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Parenting

Big topic, I know. It’s the best job I ever had. It’s also the job that never really ends, but it certainly does evolve, and if you don’t evolve with it, you are in for trouble. My children are now all grown (as of this writing, they are 33, 31, 29 and 25 years old).Continue reading “Parenting”

Innovation

I used to worry that I am not the most creative fellow around. I see others coming up with brilliant new ideas and wonder why I lack that gene. With age comes wisdom…or if not wisdom then at least some experience and some insight that one didn’t have earlier in life. I used to thinkContinue reading “Innovation”

How important is a good boss?

I have had the opportunity to work for 10 companies. When I look back on it, it seems crazy. The first 22 years of my career was at one company – IBM. I grew up at IBM, started as a technical resource, switched into sales, sales management and general management. I learned most of whatContinue reading “How important is a good boss?”

Are things getting better?

I am together with my family. We are in Colorado, but it doesn’t matter too much where we are (though Colorado is beautiful and fun for outdoor activities). With four grown kids, the effort to all be together is a lot of work, and sometimes it only happens twice a year – around Christmas (myContinue reading “Are things getting better?”

I miss reading to my kids

I have four kids and they all love to read. We compare notes on books we like at this point, but I haven’t read to any of them since they were little. I miss that. Reading to and with my kids was probably my favorite part of the day, and frankly I loved the kidsContinue reading “I miss reading to my kids”

Road Trip!

Last week I went on a road trip. For the first time I drove across country in the US (most of the way). I know that lots of people do it, but I’ve never been big on driving and driving and driving, as I usually prefer to just get somewhere and get on with it.Continue reading “Road Trip!”

What pisses me off about the World Series

I am a big soccer (real football) fan, as all my friends know, but for some reason I enjoy baseball. Maybe it’s the tactics, the skill involved, and of course the tension of the playoffs. I would love to watch the World Series. However, on the east coast the games don’t start until 8pm, andContinue reading “What pisses me off about the World Series”

At a certain point, it’s about the people

I like working. There are things about working that appeal to me more than other aspects of working but overall I like the satisfaction and feeling of self-worth that working provides me. Is it about getting paid well for the work? Sort of, but not really. Getting paid well is important at points in one’sContinue reading “At a certain point, it’s about the people”

knowledge versus wisdom

I recently listened to a lecture about philosophy where this was discussed. Knowledge of course is the accumulation of information. Wisdom, however, is knowing what to do with it. We all know people who are very intelligent, but don’t seem very wise. I thought this was worth thinking about.

What’s a good guy, anyway?

As a leader, I am often asking managers who report to me to assess their people. Quite often, the first words are something like “he’s a good guy.” I am ignoring the fact that many of them are women of course, just for the sake of illustration. What does “he’s a good guy” mean, anyway?Continue reading “What’s a good guy, anyway?”