We have a groundhog problem. It’s a big, fat groundhog that has figured out how to go under the low fence around the bean patch. We just got a hav-a-hart trap on loan from a friend. But I haven’t had time yet to set it up. So when I saw the groundhog squeezing under the fence this afternoon, I let …
The day I yelled at an employee…
“Just do it!” I had reached the end of my patience. And I wasn’t quoting Nike. At the time, I was the Director of the consulting division at a mid-sized software company. And the client wanted us to do something in their installation that wasn’t the best option. I’d done what I could to convince them to take the better way, …
A harda** in a pastel floral dress
Once upon a time, I wore pastel dresses, some of which were floral. I can’t quite believe it myself. I seldom even wear dresses now, never mind pastel anything. Though I do have a couple of (not pastel) floral Hawaiian-style shirts. Dress notwithstanding… … a consultant at the company I was working for at the time called me a hardass. …
Anyone remember martini lunches?
Remember the martini lunch? Or have I just dated myself? Mind you, I don’t actually like martinis. But back in the very, very early days of my career, I did participate in lunches at which everyone ordered a drink. Up until the pandemic, employees connected with each other in the office. They went to lunch together (generally without a martini), they …
Yes, I’m writing about it: the Roe v. Wade decision
Many years ago when I was in college, I went with a friend to her abortion appointment. I cannot imagine what her life would have been like – hers and her boyfriend’s, who was 100% supportive – if she hadn’t been able to get an abortion. Much more recently, a young woman I know got an abortion, under circumstances I’ll …
Tall poppies and sticky-out nails
Once upon a time, when I was still working in corporate, my boss – a VP at the company where I worked – called me in to his office to tell me to stop speaking up in meetings. These were the same meetings where another VP – a woman – was constantly interrupted and talked over. The difference between her …
Empathy, sympathy, compassion … and chiggers
Empathy is a Big Deal in leadership and management these days, and that’s a good thing. But there’s a lot of confusion still running rampant about what empathy actually is, how we can demonstrate it, and what it means in relation to sympathy and compassion. In fact, there’s so much confusion that Googling any of those terms, or a composite query of “empathy …
Roofs, motorcycles, and the Middle Ages
Back when I was in college, a group of us decided to climb up onto the roof of one of the dorms to watch the sun rise. These were old three-story stone buildings with steeply-pitched roofs. (No, we weren’t drunk!) What possessed us, I have no idea, but we did it, and we all got back down safely. Chalk it …
Chiggers, mosquitoes, piranhas, and cats!
Chiggers, mosquitoes, piranhas, and cats. These are all things that bite, in increasing order of size. (I know. He looks cute, but rub that oh-so-soft belly fur, and you’ll… get bitten.) Chiggers are tiny – very tiny, invisible-to-the-naked-eye tiny – insects that live in the grass, can move from said grass to your waist in 15 minutes, can’t be seen …
Cats, dogs, leadership, and learning
This is Flicker. Also known as The Flickerator. He’s an excellent trainer of humans. His specialty is Stupid Human Tricks. He’s taught me to … Open the sliding door onto the deck to let him out So he can go around the house and come up to my office window and ask to come in So I open the window …