This is a thumbnail of Earth, compared in size to smaller planets. Click it, and the ones that follow, to see photos that will show each in larger format, then back-click to return. I do not wish to be planet-centric, but I think we have the prettiest planet of all. (Laugh, if you wish, but you must admit it is true.)
Compared with th
e larger planets in our solar system, Earth is very, very small.
Now we see the comparative size of the bright star we call the Sun!
Our placement has been compared to Goldilocks and the porridge. Any closer to the sun and we would be too hot, any further away and we would be too cold. As it is, we’re just right. Most of the time.
As big as the sun is, it is tiny compared to the giant star, Arcturus–and Earth is less than a speck.
Super telescopes, including the Hubble telescope are responsible for letting us know about many of these gargantuans in the Universe. 
Here is Antares, a red giant star that makes Arcturus look teeny-tiny. Our sun is miniscule compared to it, and the size of Earth in comparison is infinitesimal.
I also want you to see a video that shows all of it in a visually fascinating way–and with music! The video loops and plays again, so you can stop it after the image that shows the dot of our sun in relation to the largest known star, VY Canis Majoris. (The Big Dog!) But, that last image alone is enough to put it all in perspective! Click here to watch the video –maybe twice–and come back when you are done.
Another approximate way to visualize it: If someone held a 4′ diameter beach ball and you walked a block away and held up a marble, those would be the sun and Earth. To visualize VY Canis Majoris–if it were close enough to see–picture a solid wall of gaseous material over an iron core, high in the sky, like a ceiling that has no beginning or end. On the marble in your hand put 6.5 billion microscopic dots. One of them is you–the one you sometimes think this is all about.
What I am leading to with this amateur version of a lesson in Astronomy:
1. I almost never use the word awesome because it is so overused in some circles it has become devalued. If everything that is simply good or even impressive becomes awesome there is nothing left to describe what is truly worthy of awe–so I like to reserve the word for when it fits. It fits the universe in which we reside. It is awesome.
2. If we compare the relative sizes and placement of planets, stars and life forms, you and I are nothing. However, in the world in which we live we are of vital significance to many. It may be that to someone you are everything.
VY Canis Majoris has no power to show love or make life better for anyone–you do. It will not be remembered as having made one day, or one hour, or one moment special in anyone’s life–you can do that. You can also do the reverse. In your world, both in your work and with your family and friends, you can be awful or you can be awesome.
I frequently have my own version of vespers by standing outside for a few moments before bedtime to appreciate the beauty and vastness of the very small part of the universe I can see. I was already impressed, but I will see it differently now. The next time you are outside at night, take a moment to get a mental picture of you, on the surface of a tiny marble rotating in an awesome universe. Wave, just in case ET is watching. Then, commit to making VY Canis Majoris look like a dinky little nothing compared to what you will accomplish in the minds, hearts and lives of others.
March 28th, 2008
Posted by
TLR |
Life and Work, Personal and Professional Development |
5 comments
A note from Tina: Are you visiting because you want the photo of Post-It notes shown in the Google search results? I’m sorry, I don’t have that here anymore. I replaced it with this one, that I thought was very cute! In the meantime, several thousand people have come to this site just for that photo! (I wish several thousand people were hiring me to speak or train–but alas, they just want the photo!)
Consider going to a free photo site or directly to the 3-M site, or as I did, to an office supply company site. They nearly always have photos of such things that you can use.
Now to the original article:
It took a team of people to create the Post-It Notes phenomena, although the motivational-speech-version of the story will likely always be the one that is told and re-told. The popular story is that Art Fry, a product development engineer for 3M, was singing in his church choir and became frustrated that his bookmarks kept falling out of the hymnal. He recalled a “failed” adhesive back at work and experimented with it to make semi-sticky book marks. Ta-da! Post-it Notes!
Almost the true story, but not quite–or at least not quite the full story. You can check out a condensed version of the full story on the 3M site. Art Fry’s photo is first, as it should be, since he was the one who found the best way to use the repositionable adhesive that Spencer Silver discovered. (And by all accounts, Mr. Fry is a very nice man who deserves the credit he gets.) However, the adhesive wasn’t the abysmal failure some stories make it–just a different type of adhesive for which a highly marketable use had yet to be found. Mr. Silver had envisioned it perhaps covering an entire bulletin board upon which papers could be placed and removed easily. (Think of how dirty that would get after awhile!)
