Reflections/ Week 7 & 8 17th - 28th February
Friday, February 28, 201411:59 AM
Week 7 was so busy for me that I decided to combine both week 7 & 8 in one entry.
During week 6, I shared with Danny , the Retail Executive, about my interest in writing.During week 7, Danny introduced me to The Deck, Pestle & Mortars quarterly publication. So far they have only released One Issue and was hoping to release another issue by April. Danny also shared with Hugh, the creative director and one of the partners, about my passion for writing. They both wanted to see samples of what I have written so I showed them some of my articles from I.M Magazine and The Star. They were both pleased with my work and the next thing I know, I was spearheading the entire publication for The Deck Issue 2. Everything happened so fast. Straight away, Hugh briefed me about the articles that he wanted The Deck Issue 2. On week 7 itself I had to finish and deliver an interview with Kenneth Koh, Malaysia's youngest rally car racer.
Kenneth Koh, Malaysia's youngest rally car driver.
I got the interview questions ready and approved by Hugh and then set up an interview and photo shoot with Kenneth. I have to say that this felt very intimidating at first as I was suddenly put fully in charge of a big project, but I saw this as an opportunity to shine and for the bosses to see my additional strengths. By the end of the week, the entire article on Kenneth Koh was finished and delivered on time.
One of my questions for Kenneth during the interview was to draw himself having a good time and this was his answer (click to enlarge)
Week 7 also saw the team having brainstorming session for Pestle & Mortar's collection at the end of the year. The designers first put up a presentation of the expected trends in the next season and then showed us a glimpse of some raw sketches that they had for the upcoming collection. We were all encourage to brainstorm and throw out ideas together.
Syahir, one of the designers, presenting to the Pestle & Mortar team about next season's expected fashion trends.
The Pestle & Mortar team at our brainstorming session.
During the session, I voiced out my ideas that Pestle & Mortar could consider making pocket shirts for women as it already had gained much popularity among men . The women who were interested in them had to buy the 'xs' sizes that were in mens' cutting. I suggested that if Pestle & Mortar were to produce the pocket shirts that fit a women's' body better, they could possibly expand their target market and increase their customers .
I also made my first bank run on week 7. Usually, the other interns or the runner would do it, but this time round I needed some petty cash urgently. I was shocked when Mark. the Finance Director gave me a cheque for RM 25,000. I've never held that much cash in my bag before but it sure did feel good. There was a sense of "one day, I want to be able to make this much money on my own" that got triggered in me.
Cashing out cheques for Pestle & Mortar
Week 8 was hectic as well. We had to recall back one of our products, the Athletic Tees, from all our retailers as we found out that there was an issue with quality control. We received complains of the shirt severely shrinking into sizes that were at least 2 times smaller. Eddie, the head of operations sent me and my colleagues to the retail outlets to bring back all the affected tees.
The boxes of Athletic Tee's that were recalled from Pestle & Mortar Pavilion.
The Pestle & Mortar colleagues making sure that every Athletic Tee is accounted for.
Week 8 also saw another brainstorming session for our collection that is to be released in May. It was themed the "back to school' collection. As a team, we all gave input on what we thought Pestle & Mortar should produce and what we didn't think could fit into the Pestle & Mortar brand name. We also spoke about the colors of the products like what colors we thought would not sell and which colors we thought that we should produce more of.
The drawing board which shows every item that would be released under Pestle & Mortar's 'Back to School' collection in May.
The Pestle & Mortar team sharing thoughts on which items they think would sell for their next collection
I did not forget about my main project which was The Deck Issue 2. During week 8, I had to finish writing up the Editor's note. You can see the final copy below.
(click to enlarge)
Previously, all I did was write and submit in my work. This was the first time I was actually reviewing everything and had to make sure that it was good for publishing. A lot of weighed was on my shoulders but it felt good to be given such a responsibility.
Week 7 & 8 overview
Relating what you learn with your experience
Week 7 & 8 saw me taking on many responsibilities. I was put in charge of an entire project and seeing that the bosses had that much faith in me to hand me the project really encouraged me to do my best.
Observations
Many of the things I did during week 7 & 8 now came naturally to me. Before this, I would have to sit down and think before doing anything just to make sure that I was actually doing the right thing and following the SOP's (standard operating procedures). I observed that I was doing things much faster than before and after being given a project to head, I felt even more motivated to be at work everyday. It gave me a sense of belonging to the company and it also made me feel like the bosses were acknowledging all my effort so far.
Key Learning
The main thing I learnt throughout this 2 weeks was to not be afraid to fail. Out of all the ideas that I presented to my bosses, only about half of them were accepted while the other half were shut down but I realized that it brought me more peace to know that I at least spoke about it rather than to keep silent and never know if they were good ideas or not. Week 7 & 8 saw me really excited about the company and sometimes even after work when I got home, my mind would still be thinking about how I could make Pestle & Mortar better. I was really starting to enjoy my job.
Development & Growth
I grew so much during week 7 & 8. I felt like all my training in the months before was to get me ready for this. The interpersonal skills I got from the previous trade show was used when I was interviewing Kenneth for The Deck. My experience with previous stock-takes made the Athletic Tee recall so much smoother as I was already familiar with our outlets and the people managing them. Also, during week 7, I really started to share my ideas with the rest of the Pestle & Mortar team and they seemed to be receptive to it.
Key Achievements
One of my key achievements for the week was learning to speak my ideas out. After what happened in week 6, I learnt that I should not be afraid to share any ideas I had with my bosses. One example was when a colleague was dealing with customer service. This particular customer was an outstation client and we messed up his orders a couple of times already. It was partly miscommunication and technical error on our side. I suggested that in addition to our compensation vouchers that we were sending to him, we should sent him a hand written apology letter. I held the opinion that a handwritten letter would be more personal and would show that we were genuinely sorry for the trouble we had caused him. To my surprise, my senior colleagues actually took my advice.
Challenges Faced
The challenges I faced during week 7 & 8 is the lack of time. With so much to do, I realized that I needed to utilize my time in a better way. I started having shorter lunch breaks and whenever I felt like I wasn't being productive, I would either move to another working environment or refocus my mind. This was pretty hard at first as during my first few weeks of the internship I worked at a moderate speed. However, I tried my best to refocus my mind on productivity. It was definitely a battle of my mind.
❤"Reflections/ Week 7 & 8 17th - 28th February" was Posted On: Friday, February 28, 2014 @11:59 AM |
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