More than a living

[Editor’s note: I couldn’t decide if this post was more appropriate for hypocritical or for here. I opted for here. Feel free to slam me, via the comments, should you disagree.]
Have you read Good to Great? Well, we happen to be big fans.
In fact, I’m in the middle of re-reading it, just to refresh my […]

Not that this comes as a shock to you, gentle reader, but a recent survey by Vital Smarts provides some more fuel for the “your organization doesn’t know what it’s doing” fire.
Turns out, most folks are well attuned to the impending doom of corporate projects. But they remain silent. Allowing the project to fail. Seems […]

I know. Cringe-worthy isn’t it? I think actually saw you squirm as you read that.
It’s a common reaction.
Why?
Because it generally falls in the realm of hypocrisy. The realm of “methinks thou dost protest too much.” The realm of talking the talk without walking the walk.
So, Donald H. Taylor is taking a cut at improving that […]

Firing an employee is a sensitive thing. You don’t actually hear about a lot of people getting fired these days — layoffs, “RIFs” and other corporate double-speak for letting people go is more typical. Actually firing a person is (in my experience anyway) pretty rare and usually only done in serious circumstances.
Well, except at Apple.
An […]

I love flying. If only because it let’s me catch up on all the reading I’ve been meaning to do.
As per Amy’s “Assholes 101” post, I’ve been stuck trying to finish The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t by Bob Sutton.
Last time I was talking to her about it, […]

I was just over reading a bit of Scott Berkun’s recommendations for running meetings when I got one of those cold sweats.
No, it wasn’t because I was reliving 99.9% of the meetings I’ve ever attended when I was on the corporate side of the desk. (Now that I’m on the consulting side of the desk, […]

Work-life balance. Oy.
Everybody loves to wax on and on and on about the infamous “work-life balance.” As if it were some mystical answer to all the problems of the business world. How everyone would be happy little clams in the work-a-day world if only–if only–we could all achieve a work-life balance.
“Julie seems a little stressed.”
“You […]

Nothing is more disrespectful than showing up late to a meeting. It is almost better to completely blow it off, at least then people can assume you had a scheduling conflict.
I know you know that it is disrespectful. I know you know that YOU hate waiting for the key decision maker to arrive. But the […]

I get Rick’s rant – particularly if you’ve ever been duped into hiring based on a resume and interview, and discover the “new toy” out of the wrapper was completely plastic. All packaging, no product.
I’m of two minds about fluffed resumes (damn those fluffers, which is how I’ve come to think of them). On the […]

Toby and I have had our recent rants on job titles and their ever increasing irrelevance. We’re a cranky lot. We like to criticize a great deal. And I’ll let you in on a little something. Keep this a secret, but… we may be a little picky. Shh. I’m only telling you because I like […]