In the myth of the popular story, the team that made Post-it Notes a huge success, and their years of work on the product, is sometimes overlooked. Having a great product, and creating a desire in the minds of consumers to buy it in large quantities, are two different things.
- Jack Wilkens put together a team of salesmen and marketing experts to determine the best ways to sell the new product.
- Joe Ramey did what I would have thought anyone would do–but apparently I was wrong–and that is, he and his team decided product sampling was the best way to get people to know about Post-it Notes. At first the notes were distributed to legal firms and other offices in the Minneapolis area. (Lawyers often need to put notes on legal briefs and don’t like to use paper clips or staples.)
- Bill Schoonenberg, the manager of marketing services determined that Boise, Idaho was the perfect place to formally launch the product and blitz the area with samples. Boise? That, I have never figured out!
- Lynn Wilson took over after the “Boise Blitz” produced spectacular results, and his team developed advertisements for the rest of the country and later the world.
All of that was theTa-da!
A friend of mine, Jim Dainty, was on the original marketing team. He says, with a rueful smile, “They gave out samples, the word spread, everybody wanted them, and our sales people didn’t have to do as much convincing as we thought they would.”
You are a great product too. Even if you are very successful, you probably still have a few “markets” where you feel you aren’t fully appreciated or your value is not known:
- Coworkers.
- Those you supervise
- Your supervisors and managers.
- People you don’t know well.
- Decision-makers in your organization.
- People with whom you would like to develop a better working relationship.
- Family members or others with whom you would like to have a better personal relationship.
Perhaps you could use the Post-it Note story in your own life and work:
1. Be someone other people need. When I teach about influence I talk about the requirement of being valuable. What do you bring to those you want to influence? People need us because of our knowledge, skills, information, insight, connections, resources-and often because of the way we make them feel about themselves. What do you have to offer others? Do you share what you have to offer? When we help others, personally or professionally, we inevitably are rewarded in both obvious and unexpected ways.
2. Give out samples. Post-it Notes might not have become popular so quickly if 3M had waited for people to want to buy them just because someone said they were good. Instead, 3M gave people enough Post-It Notes that they could experience how impressive the product was. You give out samples of yourself every day when you interact with people and when they see your work. You have to let people experience you in their lives, and that experience must be an overall good one for them over time. You cannot do it if you rarely make personal contact, only make small-talk, or make being around you an unpleasant, uncomfortable, frustrating or bland experience.
3. Live up to your promises. Have you ever bought generic sticky notes? They don’t work well at all, and usually end up on the floor. They simply cannot do what they promise–only Genuine 3M Post-it Notes can. That happens in our work as well. There are a lot of people who talk a great game but never follow through. If you want to be appreciated fully you need something worth appreciating and you have to come through on the promises you have implied about yourself. We may tolerate people who do not promise much and do not do much. We mock people who promise a great deal but do not deliver. Eventually we resent those people and avoid them. Make it your goal to be so effective that the GenuineYou is considered the standard of excellence.
4. Improve yourself all the time. 3M is always looking for new ways to use the sticky note concept. In 2004 they developed Super Sticky Notes, which have a stronger adhesive. They produced those items in colors identified as the most popular at the time–Daffodil, Orchid and Ocean. (Yellow, Lilac and True Blue.) You have probably discovered that you add to your own enjoyment when you gain new skills and knowledge and feel that you are improving. That increases your value to others as well.
None of this is meant to support slavishly wanting to be liked or popular, or doing whatever it takes to get along or get ahead. You know I would not advocate that! What I am advocating are the concepts that made a very good product no one had heard much about, become a wildly popular consumer favorite:
- It did not happen because 3M waited for people to find out about it.
- They did not try to make competitors look bad so they would look good in comparison.
- They did not market a mediocre product and expect people to buy it because 3M was a sincere company that meant well.
- As personable as salespeople like Jim Dainty were, 3M did not rely solely on charm to make billions of dollars in sales.
Instead, 3M had a product people needed–even though most people did not know it; they gave away samples; they lived up to their promise of a great product; they continue to improve themselves all the time. You can do those things.
A press release by 3M says this: Every day, 3M people find new ways to make amazing things happen. You can do that, too!
March 26th, 2008
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Life and Work, Personal and Professional Development |
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Professor Herb Dordick (1925-1998) co-authored a book I was impressed with in the mid-1990s: The Information Society: A Retrospective View. It is required reading for many college level Communications classes. Dr. Dordick, by the way, seems to have been a very impressive man, who had a great deal to offer. One of the many concepts for which he is remembered is his categorizing of people into two groups: Those who are being informed and those who are getting informed.
