Choice of date for POA 1

Will even half of us show up on time with flight delays? Who thought up scheduling Jan 3? It is early WINTER!! Detroit in early winter,,,Really??
How long will it take to get home for half of us?
How many of us had to cancel plans with friends and family for New Year's because of the timing of this meeting?

 

You sound like a real dipshit...

 

Oh, this must have been your idea. Did I hurt your feelings?

 

I heard that the reason we're going to Detroit was due to someone kissing Basil, the AVP's ass and saying "why don't we have the POA in Detroit that would be great" like she was speaking for everyone.

 

new year's eve plans = pre-work. good times

 

Really, can someone who knows please explain the rational of why this is being done?

 

A few of us(myself included) had to cancel holiday vacations with our families. Its a mute point arguing it bc its a POA and mandatory, but Im upset about it. To have us spending holiday time doing pre-work is unbelievable as well. What can you do though... Nothing.

 

Agreed. Beyond that, our customers are going 3 straight weeks without representation and samples. While we're away, the fridges will be getting filled with byetta, lantus and humalog. By the time we're back, no room left in there for Novo.

 

for those of you with a history with novo more than a whole year, is this normal? Will I never be able to go away for new year's ever again??

 

Oh grow up! You get a week off between Xmas and New Year's that you don't have to use your personal/vacation time for, PLUS the regular vacation you get to use at your convenience. This is the real world, not high school. If you don't like it leave and go try and find a company that will give you a paid week off. You reps are nothing but a bunch of sissies.

 

Absolutely right, this is not high school (where you get a week off between Xmas and New Year's and use words like "sissies")
You grow up. I agree the timing and logistics of this meeting are poorly planned. If you cant see that, "sissie boy" then maybe YOU should go find another company to work for. The collective intelligence of the Company could only go up.

 

Everyone I talk to is so upset about this. It really put a damper on our vacation time, add in the pre-work, planning for travel time etc. You would think that our first week back would be the time to be in contact with our customers, setting appts etc but we are once again trapped with Novo people. A business case study on how not to run a business.

 

+1....is it inevitable that as you 'climb the ladder' the obvious begins to escape you? I'm not saying it is terrible to have a week off over christmas but to completely destroy thousands of employees chances to extend the best break of the year is odd. It is not like we are in an industry where quick planning and immediate meetings are necessary. This industry moves at a snails pace. This is not the technology sector. We know all of the upcoming changes in our industry years in advance (patent expiries, new arrivals, etc..). Why pretend like these POA's are difference makers????

 

My prediction is as follows. We bust our butts to fight the weather and get to POA on time. And corporate, flying in from Philly and Jersey show up a day late due to blizzard delays.
Or the other possibility; Opening remarks on day one are delivered to the 10 local reps who were able to drive to the meeting (if they survive the black ice and spin outs).

 

There are a lot of people in Princeton who have to justify their jobs and i'm sure make it sound like everything we're going to cover is just "critical" . The marketing folks are as obsolete as the sales people they love to insult as being idiots.

 

I find it funny that everyone's mad at the company for scheduling a meeting and customers will go another week without seeing a rep from NNI, but no one was willing to work the week before Christmas.

Translation: I can decide not to see my customers for a week, but when NNI does it, it's bad for the business.

I'm sure YOUR customers enjoyed the break. Deal.

 

I have been with Novo for many years and this is definitely the first time we have ever had a POA right after the New Year. It usually falls about 3 weeks later in January. I believe the rational for this is for the expansion reps to get to know their teams and plan for the new year. I know there is really nothing new to cover, with the exception of the new expense reporting system.

I know it stinks if you were planning to take some extra vacation time after the new year, but if not, I would rather be at the POA since I am completely out of samples and will continue to be after more than a full week after the POA.

The reason Novo chooses to make these decisions is always the same and really quite simple: BECAUSE THEY CAN!

 

Lets be clear. This is not about the Company. I honestly love novo and the people who work here. What I QUESTION are the abilities, or lack thereof, of the person responsible for choosing the date and location of this meeting. It is a poor choice, period.
The Company didnt make this decision, a person did.

 

Basil asked for it and pushed hard for it to happen. He wanted to give back to a depressed economy and sector like we did/have in New Orleans over the past 5 years. Unfortunately the rule of thumb, of course there are exceptions, is to have Area/regional POAs for POA 1 and national POAs in mid year. The reason it's the first week is due to the size of the organization and finding hotel space at the time you want to have the meeting. Being that it had to happen in January it boiled down to the first week because it was hard to find space in Detroit that could accommodate any other week.

 

OK, thanks. A legitimate reason and non-sarcastic or demeaning response. Refreshing. Oh but to hell with it, if the economy is so depressed in Detroit, I cant help to wonder why it was hard to find convention/hotel space later in the month. If they're so booked, then they're not doing so bad, are they? I admire his (Basil's) commitment to his local area but will our short meeting, which could have happened later, replace the income of lost manufacturing jobs in Detroit?