(empo-tymshft) On post-acquisition reorganizations, revisited

One of the people in my FriendFeed circle was recently laid off, so the thoughts of many of us in the FriendFeed circle are understandably concentrating on employment. When I was asked about the way in which I got my last job, I ended up re-examining my October 22, 2009 post On post-acquisition reorganizations, and the February 2010 follow-up post Guilty by association (APMP).

And a lot has happened in the last year and a half, but a lot has remained the same. A few comments are in order.

In my 2009 post, I mentioned that we were still getting our proposal software from the same vendor that provided it back in 1999 (when I was last in Proposals). Well, guess what? That company got acquired, so there are changes on that front also. We'll see what happens.

In my 2009 post, I talked about how my product management experience could benefit me in my new proposals job. In some senses it has benefited me, but in other senses time has moved on. The new product manager has evolved my product well beyond where I had taken it, and although there are similarities to the previous generation, there are a number of new things that I have to learn just like everyone else.

Oh, and remember how I mentioned that I took care to let all of my contacts know that I was changing jobs, and told them who their new contact would be? Well, either I missed some contacts, or (more likely) my original e-mail describing the change got lost. Just this week, someone at Oracle contacted me with a question, and I had to redirect the person to the new product manager.

I continue my involvement in the Association of Proposal Management Professionals, and just attended a chapter meeting last week. The topic was virtual working. People dialed in to the presentation from approximately 20 different locations. That's called eating your own dog food.

And the job itself is going well. You'll notice that I never explicitly mention the proposals that I'm working on at any given moment, primarily because the proposal process takes so long. Of the first four opportunities that I proposed in 2009-2010, three were decided later in 2010, and one won't be decided until possibly 2012. All I'll say is this - if you go to a well-known summer "stampede," don't get into trouble with the law, because my company will check you out.

P.S. If you're in the Portland, Oregon area and are in need of an experienced IT security professional, take a moment and read about Alex Scoble.