Professor Dordick said only about 10 percent of us actively pursue new information, while the rest have us no strategy for what we learn. We listen to what we are told–which often consists of information that is stale, repetitious, half-truthful, outright false, unimportant and trivial, or presenting only one part of a complete picture. Eventually, if we’re not careful, we know, as someone once said, “more and more about less and less.”
This concept applies to several areas of our lives. In an election year it is particularly important to get informed by researching, double-checking and looking very carefully at the sources of our information, rather than only being informed, by the TV channel we watch or magazine or newspaper we read. It is also true about our financial planning, purchases, or other decisions. For employees, supervisors and managers it is particularly important to get informed.
- If supervisors or managers wait for employees to voluntarily discuss work issues, personal problems that affect work, concerns, questions and ideas, it might never happen. Walking and talking, asking questions, listening intently and purposefully, checking reports and records, and talking to customers and clients to get a clearer picture, are crucial activities.
- If supervisors or managers wait for employees to come to them to report personal performance or behavior gaps, that will not happen either. On the other hand, if the picture the supervisor gets of an employee is based on what is reported by an apparently trustworthy coworker, that view might be skewed. Purposefully observing and inspecting work is the only way to get fully informed and stay informed. An effective supervisor or manager knows about work based in large part on personal observation, supplemented with other information.
- If employees at all levels get informed about what is happening in the organization by soaking up the latest gossip and speculation, they will nearly always have bad information. If they ask their supervisors or managers, they may not get all the information they seek, but it is more likely to be correct. They can add to that by considering situations based on past practices, what is logical, and their overall job knowledge.
Supervisors and managers have a dual obligation: To get informed and to provide information and insight to employees.
If you are a supervisor or manager and all you know is what you can figure out by having people come to your office and chat about their work, you won’t know much. But, if you regularly review a list of key statistics, reports and activities; if you stay involved every day so you can hear and see what happens in the real world of your workplace; and, if you have a good network of resources to give you their perspectives about your group’s work, you will know as much as you can know, and more than most supervisors and managers know.
Follow that by keeping employees informed as much as possible. Share what you can share, so they do not have to rely on gossip for their only source of information. They will gossip anyway, but at least you can help them develop a thought process for getting informed, that will allow them to more easily separate idle gossip from fact.
Sometimes we do not want to know the whole truth, no matter how much we say we do. Sometimes the truth is uncomfortable, depressing, frustrating or shocking. But, the truth about issues in our life and work is what we must know if we want to improve, make changes, or intervene. We also have to know the truth to fully understand, appreciate and build toward the future. How well informed are you about the issues that are vital to your life, personally and professionally? Don’t wait to be informed; get informed.
March 24th, 2008
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Life and Work, Personal and Professional Development, Supervision and Management |
2 comments
I have never liked the phrase “Thank God, it’s Friday!” and could never understand why Shannon’s grade school teacher would write TGIF!!! on the bulletin board on Friday morning. I will sometimes hear people who work non-traditional shifts say, with elation, ”Today is my Friday!” Or, with despair, “Today is my Monday.” I sometimes wonder if their days off are such unalloyed pleasure and their work is so unpleasant as to make the time away such a marvelous experience!
There are reasons to like time away from work, of course: Sleeping later, being able to have an unstructured day, spending more time with family and friends, going out on a date, staying in on a date, sports and recreation, and not having unpleasant interactions with coworkers, bosses and customers. But, it has always seemed to me that few people come back to work with stories of fun times! In fact, Monday morning is often a de-stress time when people talk about the work or hassles of the weekend–unless it is football season.
I have always enjoyed time away from work very much, but did not dread going back to work and did not want Shannon to dread going back to school on Monday. So, I instituted a program for us that would create a feeling of enjoyment for every work and school day. I’m not advocating that you copy it. In retrospect, it is a bit too Pollyanna even for me! However, the overall view is still one I try to achieve in my mind, and I think Shannon does as well.
- Marvelous Monday!! We now and then had a special breakfast on Monday to celebrate getting to see friends and talk with them about the fun things we did over the weekend.
- Terrific Tuesday!! With Monday out of the way we could really get busy at school and work.
