Manage To Change

Sticky Situations: My Boss is on Facebook!

You’re someone with definite lines between your work life and your personal life. You work hard, but you play hard.

One of your friends convinces you to get a Facebook account.

You’re not familiar with Facebook, or any social network, but you’re adventurous so you sign up.

As you build your profile your friends start to find you. You accept their invitations to connect.

Some of them are out of control, but they’re your friends.  Let’s face it, sometimes you’re out of control.

You click through to your friend’s profiles and are pretty astounded by what you see. “Interesting” pictures and detailed accounts of your friend's antics abound.

Some of those antics involve you.

They send you “gifts” and say things on your wall, things you probably wouldn’t have shared with the world.

But it’s all good – until today when you open your email and see an invitation to “connect” from your boss.

Now what?

Other Sticky Situations

Partnership Gone South

Sparing Feelings or Being Cruel?

Eavesdropping?

Managing Your Boss

To Call or Not to Call

Compliments: Are they all about you?

Some people love to get compliments. Others hate it. Still others don’t hate compliments, but they’re uncomfortable receiving them.

They don’t know how to react.

Interestingly, the reason some feel uncomfortable is because their focus is on themselves and how the compliment makes them feel.

Perhaps they’d be more comfortable if they understood that their feelings are secondary.

Compliments are a gift.

And, like any gift, our reactions can impact the giver. 

If you’re someone that finds it difficult to take a compliment, try moving your focus from your feelings to those of the originator.

A good friend of mine says “Thank you for saying that” when she’s not sure what to do. I think that works well.

Print is Dead Blog

If you are in publishing or media and haven’t read Print is Dead, a blog by Jeff Gomez, I highly urge you to subscribe.

Jeff on literacy:

“The real battle is now being fought — and potentially lost — and it has nothing to do with pages or screens, bindings or devices. It has instead to do with eyes and words.”

This post about the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) literacy study really struck a chord with me. I read more than ever now, but I just threw out 5 years of back issues of the Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, and several newsletters. I read online or stored PDF files. I do read books, but not as many as I used to read. I wonder what reading studies “count” as reading?

In another post: What your bookshelf says about you, Jeff writes:

“In fact, not only is print dead, but it also seems — since its true purpose is now to be admired in display rather than read or absorbed — to have been stuffed and mounted.”

You may agree with him. You may not. But I promise he’ll make you think!

God’s Resume

Summary

A multi-faceted and talented being with extensive experience in design and construction, earth and biological sciences, inter-being relationships, building and facilitating teams, managing natural disasters, executing plagues, and motivating large segments of the human race. 

Experience

Day 8 – Present

Motivational Speaker, Coach, and Consultant.

CEO and advisor to multiple non-profit organizations; Mostly pro-bono, although substantial contributions have been accepted; Responsible for the organization, management, and daily operations of the universe.

Day 7

Sabbatical.

Days 1-6

Created everything.

References

Available upon request.

Unless you’ve accomplished more, I highly suggest that you keep your resume to three pages.

(Two is even better)

iPhone Cruelty

Constantly worried about fingerprints or smudges on your iPhone or your iPod Touch?

How often do you feel compelled to clean the screen?

Ever disconnect a call, stop a video, or change a song because you were wiping off a smudge?

You may have EDT-OCD (Electronic Device Triggered Obsessive Compulsive Disorder).

I used to be normal (well normal enough), now if my iPod Touch isn’t smudge free, I can’t handle it. 

It happens with my Blackberry Pearl too, but at least that has keys!

With the iPhone and the iPod Touch, YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO TOUCH THE SCREEN.

How cruel is that?

“Look what we developed!  It's a shiny, sleek, and way cool new device. Operate it with a touch of your finger and, oh yeah (hehehehe) getting fingerprints on it will drive you nuts!”

I’m waiting for this to show up in the DSM V.

Sticky Situations: Partnership Gone South

You meet someone who is highly recommended by a colleague.

As you get to know each other it seems as though you share the same philosophies about collaboration, clients, and conducting business.

Your businesses are a perfect complement so you enter into a partnership and jointly work with your first client.

Early in the relationship your partner starts to get territorial. It’s “their way or the highway.”

You try to identify how you might be contributing to the issue. You try to adapt your style. It doesn’t help.

You discuss the issue with your partner, but they don’t see it. In fact, they think these discussions are a testament to your fine working relationship - you two can talk about the tough issues and resolve them. But, they’re not getting resolved, just avoided or ignored.

And, they’re getting worse!

It’s starting to impact the client. They’re not just disregarding you. They’ve started acting this way toward the client.

Now what do you do?

Other Sticky Situations

Sparing Feelings or Being Cruel?

Eavesdropping?

Managing Your Boss

To Call or Not to Call

Want to Change the World?

Give a child a laptop.

Get one for yourself (or SAY that you’re giving it to another child).

You even get a tax deduction.

Chris Brogan explains it far better than I can.

I already ordered mine!

Strange Birds

Thinking about change today, I have two questions:

How many strange birds have you flown with lately?

How many chances have you taken?

Inspiration from the best book of all time: Oh, The Places You'll Go! By Dr. Seuss:

“And when things start to happen,

don’t worry, Don’t stew.

Just go right along.

You’ll start happening too…

I’m sorry to say so

but, sadly, it’s true

that Bang-ups

and Hang-ups

can happen to you…

And when you’re in a Slump,

you’re not in for much fun.

Un-slumping yourself

is not easily done…

Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done!

There are points to be scored. There are games to be won…

You'll get mixed up, of course,

as you already know.

You'll get mixed up

with many strange birds as you go.

So be sure when you step.

Step with care and great tact

and remember that Life's

a Great Balancing Act.

Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.

And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?

Yes! You will, indeed!

(98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.)"

Happy Monday – go get ‘em!

Grease or Glue?

I used to think I was glue, but I’m not.

I’m grease.

I work best in situations where the moving parts have gotten a little stuck; in tradition, in culture, in misaligned expectations, or for any number of reasons.

Which are you? (or are you something different)

Taking My Birthday Off!

Well, from blogging anyway!