“The smallest deed is better than the greatest intention.” – John Burroughs
The Litmus Test: Would Donald Sterling Work Here?
I heard Tim Wise speak yesterday regarding race, gender, and the bagful of what gets summarized as diversity and inclusion.
Wise was forceful, funny and spot-on. Sample lines: “If race is a card (e.g. “race card”) it’s a two of diamonds” and “Some execs like to colorize their organizations the ways Ted Turner colorized old movies.… Read the rest
The Colleague: “Eeyore”
While not abundant, you can spot them everywhere.
They are the sorts of colleagues who turn a ray of sunshine into a warning about skin cancer.
In a world of glass half-full or glass half-empty, they manage to always find the latter. It’s as if the coin flip for heads or tails always landed on one side, not the other.
They are colleagues nicknamed “Eeyore.… Read the rest
Stay or Jump? The New Boss
The all-day meeting with the exec staff ended up focused on one point:
“What should we tell the new CEO?”
Hunch is everyone wants to do well with the new boss.
While there is the occasional new CEO that parachutes in, the rumor mill or extensive interview vetting usually gives you an idea who the new gal/guy might be.… Read the rest
Who Really Cares if the Boss is Gay?
The impetus might have been the convergence of former BP CEO John Browne’s new book on his life as a closeted exec with the 45th anniversary of the Stonewall riots.
Or maybe it was simply bad form, like mentioning someone’s cancer prognosis or divorce when the news isn’t public.
While it wasn’t news to some in Silicon Valley, CNBC correspondent’s Simon Hobbs outing of one Fortune 500 CEO went over, as my dad would have said, “like someone loudly passing gas in church.… Read the rest
[Life Back West] April 2014 – Riding Up Front?
When you’re a kid in a car culture like the USA, a major life milestone is the 
time when you get to ride up front.
It’s not exactly adulthood, but looks like the same neighborhood; out of the back seat, associated with kiddie car seats and “baby” status, and into a view from the front like the big guys.… Read the rest