The Travel
This week I celebrated my 8th Anniversary with DIRECTV. This is my 2nd stint with the company, but my first as an internal employee. I have been traveling 4-5 days a week, 48-50 weeks a year since I returned to the team in 2016. Because 99% of my travel is over the road I have driven hundreds of thousands of miles and stayed in well over a thousand hotel rooms.
The nature of the work I do to support my team at DIRECTV requires me to keep a truck full of equipment in order to fix just about any issue we might find in the field. I sure wish I could fly, but driving is the most productive way I can travel. To learn more about my work with DIRECTV please click HERE.
I have had many interesting experiences while on the road. I have responded to Hurricanes, a tornado and numerous natural disasters. I have visited or supported almost half of our 200 local receive sites in the US. I once responded to fully engulfed car fire on the side of the freeway in rural Texas, and even got rear ended pretty good once in Cincinnati. In March of 2020 my scheduler called me and told me to close my work ticket, "Go Home", and wait for instructions. During the Covid-19 pandemic shut-down my team and I wondered if we would ever go back out on the road. Thankfully we did, and I am more thankful that we have moved on from Covid(And the safety protocols) than you will ever know.
When I joined my team, I found my job very hard to accomplish. I failed a lot. Because our systems, equipment, and processes are proprietary there was really no manual to use in order to get up to speed. You literally had to learn with your hands in the field. I never gave up though, and my Field Engineering team was great, helping me and leading me to success.
I find my work today very easy to accomplish. I still have learning opportunities, but the work in general had plateaued. What used to take me three days to complete now takes hours. Because I am fluent in most all aspects of my job I dedicate several hours a week to training and supporting others within my professional sphere. I owe it to them to "Pay it Forward" and give thanks to all the professionals who helped me so long ago.
The Travel is hard. I didn't really think about the travel in the beginning because I was so focused on the work. Once I learned the job and built up my confidence, I started to realize how hard the travel is for both me and my family. I have missed a lot over the years as I traveled and my family lived their lives without me present. I work hard when I am home to focus on my family and make sure our time together is meaningful. In my home we have achieved a balance of sorts. We make our life work.
These days I am much more particular about where I stay when I travel. I have my list of "Preferred" hotels and a larger list of "Alternates" that I frequent. My most important prerequisite is cleanliness. My second is an attached restaurant. My third is that I try to only stay at hotels that are powered by DIRECTV for Business. If you ever need a hotel recommendation for the midwest or Texas, I would be happy to share my list.
I think it's important for every professional to have a short term and long term career plan with a calculable trajectory. Everyone should have a plan. My wife and I have been talking about my future with DIRECTV. I know that what I do is important. That gives me the motivation to continue to travel and support my team. My motivation these days also comes from the people. I find great joy in helping others on my team. I find tremendous satisfaction through leading one of our company's Mentoring Circles. I am the guy who does not ask "How are you?" I am the guy who ALWAYS asks "Can I do anything for you?"
And then there are my customers. I love my customers. Yes, I know they are technically "DIRECTV" customers, but I consider each customer I meet to be mine. Whenever I am in a hotel I ask to meet the manager, and always thank them for being a DIRECTV customer. Then I ask if they need anything. My wife and I took a flight a few weeks ago and I was the guy in seat 18B talking about DIRECTV's new Gemini set top box to strangers on the plane.
I believe in the mission with my team. I know we are important. We are the best in the business at what we do. I believe in my leadership team at DIRECTV. I know we are on track to revolutionize the entertainment experience for both the residential and commercial spheres of business. I never wake up not wanting to go to work. I wake up every day wanting to make my work better.
For more information about DIRECTV's residential offerings please click HERE. To see how DIRECTV could help your business increase revenue or provide a value added service to your customers or employees please click HERE. If either of these links don't provide you with the information you are looking for, reach out to me directly and I will personally put you in touch with someone who can help.
To learn more about John and the work he does for DIRECTV please click HERE.
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