Corporation... Continued IV

Work... Exertion of effort directed to produce or accomplish something (Dictionary.com).

So, if I'm not accomplishing anything in particular during my day, even if I'm exerting myself constantly, can I consider it work?

The last time we chatted, I spoke more about Six Sigma and the company vision. Well, I'm proud to announce that the company now has a vision. I can't say that I'm overly proud to announce what that particular vision is, but we'll get to that.

It has been three weeks on the proverbial nose since I last brought you word of the happenings on the 9th floor in the Darth Vader Building. The CEO and President went to Dallas to suggest a strategy for moving the company forward. The strategy focused mainly on acquiring new bankruptcy servicing contracts so that the company does not have to attain the capital to purchase accounts and wait inordinate amounts of time for the return. Lone Star thought it a good idea; better stated, they thought it one good idea.

It seems - as a I discussed last time - that collecting on bankrupt debt promises to become a heck of a lot more difficult in the coming years. Especially for those companies - mine - that collect on unsecured bankrupt debt. In short, debtors have to pay back their debt now. And most don't have the money to pay back all the debt. Some declare bankruptcy. Most of those who will declare bankruptcy will have very little money. Those who do have a little money will concentrate on paying back the secured debt. What does that mean for companies that are collecting on unsecured bankrupt debt (that's us)? Zilch. Nada. Zero.

So, Lone Star said that servicing is a great idea since we wouldn't have to put up any money; we'd just get the fees. But it can't be the only idea. A company that can't diversify in tough times is doomed to failure. And thus, Ed and Rui returned talking about servicing non-bankrupt debt. In short, collections. Dismissed bankrupt accounts (accounts belonging to those who could not sustain a bankruptcy for whatever reason). First and second lien mortgage deficiencies. Second lien mortgage delinquencies. Don't ask me the difference between deficiency and delinquency, I haven't looked it up yet.

Combine this 'suggestion' from Lone Star with the fact that our company is also in the process of becoming interconnected with two other Lone Star subsidiaries: Accredited Home Lenders and CIT Bank. I'm presently working on a project for CIT Bank out of Oklahoma City. But I'm not going to talk about them at any length here since I'm already far too wordy.

I will, however, talk about Accredited Home Lenders. Lest I get some of the specifics wrong, let's just say that Lone Star owns Accredited (it is more complicated than that). Accredited - one of the premiere subprime home lenders for the past 3-5 years - can no longer originate subprime loans. Go figure. They have consolidated, significantly. They once had three offices packed to the gills with employees in Cincinnati, OH; San Diego, CA; and Lake Mary, FL. They have necessarily consolidated down to one office, San Diego, where they will work their much reduced portfolio of accounts. That leaves the Ohio and Florida shops to close.

Well, Lone Star and our company leaders had an idea. We could take over one of those offices for our own new collections line, especially since those offices essentially specialize in the types of collections - except for dismissal collections - in which my company would like to be involved. In the process, we might even be able to save a few jobs down in Florida.

About two weeks ago, I was invited to a meeting that included about 14 other people in the company. It was in that meeting that Ed - the CEO - made the announcement that we would be opening a new office in Lake Mary, FL and that it needed to be operational by the end of the year, i.e. 12/31/2008. Rui - the President - was put in charge of the effort to give birth to the new company.

After that meeting, everything took a turn for the incredibly insane. Rui asked my boss if I could be the Project Manager that helped to lead the way into Florida. My boss agreed. And so, my projects are being offloaded one by one as I ramp up for work on this new business model.

Oh, and have I mentioned that 40% of my weeks these past three weeks have been devoted to Six Sigma training off site? And it's supposed to be next Monday and Tuesday too. But no...

I'm going to Florida. Leaving on Sunday. Coming back on Wednesday. Just found out yesterday.

Crazy turn of events.

And then I remembered, voting! I need to vote. So, that means voting will need to happen in the next couple of days before I leave.

Finally, a coincidence. This will mark the second time in my life that I will be just outside Orlando for an election, I who have no real connection to Orlando in any way, shape, or form. I was there 16 years ago visiting Disney World, and on the final night I watched as Bill Clinton became the first and only Democrat I've ever seen elected to the White House. Odd...

Well, there you have it. My life is nothing if not consistently interesting. For now, I exert significant amounts of effort and feel as though I am accomplishing next to nothing...

More to come...