The Nouwen Challenge, pt. 2

“But it is actually best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Counselor won’t come… When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not be presenting his own ideas; he will be telling you what he has heard. He will tell you about the [...]

The Nouwen Challenge, pt. 1

I’ve been thinking a lot about silence lately. I don’t encounter much of it in my life. Even when I’m alone at work, the silence is only external. Inside my head is a running dialogue of to do lists, e-mails, and ideas for getting stuff done. At home, the sounds inside and outside of my [...]

In need of a little good medicine

Today was a cruddy day. A day filled with frustrations that seemed to pile on top of one another. I know that my little issues at work are nothing compared to the many, many people that hate their jobs or all of the issues that people around the world are facing. Nonetheless, I was checking [...]

Patient superheroes

There are so few superheroes in the office these days. When we find one, we should stick close and learn as much as possible. I spent my evening at a work event with my friend Frank. He’s a superhero. He’s incredibly intelligent, warm and caring; he doesn’t worry about taking credit for his many accomplishments; [...]

On the road again.

Did you hear recently that Willie Nelson got hit by a truck?! Yes, he was singing on the road again!
Sorry for that. Anyway, hello again!  Sorry I’ve been incommunicado for a week. Boy, I really hadn’t planned on taking a full week break from blogging, but I found myself on a monster trip to Chicago [...]

Work family (aka, my favorite post yet)

If you happen to be one of my regular readers, you’ve probably noticed that I’ve been a bit inconsistent in my posts lately. I could easily blame it on the monster product introduction that my team is helping to coordinate next week (next week will be nutty too) but I must confess that the Stanley Cup [...]

Starting over

Most people I know have had to start their careers over at some point. Sometimes these moves are voluntary, like when someone wants to make a major career shift late in life, but often they aren’t. Living here in Michigan, where the job base is shifting away from manufacturing and unemployment is high, I know [...]

Demanding too much from work

With as much growth as there’s been in the realms of HR and organizational behavior, it’s amazing to me that we all still view the implicit contract between employee and employer so one-dimensionally. Every one of these employment relationships includes a set of performance expectations. Some are spelled out in contracts; others are implicit. When we look for [...]