So I decided to throw a rock into the middle of it and take a high stakes (for me), high demand and high pressure job and take over as the general manager of a rudderless, chaotic and throughly mismanaged shitshow of a store. Turning it around and rebuilding the reputation of this business are the two main expectations for me and I'm not entirely sure I know what the hell I'm doing. I've done retail and I've done quick serve food but this is entirely uncharted territory for me but apparently taking a deep breath and jumping in is my best course of action. Training out of town for two weeks and we're off to the races. It's been a hell of a ride so far, but I think I'm actually enjoying myself.
It's been interesting from the get go, the interview was an entirely unique experience as I was totally in charge of that meeting. I drove the bus from the start and the two people interviewing me seemed to have no problem with it, it was weird. After the initial get to know you back and forth, I was asked if I had any questions and both seemed a bit taken aback when I flipped open my notebook to two pages of questions I had prepared. My first question of "What kind of goals or benchmarks would I be expected to meet in my first six months?" Was met with what seemed like befuddlement followed by casting about for an answer. They both seemed relieved when I said "Okay, we can come back to that later." And I figured, in for a penny, in for a pound and continued to steam ahead and show them all my cards. There is a certain freedom in interviewing for a job you don't actually need, the pressure is completely off and you can absolutely be yourself. It obviously did the trick because twenty minutes into the interview, the district manager (my now boss's boss) asked, rather incredulously, "Where the hell were you a year ago when we opened this store?"
That question made me pause for a minute before I answered her. Where WAS I a year ago? My answer to her was simply, "I wasn't the person you needed a year ago." And briefly explained about my parents' decline and deaths in a shocklingly short period of time, a life changing medical diagnosis and a whole lot of life piling in on me at once. Reflecting on that later, I realized how true that simple statement was, I WASN'T what they would have needed a year ago but I absolutely am now. I got involved in organizing and executing the biggest event my town as ever seen (by involved, I mean my best friend told me we were going to do a thing and we did). In that year of brainstorming, planning and pulling it all together I rediscovered both a skill set and a passion for getting shit done. Managing people, coming up with fresh ideas and getting people excited about acheiving a goal is something I am good at and I enjoy doing. Planning that event was restorative, confidence building and made me into the person who is ready to take on this kind of a challenge. Thank God for best friends who drag you, kicking and screaming, out of your comfort zone and into a whole new thing that turns into another whole new thing.
