In 2019, I joined Chillibreeze as a PowerPoint Designer, and I love my work. Designing slides, getting that rush of intensity when chasing customer deadlines, or even getting good customer feedback, I loved what I was doing. Still, there was always something within me, and I wanted to do more.
Coming from a science background, I have always had a knack for numbers. I love numbers and was never intimidated by mathematics, even when I was young.
Over the last two years, I was intrigued by Henry's calculations and how he converted Dollars and Euros to Rupees. It triggered my curiosity as my view of numbers before was fundamental mathematical problems.
Now, it has changed drastically. I could truly connect and understand the impact and the stories behind those numbers, which are guidelines that will help us make a good business decision.
Adapting to the Numbers in Chillibreeze
My transformational journey began with the first opportunity I got to prepare the H1 2020 report. It was the treasure trove that I was searching for…
Understanding the numbers for Chillibreeze and concluding the numbers was my biggest challenge. I had to figure it out! James and Henry practiced tough love to guide me. They gave me the data and asked me to analyze and develop the best conclusions from them.
For the first graph of the H1 report, I recalled that I had to rework about five times, not because the data was wrong, but because the conclusion from the graph was not accurate.
I am thankful for the advice and insights I gained from Bah James and Henry, and they molded me into the person I am today.
Luckily, I got another opportunity to work with numbers, the role of a Data Cruncher, to fill in the gap when Bah James left.
Yes, these are huge shoes to fill!!
Initially, I struggled as I had much to learn. There were times when I worked for stretched hours during the week and slept at 1:00 am to complete my responsibilities to analyze the numbers as I did not want to give a wrong conclusion. I relooked at everything from all perspectives.
I could not fill that gap yet, but I was optimistic that I could do this with time.
A Revolutionary Opportunity!
Another opportunity came again with the Great Game of Business (GGOB) when Alfred formed a team known as the "GGOB design team" to explore the book Ralph discovered.
This was historic, especially for me. Before GGOB came, I did not understand much about the Financial and Business aspects of Chillibreeze; all I knew was billable hours and Revenue; I did not know how we spent our money or whether we were profitable.
GGOB sparked that missing piece from being a Data cruncher, bringing a new purpose. It taught me a lot about our business and what are the things to keep our business running.
The GGOB session has helped boost my confidence to speak to a group of people. I was initially nervous since this was my first Learning Session to moderate. But now, I have faith because the feedback I got from the team has helped me improve from one session to the other.
The numbers have made a significant impact on the company.
Especially with the onset of GGOB, many more are aware of our numbers, and my role of communicating the story of the numbers solidified more, as more ears are willing to listen to them now.
Taking up these responsibilities has helped me identify some gaps too. The most significant gap I saw in Chillibreeze is the disconnection of the team members with the numbers.
People are unaware of what is going beyond and base their decision on emotions and feelings. This is something that is slowing us down from growing into the potential that we have.
However, I was able to provide clarity by showing the story of the numbers to Andy. He saw its purpose in making decisions more accurate by involving the numbers. He is getting a new perspective to help him lead the production team.
What About My Core Responsibilities – Serving Customers
You must be wondering how I manage my overall responsibilities. The secret behind it is MY TEAM!
The team has been supporting me to their best. They can understand the impact and the bigger picture of the what and the why of my responsibilities.
People need to believe in you; for them to feel you, you need to get the credibility to bring changes and results.
This is one thing that I have tried my best. Taking responsibility and not delivering on the results paints a not-so-good impression on people. To overcome this, I laid out expectations and outlined the results of my duties so that the team understood and supported me in my decisions.
I always make a point to share and update the team to not disconnect from what I am trying to achieve.
The team supports me because I am very vulnerable, and I share everything so they know what to expect from me and even hold me accountable if I fall short of what I should achieve.
The most important thing is that you outline your responsibilities, these are just the many hats you can wear in Chillibreeze, but you are always available to the team when they need help.
I am still striving to see things differently and understand things from both sides. That will lead to critical thinking to assist the company in decision-making on any action that might need support from data.
Lastly, I am taking in more responsibilities, which is different from the actual customer work; I have never felt more purposeful. I truly understand the feeling of Joy of Work each day. I am more driven and self-directed.
Today, I am part of a team collaborating to make the best strategic decision for the company's benefit.
Though I have been here for only four years, I grabbed every opportunity and was determined to give my best and learn continuously.
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