As soon as I conclude my presentation, the grey-bearded foreman in the first row sprints to the podium. “You were a perfect 10” he tells me. “Until 5 minutes ago. Then you blew it.” He holds his session evaluation up to my face. Under “overall…
Category: All Posts
DARE to bring purpose to your workday
My sister, Iginia, and I are on a mountain ledge peering down a steep slope. We’re gawking instead of skiing this run because of its thick layer of ice. It will rebuff any ski edge and, thus, send us careening down several hundred feet. Backtracking…
Woman in gorilla suit reveals why you can't job purpose
Job purposing is simple: Do small acts through work to help others or a charitable cause. The garbage worker in Turkey salvages books in good condition for low-income families. The California hairdresser becomes trained in domestic-violence services to aid clients she suspects are victims. The…
A man who loved every job he ever had shares how it’s done
The civil engineer leans against his desk. “Want to know the best part of my work?” he asks. I, the only other person in his office, nod vigorously enough for a crowd. The engineer pulls his khaki pants over his sizable belly and walks past…
Is the season's spirit of giving a natural thing?
[tm_pb_section admin_label=”section”][tm_pb_row admin_label=”row”][tm_pb_column type=”4_4″][tm_pb_text admin_label=”Text” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] Peony, being elderly and arthritic, moves with difficulty. Fortunately, members of her community fetch what she needs and steady her as she hobbles to social gatherings. Why do these individuals, most of whom are unrelated to…
If your job is just “OK,” you might not be
Most of us will take half our waking breaths at work. As if this hefty contribution of time weren’t enough, we also invest emotionally. We agonize over a conflict with a colleague, obsess over a forthcoming presentation, rejoice in attaining a quarterly goal and otherwise…
What's worse than working while sleep deprived?
We’ve all suffered through it. Whether it’s because of a sick child, late-night concert or, in my case, ridiculous vampire novel, we’ve showed up to work sleep deprived. We try to excel but can’t drum up motivation. Caring about the quality of our product or…
Your most undervalued trait
Raul is why I changed college majors, attended graduate school, started my business, donated to charity last week and wrote this post. I came across Raul in Caracas, Venezuela, when I was nine years old. I was staring out the passenger-side window of the family…
White supremacy: What’s a CEO to do?
If you’re an American business leader, this week likely threw you into a professional conundrum: Should you take a public stand against white supremacy knowing you’ll jump into treacherous political waters? Brands have traditionally been mute on political issues and active only in apolitical societal…
You won’t believe what increases income
Are you motivated to strengthen your community, clean up our environment or otherwise make a positive impact on others or society? If so, don’t squelch this desire to contribute for fear that you’ll neglect your own financial wellbeing. Research by Anthony Burrow from Cornell University (my…