Wal-Mart is big....REALLLY Big!!!

Just finished reading a quick news report about the size of Walmart, a place I tend to steer clear of at all costs.  Well not surprisingly Fortune ranked Walmart as the world's number 1 retailer once again.  What is staggering is the sheer size of this giant; last year they sold $421,849,000,000 worth of stuff.  If Walmart was a country it would have had the world's 25th largest economy in 2010!  Furthermore, they employed 2.1 million people (from Forbes), that makes Walmart's population larger than that of 95 sovereign nations.  These are incredible statistics and scary for a number of reasons.  Read the full article, with references at http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/05/28/walmarts-how-big-what-the-huge-numbers-really-mean/?ncid=webmail.

Let me know what you think of the mega-corporation: Is a good or bad thing for the world or for the citizens of the world?

Summer? Vacation

One week of "Summer Vacation" before classes start again and I thought going to Truckee for some mountain biking, hiking and most importantly BBQ on the deck would be a perfect way to relax and prepare for the last two months of my MBA.  Well nature had different plans!  I did take a stand--I refuse to let a bit of Spring snow stop me from manning the grill! 

Ex-Bosses

As I closed out my Organizational Behavior class I had some time to look back at my former bosses from my 3 'professional' positions.  I can say without hesitation that I am a lucky son of a gun when it comes to supervisors!  I know that everyone has a story about the boss from hell, but I have yet to suffer that fate.  The three organizations I have worked for have all treated my very well and in-turn I gave them my dedication and  loyalty. 

Lesson for management: When you identify a quality employee give him/her your trust and you'll be rewarded with a subordinate who will do anything to prove your confidence was not misguided. 

My boss-mentor is my supervisor from Caltrans.  He believed in me from the start, gave me guidance when I needed it and supported me in all my projects.  He continues to be a source of inspiration to this day and I would do anything he asked of me.  That's how you build a team and maintain loyalty in the modern office.        

Finals Week!

Wow, I can't believe that finals are here!  It has been a long, difficult semester but I got through it and it looks like (hoping...) I got another 4.0.  I know that the grades don't really matter now, its about what you take away, but I feel that I settling for anything less than an A would be letting myself down.  Besides, before going back to school I set a personal goal to finish my MBA with a 4.0 and I plan to keep that promise.  I got some welcome and positive feedback from my organizational behavior classmates during our last meeting.  Several people identified me as a natural leader; someone that they trusted to make decisions and to represent the class.  I was flattered by the opinions of my classmates but I could have done a better job using my leadership abilities to include the less vocal team members.  I'll do better in the future...I guess that's what they call 'learning'