A few years ago I worked with a man named Martin. He was a condescending know-it-all and I avoided him whenever I could. As soon as I saw him walking toward me, I could feel myself getting annoyed. Any time he spoke to me, all I could think was, “Who does he think he is […]
I’m all about building rapport, communicating, and creating great relationships with people at work, including your boss. However, there are some things you should just keep to yourself if you want to continue to be successful, and climb the ladder, in your career. Yes, I realize when you read some of these items, some of […]
“The single best predictor of a candidate’s future job performance is his or her past job behavior.” “How do we know this is true? Because it’s been proved in thousands of actual job situations for more than two decades. Interviews that probe for past behavior have been found to be more reliable than ones that […]
I was facilitating an employment interviewing workshop the other day and as we were discussing why people were taking the course, one participant said, “I want to learn why the person I hired isn’t the person who shows up on the first day of work?” It’s all too common to have the prince or princess […]
“Life’s too short to drink bad coffee.” The comment came from my Bestie Bev, who was pretty much appalled that I would reheat a cup of old coffee so as not to waste it. Although it was just a brief and not particularly profound moment in life, that statement is one I think of (and […]
I woke up feeling happy this morning. Yes, it was partly because my first conscious thought was, “I have the day off today!” However, it was also because I chose to be happy– despite the fact that my cat woke me up sharpening her dagger claws on my hip, despite the puppy pee I had […]
When you were a child and were angry, upset, hurt, or frustrated, you probably didn’t have the words to express your emotions. It’s a rare kid who can say, “Mother, I’m infuriated and disillusioned with your decision to deny me that chocolate torte for my midday repast.” Instead, a child will huff and puff, scream, cry, throw things, and […]
Most people don’t put much thought into what typeface they use when sending an email or creating a document. Some might avoid Comic in a professional correspondence and instead select Arial or Times New Roman, but beyond that, I’ll bet most people have never even considered what their choice of typeface says about them. Well, employers have. In […]
I wrote this blog post when my daughter, now a rising junior, first went off to college. For those whose children will be going off to college in a few short weeks, it’s important that you establish communication expectations in advance, to avoid anger, frustration, and damage to your fledgling long-distance relationship. However, these tips […]
This week will be the last week of radiation treatments for my Doberman Pinscher Jack. Every morning for the past three weeks, we’ve traveled together to downtown Houston to spend an hour or two at Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists. He receives his treatments and I wait. Prior to Jack’s cancer diagnosis, I never would have thought […]
