A Month In...

Remember that Open House thing I was telling you about? It’s looming closer and closer. Thank God I have a consultant helping with this project. She has been in the business for over ten years and has planned events like this time and again. She is very clear about what needs to be done and in what order. I am eternally grateful for all that she is doing to help make this a success.

At the same time, this job is a veritable whirlwind of meetings, interviews, random tasks, and leg work. As I look over my schedule the past two weeks I have been involved in advisory board meetings, reference checking, meetings with principals, phone calls to all corners of Chicago, background checks, etc. There are few moments when I am not working on something pressing or preparing for my next meeting.

A piece of the overall experience is adjusting to this non-corporate life. The pace of things out here is different, not to mention the daily schedule. The other aspect that is taking some getting used to is working with schools. They are much more political and closed than I thought they would be; especially when it comes to the fact that we are offering a program for their students. I really am surprised to find how resistant they are to working with us for fear that our program will make it look as if they are not doing the job themselves. We call that Scarcity Mentality and it seems to have perverted all aspects of this world.