My boss had the corner office. From his lofty vantage point, with it's windowed walls, he could look out on a large section of the St. John's river. My office was next to his. One day the Boss had his chair wheeled around and was gazing down the river when one of my employees walked [...]
It's been said that we always look our best in our resumes. While most resumes are basically honest - if somewhat overly flattering - pictures of what we've done, they don't quite get to the point of who we are. Here's a fun exercise to help you paint that picture in a slightly different way: [...]
My friend and colleague, Jim Kranzusch, is a chimp. I'm pretty sure he's always been a chimp. He has even turned "chimp" into a verb ("I chimped him."). Jim has a track record of being an effective manager, a natural leader, and a wise counselor - all due in no small part to the fact that [...]
Years ago at IBM I was promoted to a job in division headquarters. It was a nice step up on the corporate ladder, a chance to get some "inside baseball" and learn how the business worked from that side of a paycheck. One of my first assignments was to design a "platform" to better support [...]
Monty Roberts is a horse whisperer. He is one of a few horse trainers that use specific methods to start horses rather than break them. Roberts notes that the “secret” to his process is clear and in the open for any and all to see: horses have their own ways of communicating, el lenguaje del [...]
"If you could make God bleed, people will cease to believe in Him... there will be blood in the water, and the sharks will come." Ivan Vanko (actor Mickey Rourke), Iron Man 2. In the movie Iron Man 2, the hero, Tony Stark (actor Robert Downey, Jr.) has made the world aware of his dual identity, [...]
Do you ever feel like you're arguing with idiots? Most of them actually aren't (idiots). Some probably are. For those, remember, "It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in argument." (Wm. G. MacAdoo) In most business and professional discourse someone has to be the grown up and it might as well be you. Here's [...]
Miller was laid to rest today. Love. Friends. Family. Honor. Tears. A sense of "graduation." Miller was 21 years old, but was mature, wise and kind far beyond those 21 short years. We've been friends with his mother and father for about 15 years so we've had the chance to watch Miller and his younger [...]
Scenario One: During a recent phone conversation with friend who had just shut down his business of 23 years he reminded me of a scene from Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises where the main character, Mike Campbell, is asked "How did you go bankrupt?" The answer was "Gradually... then all of a sudden." Scenario Two: Last week [...]
We all need to get away sometimes. "Away" doesn't have to be somewhere exotic, or some place that involves boarding passes or long car trips. Not even a weekend getaway. Just a respite; a brief time out from the day-to-day routine that provides a recharge, a renewal, or a reset. One of my favorite breaks [...]
