Here’s a great piece I grabbed from Lexmark’s blog.
If you walk into Cherie Flueck’s office, you will see three large painted canvases hanging on her walls. This might seem typical, but the story behind the paintings is extraordinary.
You see, the paintings didn’t come from an art gallery or home fashion store. They are works of art created by her three children, Tristan (11), Jonah (9) and Ashton (5).
Cherie, who began working for Lexmark in 1999 and is currently North America finance, planning and operations director, recently moved to a new office space at Lexmark. The walls were blank and she needed something to brighten the space. It was her husband of 17 years, Hans, who had the idea to let the kids create and hang the art…all on their own.
“They are so proud and love it when I tell them that a co-worker has complimented their artwork,” said Flueck. “Each morning my middle son reminds me to ‘not take work too seriously’ and to ‘just look at the paintings to remind you of us.’”
Outside of work Cherie enjoys traveling, scrapbooking, music, teaching and being involved in Junior Achievement. She loves to take advantage of Lexmark’s workplace flexibility to attend school and sport activities, lunch with her kids on their birthdays, and take days off when they are out of school.
So what does a typical day in and out of the office look like for Cherie? We asked her to document a day in her life to find out.
6:30 a.m. Two kids come in our room for a few minutes of cuddle time.
6:45 a.m. Time to start getting ready.
7:30 a.m. I drop off my two youngest at school on my way into work.
7:45 a.m. Stopping for my morning caffeine fix. McDonald’s Diet Coke is preferred, but Speedway fountain will do — it’s more convenient along the route to work.
8 a.m. Inspirational quote from BrainyQuote app appears on my iPhone — recent favorite, “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” – Jackie Robinson
9 a.m. First formally scheduled meeting of the day. It is related to a critical system project.
10 a.m. I touch base with team members on current key topics. We identify follow-ups that require my assistance.
10:45 a.m. Reviewing and signing contract agreements and purchase orders.
11:15 a.m. “Drive by” visits start from various co-workers, each with a different topic for discussion.
11:45 a.m. Time to check in with my manager, Ron Binkauskas, vice president and general manager, North America, for Lexmark International’s Imaging Solutions and Services.
12:30 p.m. I grab a salad from the cafeteria to eat at my desk while reviewing email. About four times a month I catch lunch with a colleague or mentee — preferably off-site to provide some time and distance for good discussion.
1 p.m. Another scheduled meeting for the day. We are reviewing a business case on request for proposals with the Contracts and Pricing team and the Sales team who are dialed in by phone.
2 p.m. Time to review status of month and quarter outlook vs. actuals with my team and identify follow-up actions required.
3:30 p.m. A meeting that wasn’t scheduled as of 9 a.m. this morning pops up on my calendar. We need to review questions on 2015 compensation plan and reporting.
4:30 p.m. I follow-up with my team on questions identified as part of meetings held today.
5:15 p.m. Time to touch base with Ron again for the day, prioritize action items for tomorrow and schedule meetings required accordingly.
5:45 p.m. Back on email to see what I’ve missed throughout the day.
6:30 p.m. It’s Tuesday so that means family dinner at Fazoli’s for Kid’s Night — they love spaghetti, pizza and of course breadsticks.
7:45 p.m. Checking homework folders for kids and battling with my middle schooler on work that needs to be complete by end of the week — why work on it today if it’s not due tomorrow?
8:30 p.m. Bedtime routine for the kids. Daddy reads to the youngest two while I read with the oldest and catch up on his day.
9 p.m. Reviewing email on my phone while the kids fall asleep.
9:30 p.m. Time to prepare lunches and backpacks for tomorrow and then tidy up the kitchen. The counter seems to always be full!
9:45 p.m. Catching up with hubby on the day’s events and calendar for the week — we share a Google calendar to schedule family and kids’ activities, appointments, reminders, etc. If it isn’t on the calendar, it isn’t going to happen.
10 p.m. Time to get ready for bed.
10:30 p.m. Reviewing my email one more time and doing a little Facebooking.
11:30 p.m. Time to finally call it a night. Tomorrow I will try to get to bed earlier.
In closing, Cherie said this about working at Lexmark: “I love working for an international company that has enabled me to travel and interact with people from around the world. The greater global perspective comes from being involved in such an organization is invaluable. Lexmark is always pursuing improvement. We don’t allow ourselves to become stagnant. I enjoy change and continually improving.”
Interested in reading more? Check out A day in the life of a Lexmark employee: Bruce Wang.
