Never Understimate the Power a Smile

For the past year and four months (not that I’m counting) I have been an employee of the Michigan Department of Treasury in the purchasing department. I think my title is something similar to "IT Procurement Analyst" or something like that.

It's hard to explain what I do to people outside of State Government. Basically, everything IT is centralized and handled by the Department of Technology, Management and Budget (DTMB). The way it's set up, DTMB uses the agency's budget to get their IT projects done - and trust me, Treasury has a LOT of IT projects/systems. And since DTMB is spending Treasury's budget, my job is to help make sure DTMB is following Treasury's purchasing procedures and that Treasury and DTMB are talking to each other. I describe myself more as a "liaison" between the agencies, with 5% of my time going to actual purchasing.

There are days when I really like my role. I'm a problem solver. I'm the "go to" person for "how in the HELL do we get this done?" And I'm always learning because the process is ALWAYS changing. In a meeting yesterday, I had someone from DTMB yell out "we LOVE Kristen!" and my boss's boss respond with "we love her too!" The job can be great to the ego.

Then there are days when I want to hide under my desk in the fetal position. Unrealistic demands, an ungodly work load in which I always feel like I'm drowning, and, as stated above, the process is always changing and I often have to be the bearer of bad news. "Remember that strategy for spending this money that you've been planning for 9 months? Yeah, the process has changed and it's not going to work now."

I guess if I had to describe my job in one word that word would be: Relationships.

No matter how bad the days get, I have awesome people that make me laugh on a regular basis. People who tell me how much I, in particular, have made their world easier and what a difference I've made. I can sit in a meeting with my budget director and yell out "what are they, stoned????" and instead of getting an angry scowl, I get laughter and agreement.

Sometimes I get requests, and I know the person I have to tell the request to will get irritated, angry, or feel like I'm trying to pull a fast one. I always have to take these requests and come up with a plan - a plan of how I'm going to present this information so someone doesn't jump out a window. The plan involves knowing my audience and picking which side of their personality to appeal to.

This is when the power of a smile comes in handy.

I think my perkiness, sense of humor, and upbeat attitude paves the way for making my job a success. Well, that and the use of really good clip art to add to an email to help lighten the mood. People respond better when you make an effort to come into their world, see things from their perspective, and be open and honest with them. Be real with them, be straight, but not pushy, not demanding.

Remember, dictatorships do nothing but make you a dick.

I'm not saying that you never have to push back or be a little "bitchy." The key is knowing when to pick your battles. When people know you'll go to bat for them, they are more willing to go to bat for you. Also, never be afraid to admit your mistakes. People respond well when you're willing to call yourself out on something. Although, as someone higher up on the food chain once told me as they were about to take the heat on a mistake I had made (and I admitted I already fessed up to missing the mark), "never pull your pants down until you have to."

Are there people in this world that will take advantage of a good spirit who is willing to go the extra mile? OF COURSE. I've been burned a few times and have the ash marks on my ass to prove it. But I've learned that the good ones outweigh the bad. And karma catches up to those who try and exploit others. It may not be today, it may not be tomorrow, but they always get what's coming to them.

In the end, choose to be happy. No matter your mood, you will always infect other people with your attitude. People who are surrounded by negativity will become negative. It happened to me. Granted, it's hard not to get lost in the bleakness of the world and see the yang to the yin. But a happy smile can make you more progress in this world than yell or a demand.

One more thing - take time out of your day to tell someone how much you appreciate them. It's so easy to complain when someone does something bad, but acknowledging when someone did something awesome, or did something small that made you smile, has a far greater impact on them. I can remember one of the last advertising classes I had before I got my degree, we had to work on a campaign for a “anti-smoking” push the college health organization wanted to make. All of the groups had the same message – stop yelling at us to not smoking. It doesn’t work. It’s a good lesson for any aspect of your everyday world.

So smile. And for the love of God - just freaking love each other already!