I recently met two engineering managers: Joe and Mary. Both 55. Both are bored with their jobs. And taking totally different approaches to their boredom problems. Joe decided to hang out in his current position—for the next 12 years, until he meets the retirement age of 67. He’s choosing personal stability. Mary is gathering her […]
When Do You Choose Personal Stability Over Professional Change? Read More »
I am more than “disappointed” by the overturn of Roe v. Wade this past week. I am enraged and full of grief for the women who will die. When I was in high school, before Roe was passed, several girls “got in trouble” (talk about blaming the victim). A couple of them had babies. They
How Can You Use Your Influence and Power Instead of Hope and Prayer? Read More »
Imagine this scenario: You have an opportunity to keep your current salary and work for an organization of somewhat doubtful integrity. Or, you have an opportunity to make orders of magnitude more money—but that organization has a reputation for human rights abuses. What do you choose? More money creates more freedom in your life, for
How Do You Choose Between What’s Right and Your Ability to Make Money? Read More »
A colleague is supposedly writing a book. He’s amassed research, taken and written notes, and told (too many) people he’s writing. But he’s not writing. No book excerpts, no blog posts, nor articles. His “writing” is invisible to other people. Another colleague thinks he wants to run a marathon. He researched the “right” way to run
How Much Confidence Do You Need to Start? Read More »
I have a new nonfiction book in the 2022 Write Stuff Storybundle this week (the bundle is only until March 10 or so). While you might not have heard of some of the writers, I’m sure you’ve heard of Lawrence Block. He’s a multi-award-winning mystery writer. His contribution to this bundle is a memoir. The
Longevity and Success: How and When Do You Choose to Show Up? Read More »
Some people used to think that culture at work was the snacks or the foosball tables. That’s only a tiny part of a culture. We’ve seen over the pandemic that real culture is what we can discuss, how we treat each other, and what we reward. (That’s my interpretation of Edgar Schein’s work.) That means
What Kind of a Culture Do You Want to Create and Reinforce? Read More »
How Much Balance Do We Need to Excel and Succeed? I’m a sucker for the Olympics. You name the sport—yes, even ones I don’t know or understand—and I can spend hours transfixed. Not because of the sport itself, although I often wonder how people chose that specific sport. But because these athletes use physical, mental,
How Much Balance Do We Need to Excel and Succeed? Read More »
CAL Newsletter: Why Is “You Got This” So Evil? My physical challenges are apparent to anyone with vision. I use a rollator (wheeled walker) when I leave the house. Heck, I use a rollator inside the house. And every so often, people want to offer me moral support. They say, “You got this!” as if
Why Is “You Got This” So Evil? Read More »
I love to get stuff done. I count various measures on my way to my productivity, but when I cross things off my lists? Yeah, I love that. I know what being productive feels like and looks like for me. It often feels like some amount of “stuff” per unit time. But creativity? I used
How Do You Know When You’re Being Creative vs. Productive? Read More »
CAL Newsletter: Where Do You Choose to Draw Your Boundaries? Sometimes, people ask us for more than we want to offer—or can reasonably achieve. When people ask us for more than we want to offer, we have many options for responses. Each of those responses reflects our boundaries. That means we need to know how
Where Do You Choose to Draw Your Boundaries? Read More »