Back in Abu Dhabi and back to work

So back to Abu Dhabi and back to work after a lovely break. Plenty of interesting things to do at work though the pile of 'work in progress' sitting on my desk gets bigger and bigger with so little of it signed off or completed that it does tend to get rather frustrating! I still have to work out just how to get things done though I'm not sure there's an easy answer. However, when something really does need to be done it's always in a panic and a terrible rush with lots of shouting and everyone screaming so you know then that it needs doing.
I had to supply some logos for the an event that our Chairman had decided to sponsor - a simple enough task you might think, but one was for an external organization and the other two needed to be in a very specific format. The organizers didn't respond to my requests for information on file size, deadline or destinations so I was slowly dealing with the task along with other things when all hell broke loose with people screaming for these logos from all directions! I couldn't get them on the email so in the end in desperation I jumped in the car and went and fetched them on a disc - mainly just to get away from people shouting for them by phone and email. It was all very exciting! This is the same with everything where no-one gives any feedback on anything until it is needed NOW!
However, I did have a really good time the week before last where I ran a marketing planning workshop with the senior management team from one of the subsidiaries (I know it's only taken 3 months to do one of the things which I thought was crucial to the job description!)It seemed to go well and I think people were pleased with the outcomes report though we still don't have a date for the follow up operational planning meeting (hopefully not another 3 months!) I have also been working on a sales presentation for one of our joint ventures - with the UK Facilities Management company Babcock, which has been a pleasure.
I have so many projects 'on hold' for HR comms that I risk being buried should the files ever fall over. I had to contact all the venues who had provided proposals for our senior team event and staff family day to put the dates on hold, as I couldn't ask them to hold 50 rooms indefinitely. It clearly happens all the time since no-one seemed remotely upset even though I felt like a real heel.
I think I made some progress with the advertising agency contract for one of our subsidiaries - the agency had been working for them since September without being paid due to a major discrepancy on the contract, what a nightmare! However, I am assured that some initial invoices have been passed for payment and that all parties are happy with the new contract which I've designed even though nothing has been signed and no money has changed hands!
I actually met our elusive chairman last week which has been a long time coming. He is certainly as charismatic and impressive as everyone says and he makes you feel as though he's genuinely interested in what you have to say. I managed nearly an hour, which is pretty amazing. However, he did spend a lot of time talking about what he thought John should do - he is a trustee of Khalifa University, an Engineer and Chair of the IAT (Institute of Applied Technologies) so he has a keen interest in scientific and technical education. I'm delighted that he has linked the two of us and clearly marketing to young people about education and careers is also my bag but with no time to prepare I'm not sure that I managed to get the right things across. Still it was wonderful to meet him at last - even if it did result in a day of logo wild goose chase!