Three Metaphors for Modern Organizations
The workplace is like a factory: a hyper-efficient, soul-crushing assembly line where creativity is bolted down with automated machinery and lean processes. Workers create value as cogs in an industrious, uniform way. In some warehouses, they maximize productivity by peeing…
A Happy New Year Haiku
Happy new year goals. Pathways full of potential. Make the luck you need. – A haiku about 2025, which is a year full of promise and potential for all of us (especially when we embrace planned happenstance by making the most…
The Definitive Pros and Cons of Keeping a CYA Folder
Keeping a Cover Your Ass (CYA) folder can be a career lifeline. This practice is designed to protect our reputation by keeping documents, emails, and other evidence that can be used to clarify misunderstandings and defend against unfounded accusations. The…
Career Advice from Your Favourite Holiday Characters
The holiday seasons are upon us and we’re awash in the magic of Christmas, Hanukah, Love Actually, my parents’ Awesome Semi-Pagan beliefs, and, of course, Festivus. As we share stories of holiday joy with friends and family, it’s important to…
Total Football and Generalism
I’m reading Tribal by Michael Morris (it’s good) and the book begins with an analysis for “Total Football”. In the 1970s, the Dutch national soccer team transformed the sport with a philosophy where any outfield player could seamlessly assume the…
A Bomb Cyclone Haiku
Bomb cyclone is here. Wisdom of trees; perspective. Catastrophizing. – A haiku about how weather these days has different, scarier names than it used to; if this is catastrophizing, I hope it is effective…
Four Ways to be Resilient When You Feel Like Crap
This past weekend was brutal for my physical health. Food poisoning and a nasty flu bug took away my bodily fluids and ability to sleep. In the grand scheme of things this was a minor setback and I was able…
Tension: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How it can Realize a Community’s Potential
My Tension Tension happens in work and life all the time. Recently, I found myself in situations where tension was both palpable and enabling. The first instance occurred during the planning of an important event. Initially, there was considerable confusion…
Four Tips for Work Appropriate Halloween Costumes
It’s Halloween! If you’re in one of many workplaces that celebrate this spooky day, you may be invited to come in costume and celebrate in style with the usual staff costume photo set to be pasted all over the organization’s…
How to Create a Sense of Belonging in Your Community
Today is Staff Day at BC Pension Corporation. The experience provides time and space for employees to connect and learn together. This year’s theme is we belong together and we chose it because of the force-multiplier that a sense of…