So I travel on Monday feeling under the weather. I think I get about 10 hours of sleep on Monday night, and wake up on Tuesday feeling about the same first way as I did on Monday. A cup of coffee, a series of nose blows, and a really hot shower, get me into an operational mode and cruise through PowerPoint until I have to get to the offices for the program review.
When I walk in, its been changed from 1400-1600 to 1430-1530. By 1430, it has been changed to 1445-1530, and the main decision makers all have to leave at exactly 1530 to make another meeting in a different location by 1600. And we have been moved from the conference room with working A/V equipment into an executive office with no working A/V. So it is just my little Toshiba M400 screen, and quickly printed (ink still wet) handouts.
Then as I start my presentation, I learn that the 1530 exit time also requires the decision makers get interrupted about every 8-10 minutes for 1 or 2 minutes to review some documents that they need to take with them at 1530. Now that was probably the biggest challenge of all that I have faced so far in the day, because having to rewind/recap before moving on is not something I've really experienced a lot of in the past.
But hey, that is the job, and I got through it in time for questions and decisions. I'm not even remotely bothered by this type of chaos, but I could tell others in the room were. Things like this usually work themselves out in the end.
Bottom-line, the focused feedback when the decision makers were engaged was positive, the financial numbers were not ideal but are all workable, the workload is doable, and all-in-all its probably a great program review because no one is yelling and screaming. Smiles all around the room. Take it when you can!
I head back to the hotel and fall asleep for 12 hours, and wake up basically feeling the same way as Monday and Tuesday. The good news is that Wednesday had no hard deliverables or meetings, just a plane trip home in the evening Which goes pretty well, but I land with a major headache that was cured by a Starbuck's Cafe Mocha and some aspirin.
It is now Thursday morning, and I woke up feeling much better than the other three days that if it was any other week would have been rarely used sick days. Happy trails are now again on the horizon ... now back to work ...