the deal is but I don't like it. I was thinking as I lay awake last night grinding on work issues that i really do work much of the time I am awake as I constantly think about work. That kind of sucks.

I don't have a solution. I do know I have had it way worse than now. I suspect you will also. The worst part is corporate incompetance is driving your stress. I had an employer that did that as well. They are gone now. Go figure. Is there any chance you could write a proposal to show how you can add value in regards to new business acquisition? If so, you can perhaps leap-frog up the ladder, improve your income, improve your company, and improve your co-workers lives? I have a genius friend that did this successfully for a fortune 500 company here in Portland that makes tennis shoes. She created a department and ran it. Vision and bottom line performance are welcome in corporate America.

I know you are a sales pro. I have read your posts and recognize someone who, like me, excell at sales. I guess that my thought is that you need to re-frame the situation and demonstrate leadership. They can take it or not but at least you will have been proactive. And as you mentioned, the job search stays in full swing. The proactive leadership will also make a GREAT example of why you need to move on if they reject it.

Have a great day!
Larry

this. i was fit to be tied with my work situation. then, i made a goal to apply for new jobs, at least one a week. doing so calmed my inner fears, it made me feel like i had some control of my work-destiny. things calmed down a bit at work, but i still apply for new jobs that interest me and look/network all the time. when management pulls something stupid/unethical, i just laugh at them (inwardly) and continue doing my job. eventually, something i want/like will come along and i'll be there.

I can't help much because I am in pretty much the opposite situation.

Mine is not a bad job but I would rather be somewhere else... that and I live paycheck to paycheck making $20 an hour.

I am a state worker so I accept the low pay for uber security and loads of bennies... but then I am the "evil state worker wasting you tax dollars".

One thing I have that you do not... at the end of the day I hop in my car and leave work (geographic) behind. I see how working from home can be great... but the downside being you never leave your workplace.

YMMV

A lot of great advice here, especially Tweeze's. I think that "working on Plan B/ exit strategy" should give some relief and give you command of the situation, not let the situation command you.

It's easy to let things consume you that you really don't have much control over. "Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy." is a quote from Leo Buscaglia that I always find apropos. Also, my friend likes to say "Worry is like paying interest on a debt that never comes due."

They both can help to simplify and enjoy your life. This is the real thing, it ain't no dress rehearsal.

Like.

There ya go.

So true! Listen, Rick. You already had the answer inside of you. Stop for a second and listen to yourself before you start listening to the rest of us. You know your situation best. You have the best answer for it. We can sit here and tell you all we want but you are gonna do what you want in the end anyway. Good luck and keep us in the loop. I sincerely believe we all learn from each other. :)

I think it might be a bit more difficult to compartmentalize in your situation. Although you say that you really enjoy your job, it seems like you're tethered to it 24/7 and can't permit yourself to completely disengage because of commitments to your customers. While it's a nice option to have, working from home can blur the line between your "real life" and your "work life", making it more difficult to separate the two. Although I can also work from home, I rarely do. When I'm in the office, it's all about work...when I'm at home, it's MY time and I don't think about my job. Once in a while, if I find myself thinking about some aspect of a work-related project, I'll say to myself, "Shift gears...you're not getting paid to think about that stuff now". The nature of my job (engineering) allows for a complete break between work and my personal life. In sales, it's different. One never wants to miss an opportunity to close a deal...even if it means taking calls or answering e-mails in the middle of the night, or even while on vacation.
As others have said, maybe it's time to move on. If you really want more separation from work in your personal life, you might consider looking for something that requires you to spend some time in a dedicated workplace instead of only working from home. Although I like my job and the company I work for, when I leave the office in the afternoon, I can completely tune out work before the door even clicks shut.

Thanks guys. I guess the short version of all this is that I need to find a way to stop worrying, at least when I'm not supposed to be working. I was soooo dreading starting work this morning and just got off a somewhat difficult conf. call on which I had to present and defend some stuff. But it wasn't so bad and, frankly, it's almost never as bad as the worrying or expecations. The work duties I can deal with. I expect to get hammered by phone and email all day today and am fine with it. The issue is being able to forget it all after about 5pm and keep it forgotten until 8am tomorrow. What is the secret to being able to totally shut off the worries about work outside of work hours?

The fact that I'm typing this at my standing desk/kitchen table in boxer shorts and a t-shirt illustrates my harsh working conditions;). I know it's a good gig, which is why it's so hard to find the next one. I wouldn't be opposed to dressing up and driving to an office each day for the right money. But I haven't found that gig yet either. I do send out a few resumes per week, but the rejection emails sort of take the joy out of feeling like I'm trying to control my own destiny. Maybe my pay requirements are unrealistic, but I wouldn't work anywhere for less. And I always decline to ID my race/ethnicity. Maybe that gets me into the round file.

Timely thread. Don't have answers, but more or less the same issue. I'm self employed, working on starting another business, plus do some resale on the side.

