1 An operations turnaround project with a focus on personnel2 It can be hard for companies to do a sensitive job like this, which involves major operational changes, e.g. job cuts, salary and benefit changes/reduction. Also, the company may not have the expertise internally to do this. Hiring consultants can be a way to reach the desired conclusions without company management being directly involved.3 The consultant attends four formal meetings:1) team meeting to prepare for the client meeting at12 noon;2) client (monthly progress) meeting at 2 p.m.;3) post-meeting debrief at 3 p.m.; and4) meeting between project team and three partners to discuss scope of the project at 4 p.m.The lunch at 1.30 p.m. with the client team might also be considered an informal meeting in preparation for the meeting with the CEO.4 The consultant appears to be quite young (I briefly wonder if she'll ask me how old I am), conscientious and enthusiastic (e.g. he prepares and revises the slides well, memorises key facts for the meeting, is keen to please the team manager, plans to work late on the new data for the next day, etc.).5 The CEO seems happy at the end of the meeting and congratulates the partner on the team. On the other hand, it seems that the client has said the scope of the project is too narrow, i.e. the consultants are not doing enough.6 It was a good day in that the Production team sent the slides, which saved the consultant a lot of work and time.He prepared a good presentation that impressed the CEO of the client company. The manager also seemed pleased with the team's work. The surprise news is that the team could have more work to do. A minor setback is the quarterly data appears to be a mess, so the consultant will have to work on it this evening. Another setback was the inconclusive teleconference call with the partners, who could not agree on what needed doing.

1 wraps up 2 packs up 3 run [...| through4 hammer out 5 go through 6 debrief7 circle back 8 having a catch-up 9 a small nit10 piled up 11 breathe a sigh of relief 12 left out

(The) Hotel alarm wakes me.(I) Breathe (a) sigh of relief.(My) BlackBerry buzzes.(The/My) Manager says ...All (of my shirts) are wrinkled.(There's) No extra sleep for me.(It) Could have been much worse.(The) Team meeting starts.(The) meeting (is) over!

U8_Reading

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