9. Do something exceptional at work

I never thought I would reach this goal. Sometimes it's hard to notice you are doing something exceptional when you are just doing your job, but it wasn't until today that I realized I have been part of something extraordinary at Oakley over the past several months.

It all starts with one person; the same person that helped me get the job I have now, that taught me how to do it the right way, how to notice trends and to always have checks and balances to verify I am making smart decisions. This person, Bobby Smith, took on a new role as S&OP manager late last year, and has been under continuous pressure to become the savior of our company's long list of supply issues. Several months ago he hired a kick-ass girl named Rhonda, that is smart and diligent and got up to speed with Oakley in about 6 minutes. The 3 of us have been a pretty cohesive team all year.

S&OP is not complicated in theory. Align a sales plan, demand plan, and supply plan as best you can, identify gaps, and make decisions on how fix them. In practice, it is way harder managing those 3 plans down to the SKU/Region level, then wrapping them up in a easy to read package. The S&OP meetings usually suck for me, basically it is a series of executives scrutinizing and criticizing my forecasts: my job, my means to support my family. I take it very personally when I make a mistake and it is noticed, and usually want to kill myself after an hour and a half of being picked apart.

Today was different. At the end of our S&OP meeting, the RX category leader commended Bobby and me for making this category so much more efficient, accurate, and easy to understand. We actually got a round of applause, I was floored and am still high from it. It ALL starts with Bobby, but I'm proud to have been an integral part in making things better. My boss even called me at home tonight and said it was well deserved. Rhonda, I think you can mark this one off your list too.