I just got back from my niece's wedding in TX, where I logged 5.5 hours for a client while sitting at my in-law's kitchen table between events.

The sort of work I do just doesn't get finished. For the most part I am doing some work seven days a week. When I do take time off, there's no one doing the work for me. It just piles up so I have twice as much to do once I get home.

I really have mixed emotions. On one hand, I am self employed and work from home. On the other hand I can literally work around the clock and never feel like I'm done.

i JUST now got a phone call for a job interview for a position that really interests me. it is amazing how much BS i just laughed off from my current job. i doubt i'll get the job (not being negative, just realistic), but i am going to give that interview the whole me and not even think about my current job while i am there.

good luck, rick.

You're not serious about finding a new gig - that's why you're getting rejection letters. Not saying if you were committed that you wouldn't get the letters as well, but intention goes a long way.

Really depends on what you want. Do you want the boxers and t-shirt aspect? Is that more important than being challenged in other ways? No right answer - everyone has to figure out what is important to them and then try to make it happen.

In the late 90's I was right where I wanted to be. Or thought I did. I'd spent over a decade of undergrad, grad, postdoc, and was in my dream job - tenure-track faculty at an elite small college. But the world changes and I got more interested in how this new thing call the internet would change learning. I eventually came to a crossroads. I could spend another two years cranking out a few papers, get tenure, then be set. Or I could pursue what I really was now interested in. So early in 2000 I wrote my letter of resignation (giving 6 months notice) without a job to go to. I had some skills in digital stuff (all self-taught) and figured I'd sort it out. I landed at USC as a web developer, then ended up running a digital media research center for 5 years, then there was a power shift at the top and I had to do some dancing again. Managed to land where I am now. These days DoD funding is pretty whack and who knows if I'll have a job come Oct. I've been "living work" and losing sleep on and off for years and while I still haven't figured that out but my sanity clause is music.

Back in '09 I figured I wasn't getting any younger, and one of the only times I'm truly happy is when I'm playing. So I set my sights on playing out as much as possible. 50 gigs in 2010, 130 in 2011. During 2011 I figured it was time to "start over" on my instrument so I started studying instead of just playing. 100+ gigs last year, will be the same this year and that is combined with a daily practice routine and skype lessons with my teacher. Stupid amount of work but I can feel the difference and I'm getting more out of the music, which means I'm getting more out of life.

Figure out what you love and do it. The rest will sort itself out one way or another. Life is short and you're dead a long time...

Seems to me you just freed up some time for Mrs Lee's parents:D

Kidding, of course.

Lot's of very good perspectives already offered...best, Rick.

Damn you!

Mrs. Lee has shelved that idea for a while, as her job isn't going great and she's becoming realistic about the financial cost of hosting her parents for a while. Her job is safe and she likes it. But she's making less than before and that will continue for a while. I think she'd rather have her parents stay in China than have to curtail her compulsive shopping habit.

I don't believe in compartmentalizing when things get really bad at work.

Maybe if you are trapped in a truly passive situation, where you really can't do a thing about the job and you have no hope of getting a different job, then it would make sense to shut down the nerve receptors. But that is seldom the case.

In most jobs, when things are really bad, either it can be fixed by improving our own poor performance, or it can be fixed if our own performance is superior, or it can be fixed by finding another and better job. I've always found the best solution is to put the personal life on hold and go all-out to fix the work problem. A short period of aggressively fixing is preferable to a long period of passively coping, in my view.

In your situation, I'm not clear what is so great about your job other than that you can work in your underwear? Personally, I'd prefer a bigger paycheck . . . okay, that's is oversimplifying things, but anyway I think you should be aggressively searching for a better job.

Yes, I am looking for a better job. And a (much) bigger paycheck would easily offset any new requirement to dress up and commute to an office or do more business travel. I am not a career-focused person. The purpose of my work is to finance my lifestyle. I will not lay on my deathbed wishing I had become a CEO, spent more time at work or taken more client calls. I hope to have no regrets on my deatbed. But if I do, it will be not spending as much time as I could have with Mrs. Lee, hanging with good friends, seeing great things and travelling the world (more than I already do). Work will not enter the picture at all, even if, by some miracle, I am able to retire before I die.

What I like about my job are the great people I work with - co-workers and clients. And this is coming from someone who hates humanity in general;) and feels no need at all to be liked or thanked. Somehow I manage. I get to ride my motorcycle all over the place for business. I've met countless Pelicans on my business travels, done a lot of cool extra-curricular stuff on the company dime. And I'm not poor. So it's a good gig.

But I don't truly believe in my heart that it's possible to fix the hole I'm in with my accounts. And I can't admit this to anyone I work with or I'd be canned. For too many years I have skated by cultivating relationships with major, big spenders (which I consider an accomplishment) and their spend became too large a chunk of my territory revenue. Too many eggs in one basket. Now it's going away and I can't replace that revenue quickly enough. So I'm in a downward spiral.

