The following is an excerpt from a piece I contributed to a book compiled and just released by Dan Schmidt, called, “Letters to Me: Conversations with a Younger Self,” where various authors offer advice to themselves during their formative young adult years. I thought this would be so easy and fun, but let me tell you, it was very difficult to write. Even if I had gotten the advice, I probably would have been too stubborn and self-absorbed to even... Read more
A friend confided that, lately, he goes home from work every day feeling like a failure. He is in charge of a sales organization that has been slipping ever since he took over a few months ago. The pressure from upper management is tremendous. It seems like everything is stacked against him – the tough economy, internal politics, the negative morale of his people — yet every day he comes to work, sucks it up, and fights like heck to... Read more
I attended a business conference last week, and at the end of the first day found myself enjoying a very pleasant dinner cruise around the Marina Del Rey harbor with the other participants. I met plenty of nice folks throughout the day, and we shared many business discussions revolving around the topics presented by the speakers. But over the course of the dinner, the conversation at my table of eight turned more personal. This could have something to do with the... Read more
I was sitting in a very serious Board meeting, glazed over from a too-heavy lunch, when my i-phone buzzed, alerting me to a new message. Desperate for a distraction, I sneakily pulled out my phone under the table, certain that no one would suspect a thing. As if the idea of checking messages in the middle of a meeting never occurred to anyone else. Anyway, I fired it up to see what delightful little morsel of digital treasure awaited me.... Read more
After two years of unemployment, my friend Mark finally landed a sales job. It’s not exactly what he had in mind as a seasoned management professional at age 52, but after dozens of leads and rejections, this appeared to be the only game in town. I usually run into Mark when I hit the local Starbucks before work. We often chat about the ups and downs of his job search. In spite of the looming insecurity, he has a fantastic... Read more
I took my little family into Philadelphia for a day in the big city. We went to a museum, ate dinner at a trendy restaurant, and did some shopping. As we were walking down Walnut Street, my older daughter suddenly stopped in her tracks. She turned around and blurted out, “We have to find Lush! Please, can we go to Lush? It’s the greatest store! Mom is going to love it!” Lush, it turns out, is a funky little boutique that sells soaps... Read more
Here is an excerpt from my e-book, “At Work as it is in Heaven.” I don’t know if there is a name for this in-between time. The summer is clearly over, but autumn hasn’t quite taken hold yet. Here in Eastern Pennsylvania, the leaves have just started to turn withering shades of reds and yellows. The tilt of the earth has tipped over a couple notches in the last couple of weeks, so that the sunlight hits you at a noticeably different slant. I can tell,... Read more
I recently overheard a conversation between two relative strangers: a middle-aged, mothering woman was asking a scrappy-headed and pockmark-faced young man in his mid-twenties how he liked his job. “It’s okay,” he said, staring down at his unlaced black Skechers. “Pays the bills, right?” she prompted with an encouraging smile. “Yeah, no – it’s not so bad. For now.” His “it’s okay for now” response seems to sum up the vague sense of detachment experienced by a large swath of working... Read more
Several executives were standing around my office the other day, debating what to do about a particular employee. Not that someone was in trouble – rather, this person had performed an outstanding accomplishment, one which had a substantial impact on our bottom line. They were discussing how best to acknowledge this. A special luncheon in her honor? A handwritten letter? A big “thank you” message written in the sky? We decided the best thing was for her manager to sit... Read more
I decided to spruce up my drab office with a colorful and enigmatic modern art print. It wasn’t anything notable, just a little something to add some flair to my everyday work environment. I imagined it would also make an important statement, alerting co-workers to my sophisticated and distinctive taste. “What the heck IS that?” inquired one of my more forthright colleagues, cocking his head this way and that trying to make sense of the multi-patterned swirls. He plopped down... Read more
Shrinking the Camel
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