In the Classroom

Ryan and I used to love watching Undercover Boss. I just saw that they apparently made some new episodes earlier this year, and we missed those; we'll have to hunt for them! 

If you haven't seen the show, the premise is that the CEO of a large company or franchise-based company gets a (usually pretty bad) undercover disguise and travels to different franchises or locations to see what daily operations look like there. They always have a cover story of being a struggling person looking for work and then they jump in to do some of the work their employees do. It never goes well. 

Of course, you have to allow for the creative license of reality TV, but I am sure there is a lot of truth to figuring out the logistics and pace of some of the jobs! (I remember sweating for the CEO of a coffee chain who tried to learn to run a drive-thru in the morning, while wearing a headset. It really didn't go well.)

This week has been my Undercover Boss moment. I'm not a boss, of course, but this week I've helped Ryan in the office at Love INC, and I have learned so much. Much of it has centered around things I've gotten rusty about in running an office space. 

I had to laugh at myself, because one of the first things that gave me a challenge was using a regular, landline cordless phone for the first time in forever. You know...remembering to turn it on before dialing the number, vs. dialing the number and then hitting send? Or dialing one before a number? (And then some of the markings on the phone...namely the on and off buttons...have been worn off, so for the first day, I would end conversations and then just stare at the phone like I'd never seen one before. 

It's also my first time to really be immersed in the day-to-day operations at the office, so I began to learn the names and stories of clients we serve, the ins and outs of the work we do, and the people and places we partner with in the community.

It is amazing to me how much faster I learn when I'm sitting in the classroom of our work. I can hear things a hundred times but being IN it teaches me so much faster. 

One of my favorite things about the week was the time Ryan and I were able to sit together, brainstorming and working on projects we hope will help in the future.

And my other favorite thing? Being with Ryan for the whole week! Working with him is my absolute favorite!

So I may not know how to work a cordless phone anymore, but I did learn a ton about the work we've been called to do, and for that, I'm grateful. It's been a good week!