To make things worse, there is no career path at all for someone in my position at the company. Directors never leave and that's the only job I could be promoted to and remain in sales. Otherwise, my job is the pinnacle position for someone who wants to be in sales and be able to not work in one of the major offices on the east or west coast.

I have a very critical job at work, not stressful just very critical. But, when I walk out the door, its shut out of my mind until the next time I go in. I just think if you have to worry about whats happening at work when your off, something is not right.

When I worked in the DC office, I would leave my Blackberry on my desk when I went to lunch. I never stayed a min. after 5pm and rarely even brought my laptop home with me. I didn't care as much about getting canned in those days, as DC is a pretty easy place to find another job. I've literally been laid off three times and had a better job within days for two of those. It doesn't work that way in AZ, especially if you're making decent money for the AZ economy and working from home.

And I sort of view always being on call as the price I pay for getting to work from home and make my own schedule. I don't mind it most of the time. Usually when my phone rings, it means money is knocking on my door or at least the chance to come out looking like a hero presents itself. It's the internal BS and longterm career prospects that I need to be able to turn off when I'm not working.

I have a call with my boss tomorrow at 8am to discuss my "rescue plan" for my territory and it's gonna be real hard to not think about it tonight, since it will be the first thing I touch for work tomorrow.

It sounds like you're stuck in a lose-lose situation.
Compartmentalized, by your stated position, to fufill an impossible task.

Without breaking some rules of inner-office politics, it will be a difficult situation if-or-when business dries up for the company.
Push to move up and people will be threatened.
Push sideways and people will be threatened.

When I leave the office, I leave the office (kinda hard for your situation, I realize). I used to be an Army recruiter, putting in 16-18 hours a day, at least 6 days a week, and then stressing out about the next day/rest of the month when I was at home. This was hell, and ruined home life pretty damn good. After that, I vowed to never let work bother my personal life again. So, I put in an honest day's work, and then I leave. I'm fortunate in that what I do CANNOT be done from my home (government stuff), so even if I get an email/phone call during the evening, there's nothing I can do about it till the next day.

I'm assuming you have an office set up in your home. I think it might be wise to put in your "time" for the day, and then lock that door. Stop answering emails in the wee hours of the night. If you want to learn to compartmentalize, the first thing to do is truly separate your work life from your home life. Is what you do so important that they need an answer at 1am, or can it wait till 7 or 8?

Rick, this may sound obvious, but I don't believe I've seen a post on this suggestion: why not go out on your own? Eliminate the politics, answer only to the customer? You know how to cultivate relationships, you know your craft, you want control of your own destiny. Why not go for it? Sure, you could put up a million road blocks to keep you from taking this step, but at the end of the day, do you want to control your career, or do you want to put up with the same nonsense in the next job for 2 years, then starting looking again?

I did this a couple of years ago and I can't believe the difference in my daily work enjoyment. My goal was simple: deliver the best possible service to my customer. Period. No CEO's agenda to follow, no corporate overhead that took away from this goal, no constant attempts at vying for new business, nothing. Just do all the things that ensured I took care of the interests of my customer. Seems to me you have all the tools to succeed.

I wish I knew how to become a full time consultant. But I don't. I would take on some side work if a customer ever hinted at such a thing. They never have. As far as I know, there are no 1099 employees or consultants that work with my company. I'm not scared off by the lack of steady paycheck or health insurance. I just don't know how I could do this job otherwise. The company wouldn't allow it and I don't know what I could for customers better or cheaper than we already do for them.

I got really excited a few weeks ago when I got an email in response to a cover letter I had written six mos. earlier. But it was for a two hour stint proofing a German website before it went live. I was paid a $50 AMEX gift card. But I did it for the experience and to meet some folks. That kind of work ain't gonna keep me real busy.

you want to ask your boss for advice on the biz problem

follow their lead at that metting tomorrow, and make some notes afterwards

make some friends in the new biz dept. also

Oh, I could switch to new biz dev. tomorrow for the asking. My boss has asked me several times if I wanted to do it. But the department is not well run and I only know of two or three folks who've lasted more than a year there. That director has probably burned through 30 NBDs in the three years since the program began. The problem there is that new clients don't spend big as soon as they sign up and it takes a lot of work to bring one in the door at all. They're good for cultivating into big spenders over time, but it takes at least two years to get them there. I still have some good ones I stole from competitors years ago when new biz was part of my job. They started out spending almost nothing and are now major clients. I never once reeled in a big fish right off the bat. It takes time once you win them.

To put it in perspective, I'm in the hole by about 4x the monthly quota of an NBD or about one month's worth of my own quota. So, if I completely ignored my existing accounts for four months, totally focused on new biz dev. and did as much new biz as the best NBD in the company, I'd be back to even, assuming I had no more goals attached from my existing territory. That's a taaaallll order and unrealistic.

Today I'm submitting a bid for an RFP, which, if we win it, could totally save me. But again, that's a hail Mary pass and not a good position to be in.