u/Dry_Rain_6483

I work for a small specialty business. We’re in a niche field, so despite being small, we are well known and respected by all the giants in our industry.

About 5-7 years old, founded by someone well known for working in the industry first. Including CEO, our small but mighty team consists of about 15 full-time people (5 hired in the last year) and 5-10 contractors depending on the time of year.

We’re facing all the classic challenges of transitioning from small to medium.

We are doing very well as a company, but as a team we are drowning. We’re over worked, there are no clear boundaries of who does what since we’ve all had to wear lots of hats. There are no/few defined systems or org flows, and almost every single micro decision goes through our CEO. No one feels capable doing their work bc no one has autonomy to do what they’re hired to do without extensive oversight. Our three “managers” are just the people who have been there the longest. There’s no HR, and our well-meaning CEO is completely abrasive when challenged in any way. There is, currently, no defined path for how we handle conflict, so it builds up until someone gets brave and has to do it at a public all-hands meeting (with all the contractors and guests present). Multiple attempts to bring issues to CEO in meetings have occurred (organically and planned well in advance), and all failed/ultimately gone nowhere.

The end-game solutions are obvious, and cut and dry. Define roles better, have decision making processes that delegate and empower employees hired to make them instead of all choices going to the CEO, hire HR so there’s a middle-man in the conflicts, give knowledge streamlined places to live instead, etc. Easy peasy

HOWEVER! The issue at hand is we are all exhausted. We don’t have time to do our jobs and try to start all of this from scratch. CEO says they want changes (which are clearly necessary to all if we want to continue growing). I think they do want growth, but are struggling letting go of the control of being in the middle of things.

So what do we do??? Ask for a consultant to be brought in? Make a list of demands? Etc. CEO is so abrasive, folks want to be delicate.

We have our twice annual all team meeting (many remote folks so we’re only together twice a year) in two weeks and are trying to strategize. Apparently, CEO has independently started an org flo document, which may or may not be done by then and may or may not be presented then (and no—CEO did not poll or chat with any of us about it first to see what our issues/needs/wishes were). 1/2 the team wants to wait and let CEO bring it up first so CEO feels more included and comfortable, and (assuming it’s brought up at the all team mtg), hopes to be able to circle back a few weeks later to provide feedback on it. 1/2 the team (myself included) feels this is a good step but should not replace the need for us to come forward, unified, demanding certain changes.

Help !
I love my job, I love our brilliant, big-hearted CEO, and I am so, so tired. What steps to fight the good fight are actually available to us/me rn ????

I am very particular about my writing utensils, and hope I’m in good company here!!

I’m an AD for books, so I read near-constantly for work, and must take very detailed notes as I go. I frequently have to organize many different types of details for many characters and places as I go. The better, more clearly organized my note taking, the easier and faster my job is later.

I currently love using the post-it flag tabs in both Bright and Pastel color variations, together totaling 10ish colors. In my perfect conditions, I’m also using highlighters that correspond to the tabs. Ideally, with clickers instead of caps, as caps can be both cumbersome (as I often read on the go) and slow me down significantly, frequently resulting in me destroying nibs of pens/highlighters from rapidly and blindly slamming lids in the wrong places lol.

I’m looking for a way to parce down the items I have to juggle by getting a multi highlighter.

I’ve seen the 5 way star/flower ones, which have caps but would be more compact and convenient. But they look so cheap to me, and my experience with them in years past has not been positive. I cannot have them bleeding on the ink, leaking, being too opaque to read through, caps not staying on, etc.

A cap-free option would be a dream come true, but I’m open to getting multiple 5-way ones with caps if I know they are great on every other front. As these will be logging 30h weeks, I don’t mind either more expensive ones, or a cheaper one that comes only in a bulk pack.

The number one priority is an easier, more compact way to carry around 10 highlighter colors.

Please share your recs!!
Thanks in advance !

Signed,
A Fellow Pen Snob ❤️

Ps- open to other recs if you think of them… I’ve gone through so many notebook pen pouches (you know, the elastic kind to keep it with your book!) that are too small/not adjustable/cheaply made I’m considering making my own 😅