Bad Ideas  |
Our Society  |
A Calling?  |
E.T.'s Career  |
What are some of the “issues” about various kinds of work?
Douglas McGregor in The Human Side of Enterprise pointed out that people tend to want to do a good job (“Theory Y”) when their values are consistent with those of the organization employing them. I think it would be helpful if more people took this aspect of employment more seriously when considering various kinds of work and various job offers. read more »
Kids?
One enormous, life-changing decision that almost always affects our flexibility where work, income, and career are concerned is the decision to start a family. If there was ever a time to give serious thought to a decision – to the point of playing “devil’s advocate” with yourself (and partner) – this is it. Not only is it one of the biggest in terms of overall impact on everyone involved, it is also one of very few completely irreversible decisions. read more »
Ruby in Houston
Ruby was somewhere in her 60s when I first met her; one of those seemingly ageless Southern women that can pretty much do whatever needs to be done. Even better: she had the most delightful attitude and overall approach to things – people liked her, trusted her, and respected her. read more »
A Working Arrangement
A consultant I once knew used to talk about a very common scenario among entrepreneur types: person A has a great idea, starts some kind of enterprise. At some point he needs help so he contacts person B to help grow the business. read more »
Treat Me Wrong, Treat Me Right: Who Decides?
... I do recall a sense throughout the company that management pretty much took Forrest for granted. The feeling was that management could pretty much do what they wanted with Forrest and, though he would certainly complain to any who would listen, he would go along with it.
Not so with Jack. read more »
Always Have an “Or Else”
It is frequently much simpler, from their perspective, to simply tell you “we will look into it and let you know” or something similar, then go on with business as usual.
Questions are weak: “Can I have a raise?” Statements are strong: “I need a 10% increase in my salary effective immediately or I will have to resign.” read more »
I won't do this any more
It's not that often that I can point to one specific event in my life that wound up triggering other events, but in the case of my job in pharmaceuticals, I can. I can remember exactly when I decided that I would not work for this company any more.
read more »The Carpenter and The Columns by John Leeke
I would love to live in a world where the majority of people, if not indeed everybody, felt this way about their work. read more »
