Well, I FINALLY made it to the new Accenture San Francisco Office. Initially I struggled with the changes: the view isn’t as great, the office is quite a bit smaller, and what’s up with the new “straight out of the 70’s” office furniture? However, after one short day of being here, I can already see that this place has its advantages (you still got me on the furniture though). For one thing, it no longer costs $20 to park if you decide to drive into the office for the day. There are plenty of $8 lots around the Mission area. More importantly however, the size of the office is much more conducive to networking. I could go an entire month in our old office, and more then likely, hardly interact with another living soul with the exception of the occasional, “good morning.” Not the case here. Not to mention, I have already ran into three people that I am well-acquainted with, and have not seen in quite a few weeks.

As for projects, I am still unstaffed, that is to say, not currently aligned to a project with chargeable client work. This is where the term “on the bench” stems from. I am still an active member of our team, just waiting to be sent out into the game. I manage to stay busy throughout my days working on various BD (business development) projects for senior managers and senior executives within our company, and involving myself in Accenture extra-curriculars, such as this blog. That’s right… extra-curriculars do not really end after college. After all, stewardship is one of our six core values.

Have you ever heard a real estate agent say “Location, Location, Location!” over and over again? It is their mantra, their key to success. Here at Accenture, it’s all about “networking, networking, networking.” That is the bedrock of those who get ahead and stay successful at our company.

Jackie’s post below references networking as one of the most positive aspects of her time at the Q Center. I attended Core Analyst School within my first two months at the company, and I know that I did not get enough out of my networking opportunities. I was overwhelmed by the amount of people and their geographic origins… yes, it was cool to sit next to someone from Germany, but it’s not like we’d ever work together, right?

Wow, so it’s officially been a week since my return to San Francisco, and I still feel like I’m playing catch up from my time spent in St. Charles. I have determined that it’s almost like its own little world… Life continues outside the Q-Center, but to us, it seems as if the outside world is standing still. I honestly felt for some reason, that when I returned, it would be like I never left. Such a strange phenomenon.

The second week was absolutely as amazing as the first week. Business Analysts were the only participants, so it gave me a chance to really bond with other strategists on my level. Our second week was mainly comprised of creating and presenting a business case from start to finish with a small team. I learned very important business modeling fundamentals to take away with me, and back into the work place. Possibly the best part of Strategy College though, was the networking. I forged bonds with individuals from all over the world, that I see lasting for a very long time. We’re already planning the one year reunion!