I had a team member say to me,
“I just can’t work with Jim. He is so confrontational. It’s like a giant pissing contest.”
“Is the goal distance or accuracy?”, I asked.
“What?!?”
“Are you trying to see who can go further or who is more acurate?”
“I don’t know.”
“If you don’t know the goal, seems like a lot of people are going to get wet.”
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The 4th of July never disappoints when it comes to amusing stories. The combination of alcohol, explosives, and crowds of people, make listening to the news on the 5th very entertaining.
This year was no exception. Instead of alcohol, though, it was a glitch in a computer program that caused one of the nation’s largest fireworks show go from 20 minutes to 30 seconds.
I was trying to picture the reactions of those in attendance. Was it “whoa, dude, that was awesome” or more like “WTF?” I’m sure the emotions of those putting it on were quite a bit different than those watching it.
Then I thought about how similar the 2012 San Diego fireworks show was to meeting new people. There are those that walk into a room and within 30 seconds of fireworks you know everything about them. They can be incredibly fascinating and have a great life story, but ultimately you know everything there is and there is no more. I call them the Half-A-Minute-Men (HAMM). Continue Reading…
I dread cleaning out my inbox. I’m not really a pack rat, more of a lazy email rat. Every time I do this, I seem to stumble on a “thing that makes you go hmmmm” – an Arsenio moment for those old enough to remember.
One of these emails was a letter from several years back that I handed my boss as I tendered my resignation. This was a company I had been with for a long time and quite honestly wanted to stay with, even after it was acquired.
After reading the letter again, I realized how often the behavior described below happens throughout the business world. I get letters from others describing environments that sound just like this. It is for this reason that I share it here, hoping that it may spark some ideas for your environment.
Dear GI,
You don’t know me, and I will never know you. Yet, you paid the ultimate price so that I could sit behind this keyboard and freely express my thoughts.
Well, my thoughts today are about you. You and I may not have known each other, but we have a lot in common.
It’s about standing up for what you believe. I believe in that too. But you did more. Continue Reading…
There’s a reason I take a shower every day – I collect and produce things that really don’t need to stay with me. Some things are so bad, I can’t wait for a shower and decide to wash in the sink instead.
Work is a lot like that – at least the part about collecting things that really don’t need to stay with us. That rude email from someone on the 2nd floor, or that knife twist in our back at the staff meeting sticks with us for a long time.
Too long.
Have you ever had someone do something outrageously cool for you? Not just “made me breakfast in bed” kind of cool but seriously outrageous?
I am blessed in that I get to see cool in action almost every day. I have awesome friends. But it wasn’t until my 50th birthday that I felt it to the outrageous level. Sure, there are lots of surprise parties in the world, but the stories behind this one were over the top. Whether it was Paul & Carrie driving 400 miles just for the event, or listening to John Carrozza behind my mother-in-awes piano, everyone had a beautiful part. I enjoyed the party for weeks afterward, listening to the stories describing all the tiny miracles that Beth and her cohorts pulled off.
I have no idea what my face looked like when I saw everyone in the house, but I suspect it looked something like Caine Monroy’s. Caine is a 9 year old boy that has become the talk of the internet recently. Take a look at why… Continue Reading…
Ignorance is bliss – until you realize you are ignorant.
Ignorance, the lack of awareness or knowledge about something in particular, makes up most of who we are. We are all ignorant about most things at some level. To quote the great philosopher Thomas Dolby.
Albert Einstein nailed space/time
But the wild thing had him stumped
But the wild thing had him stumped
What is it about ignorance that is so blissful? Continue Reading…
