My most recent project has interesting cultural dynamics. The VP's of the subsidiary we are bringing into our ERP system are accustomed to being like kings with a great deal of autonomy. Being pulled into a huge global company is going to be quite an adjustment. Also, instead of using consultants, we now have our own company's "fly team" which is to assist with deployment projects around the world. Our new fly team is from China and communication is extremely difficult. Any new development will be done mostly by a team in India. Our project's core "solution" and international project management team is in France. We have our own North American project management team as well. 
But with all of these different groups from around the world it is sometimes difficult to know who really should be the decision makers. And to make matters worse, there is absolutely no good time for conference calls that need to include China, France, US East Coast, and US West Coast. It seems I often end up on the phone with France in the early morning and with China late at night. I'm finding that I keep winding up with 12 to 14 hour work days simply due to the scheduling of meetings and workshops. Something has to give as we can't all be working these extreme hours for a long period of time. The work-life balance is way out of whack.
I have just returned from a two week trip to Fresno, California. I didn't want to fly home Friday night only to return Monday morning so I just stayed over the weekend. On Saturday, I went hiking just South of Yosemite. I hit several short 2 to 3 mile loops that went by giant sequoias and waterfalls. I went by myself and loved having the time in nature to simply clear my head and relax. One of the trail heads, had a sign warning about mountain lions. I'll admit that walking along this trail, I was a bit uncomfortable as there were many rocky cliffs with overhead crevices that would be the perfect place for mountain lions to hang out in. Luckily, I didn't actually encounter any while there. The trees in the picture below were in or around the Nelder Grove area.
The Bull Buck Tree reaches a height of 246 feet (75 m) and has a ground-level circumference of 100 feet (30 m).
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| The Bull Buck Tree |
On Sunday, I decided to drive into King's Valley. It was about a two and a half hour drive from Fresno. When I got there, I was surprised to find myself in the middle of a blizzard. There was about a foot of snow on the ground so hiking wasn't practical. I just drove around a little bit and then went back to Fresno to eat dinner. 
Shortly after returning home, I was informed that my project was canceled. Well, actually I think the term they used was "postponed". So, I don't anticipate any more trips to California in the near future. There are many reasons for canceling it few of which had really anything to do with our project and most that had to do with other changes taking place during the same time period. I won't go into the details here. But, for now, the North America team is regrouping in Nashville. I think that my next project is going to be in Dayton, Ohio which is only an hour and a half drive from my home in Northern Kentucky. But, it could also entail travel to Salt Lake City. Perhaps I will know more in the coming weeks.
These barks are not from Sequoia but I was strangely drawn to the coloration and pattern.
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