A couple weeks ago I was sitting in a circle with a small group of business men in a second-story room of a downtown church, which, come to think of it, could have easily been confused with any number of those anonymous addiction groups. Instead, these fine gentlemen had gathered to discuss my e-book, At Work as it is in Heaven. They wanted to learn a little background about how I, a business executive, had come to write it, and... Read more
I am in the midst of my annual God-cation (solo retreat) in the Adirondack Mountains. At the moment, I am exhausted from climbing Algonquin Peak, the 2nd highest mountain of the High Peaks. But that is another story. Today, I thought I’d share a segment from my famous (not really) story posted several years ago, describing an “incident” while hiking. The trails in the Adirondacks are marked with colorful tin circles, about four inches in diameter, nailed to the trees every several dozen... Read more
My friend, a high-level manager at a financial services firm, confided he felt as if he was leading a double-life. Not in a sordid, creepy way, involving drugs or scandal or cabaret performances of Liza Minnelli impersonations by night. Rather, he complained that his “work” persona and his “home” persona had grown distinctly separate over the years, and it made him sad. I suppose it’s a common ailment among up and coming managers as they learn the game, how to... Read more
I once hired a gentleman – let’s call him Aaron – on a contract basis to work with a small office team implementing a new accounting software program. Aaron was a partner in charge at a small but respectable local accounting firm, and as the expert consultant, he was to work closely with Barbara, the office manager, in training our staff to utilize the new software. Barbara was a sharp-edged and wiry woman in her early sixties whose eye for... Read more
Last Friday I spent a couple of hours thinking about my job instead of actually doing it. I mulled over the current state of affairs at work, what I’ve been accomplishing, where my time is being spent, what my priorities are, and so on. I guess you could say I was reflecting. To some of you, this may sound like a colossally assinine waste of time, but self-reflection is actually one of the defining qualities of a high-performance leader. Which... Read more
Here is an excerpt teaser from my e-book, At Work as it is in Heaven. You can read this post in its entirety over at The High Calling. Or better yet, why not just buy the e-book now? I once heard a story about Henry Kissinger falling asleep in the middle of a very important meeting. Everyone noticed, but no one dared say anything because he was such a highly respected diplomat. The moment he came to, upon picking up the few... Read more
I was on speaker phone the other day with a colleague, Bruce, closing up several items regarding some new deal activity. After five minutes or so, the business part of our conversation was over, so I fired up my computer, opening several application windows in anticipation of the call winding down. Hello, excel! Hello, email! Good day, internet! What’s up? I was itching to get back into productivity mode. I started clicking through a spreadsheet analysis, attended to a few emails that... Read more
Are you facing another bleary-eyed morning, scrambling to get to work, wishing you hadn’t indulged in that third glass of wine last night? Welcome to your frantic morning routine. The simple act of getting dressed and properly groomed is a formidable task in and of itself (do these socks really go with that belt?). Add to that the mental checklist we must attack with the rising of the sun as we scroll through the demands of the day – the meetings, people,... Read more
I always wanted to be extraordinarily good at something. Not just as in, “Great job, Jimbo!” No, I wanted to be best-in-class, awe-inspiring, elite good; a world-renowned prodigy, like Michael Phelps (circa 2008), or Mark Zuckerberg. Unfortunately, my version of reality did not quite line up with this delusional vision. I was a good swimmer, but I peaked at the collegiate State Championships level. My academic record was pretty solid, but I never would have made it into one of... Read more
Here is an excerpt from an interview with Glynn Young, posted today over at The High Calling, where we talk about my e-book, At Work as it is in Heaven. I’ve been seeing a few books on faith in the workplace, but not one quite like this — written from the perspective of someone “on the inside,” someone who works in corporate America and understands the pressures and realities of organizational work. What prompted you to write the book? Several years ago, I was... Read more
Shrinking the Camel
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