#PledgeAllegiance

This was a great week to be in AGT Netherlands.  The Active Directory Consolidation core project team is here, so we’re working hard to finish cleaning up the NL domain to prepare for migration.  We’re also working with developers to setup access so we can begin application testing.  We’re getting some great face time with each other and the business unit and making some excellent progress.  We’re also working hard to wrap up the Ireland migrations and move the Open Borders project forward.

I also had the pleasure this week of working with the Corporate Center Finance staff to restructure their entire data directory.  Keep in mind, this was a significant change for them, so being here in person really made a huge difference.  I was able to schedule regular touchpoint meetings with them before the change and work with them in person through any issues after the change.  Everyone in the Finance department remained really positive and flexible during the change, so it made it easy to work with them.  Plus, I must say that I had to execute the change flawlessly, because the head of the department brought me speculaas cookies last week from the Bakery van Maanen.  Yes faithful blog readers, there’s actually a bakery here which bears my family name.  It’s like the mothership has called me home.

It’s only days later, and word has spread of Finance’s successful data restructuring, so other departments have already started contacting me to assist with their cleanup as well.  The extrovert in me is excited to meet and work with even more people.  The security admin in me can’t wait to assist in more data structuring and cleanup.  The kid in me hopes they have cookies, too.

Okay, enough about cookies.  Last Thursday, we had a unique experience in the office.  As employees in the financial sector, all of AGT NL assembled to take an oath.  At a high level, by taking the oath, we agreed:

To act with integrity and care,

To prioritize the interests of our clients,

To act with appropriate confidentiality and not abuse our knowledge, and

To make a sincere effort to preserve and promote the trust in the financial sector.

Our leader had a great point in regards to this.  While it was important that we take this oath and acknowledge this ethic, as AGT employees, it goes without saying that we shouldn’t need an oath to prove we’re acting with integrity.  We should be promoting trust and prioritizing the interests of our clients every day.

After the oath, we also had a bit of a social hour, celebrating AGT coming together in our new location.  It was a great way for us to get to know one another on a personal level.  We even invited some of our colleagues from around the company.

Speaking of allegiance, I feel that I need to acknowledge the recent events in Paris.  Having lived in Paris while I was in university, I feel a special closeness and solidarity to the city and its people.  To my knowledge, none of our colleagues or their families were directly affected in the attacks this weekend, but it was nice that the AEGON office observed a moment of silence.  To all my friends and colleagues around the globe, I leave you with one of my favorite quotes to honor Paris, the “City of Light”.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. – Martin Luther King, Jr.