Category: Coaching

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[Life Back West] August 2009 – How I (and the Millennials) Spent Summer Vacation

There are ways to mark time as well as waste it. Camp Mather is neither. Instead it’s a low-frills family camp where I spent last week on vacation with my seven year old son. It is a place for San Francisco families to affirm the milestones that come with personal development and growth for their kids and themselves.

In its 85th year of being a warm getaway place in the splendor of Yosemite for residents of the City with the big heart and cold summers, it’s a venue for the rarity of modern life: unstructured child centered play for kids in a natural setting.… Read the rest

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[New Rules] Did You Flunk the Test?

You have a testing problem – you probably just don’t know it.

As noted earlier [here , here and here ], the use of psychological and personality tests to make hiring and promotion decisions is on the uptick. With the recent US Supreme Court Ricci vs. Stefano decision, any number of ill-advised HR types will likely increase the use of these tests.… Read the rest

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I’ll Take China

My first trip to China last week as part of work with a client brought back memories of business from almost three decades ago. It was a different time and a very different place, but ff you worked in business in the 1980’s in the United States, all eyes seemed to be focused on Japan. From cars to copiers, Japanese companies could seem to do no wrong, and US companies seemed to be able to do not much right.… Read the rest

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[The Great Recession and You] Dr. Seuss, Careers, and a Slog by the Bay

When the rain started right before we stepped on the ferry boat tonight to take us from central Hong Kong to Kowloon, there was little idea how much and how hard the storm would hit us. While the thought of watching the nightly laser light show from the harbor seemed a good idea, spending time on a rocking boat during a subtropical squall changed any fantasies quickly into the reality of two adults and one seven year old child trying to figure out if any of us knew how to say “rescue” and “life preserver” in Mandarin or Cantonese.… Read the rest

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[How to Fire Someone] Part 1: The Termination

 

The note from my cycling friend began: 

Fired red stamp

“Hi Mike

Part of my problem is that I’ve never fired (or even broken up) with anybody.

Could you call me at your convenience – perhaps this afternoon?  I can’t remember some of your keywords/points.

I would love if somebody could do this 4 me.”

Firing people from their jobs should be hard.… Read the rest

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[Life Back West] July 2009 – The Road Trip

Life today seems to move ever so quickly. Though it’s likely an observation shared by people throughout the centuries, our Twitter / 24 by 7 news cycle lives seem to almost eliminate the time to pause, to think, and to talk deeply. It seems true for people, and it seems true for organizations.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

Earlier this month I had a chance to catch a reunion of college friends from the small liberal arts college (“the first university in the West”) from which I received my undergraduate degree.… Read the rest