- Wonderful Wednesday!! The weekend was coming up, but we could spend two more days turning in good work–and in Shannon’s case, wearing cute clothes!
- Tremendous Thursday!! This was a big day, because we knew everyone else was getting worn down, so we could be the most energized of anyone. Yaaaaay!!!!!!!
- Fabulous Friday!! We made a point of getting up early (for us, anyway) on Friday, so we could go to school, and to work, feeling ready to do well and end the week on a high note.
- Super Saturday and Sacred Sunday: We seemed to always have a good time on weekends, but on Sunday evening we talked about how much fun it would be to get back to school the next day. We were ready for Marvelous Monday!!
As some of you with teenaged daughters will understand, after junior high started I had no problem with excitement about school, because that was where her social life took place!
There are millions of people who are unemployed (or jobless, as the new euphemism puts it). Many of those people don’t just wish they had a job, they desperately need a job. There are likely millions of people who just as desperately wish they had fulfilling jobs where they are treated decently. Many hundreds of thousands of people are disabled to the point that they will never be able to work at all, or to work again. Many more people are retired and live each day wishing they could be active and useful back at their former jobs.
If you are employed and find fulfillment in that employment in some way; if you have friends at work and a workplace that is tolerable, and if you are making enough money that, with good money management, you can pay your bills and have at least a bit left over, be very, very grateful. Make each workday a day of thanks for your good fortune.
Shannon and I were thrilled to be able to come home, relax and have fun on the weekends, even though often my “weekend” was not a Saturday and Sunday. However, we made a purposeful decision and commitment to not live for only two days a week, while dreading the other five. Every day is a good day. Have a good day at work!
March 22nd, 2008
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TLR |
Life and Work |
3 comments
“We have two ears and one mouth so we can listen twice as much as we speak.” Epictetus put that in his blog in about 75 AD. We have all heard the advice to listen, really listen, as a way to ensure that our conversations are not monologues. Supervisors and managers are admonished to listen to the concerns, needs, requests and views of employees. All employees, at every level, are told to attentively listen to clients and customers, and to each other. Parents are urged to closely listen to their children. We are told that meetings are more productive when we listen instead of merely waiting for our turn to talk. So, is there anything more to say on the topic. Probably not, but listen anyway, OK?
1. Listening is not just the absence of talking, it is attentiveness focused on understanding. Have you been with someone who said absolutely nothing while you talked–because he or she was uninterested or distracted? When someone is attentive and focused on understanding, there is an energy in the way he or she listens that is obvious. The listener makes encouraging remarks, agrees briefly, smiles or frowns at the right times, and asks for more information. You can tell he or she is mentally engaged in your comments.
When someone responds like The Great Stone Face, it does not encourage conversation, and the speaker has no way of knowing whether anything is getting through. The lack of response isn’t viewed as thoughtful listening, it is viewed as being rude. Ironically, if Stone Face is being that way to stop conversation, it usually has the opposite effect, because the other person will talk even more, in an effort to get a reaction!
Listening reminder #1: Put as much energy in your listening as you do in your talking. You will notice the difference in how you hear what others are saying, and how much more easily a conversation moves along.
2. Stay on the topic until you both leave it. If you dramatically move from the original topic to something completely different, it can sound as though you stopped listening before the speaker stopped talking or if you never listened at all. If you feel it is time for a change of topic or mood, do it in a way that helps wrap up the conversation, rather than shutting it off. Tone down your responses slightly and use a vocal tone and body language that finalizes your remarks. Or, be direct, but in a courteous way, “I’m so sorry about that. Keep me informed about what happens. This is off that topic a bit, but I wanted to be sure to mention it to you.” That engages the speaker and he or she becomes the listener. Just what you were waiting for!
3. Engage in one conversation at a time. If a conversation has significance, find a private location or ensure there will be no interruptions. Even if the conversation is casual, avoid interrupting it to talk to someone else, except for a brief greeting.
This concept of giving attention to a conversation also applies to any other activity you might be involved in while someone is conversing with you. Participants in a recent class complained about their boss who is otherwise a decent guy, but who reads his email while they are talking to him in his office or on the phone. The person talking will say, “I think once I get that spreadsheet set up, we can track all of the work better.” The boss says, “You’re right that will be….I wonder what he means by that? I’d better call him to find out….That just makes no sense at all, especially when we talked about this yesterday…..Sorry, I was reading a memo from Jack, about those new computers. So, what were you saying?”
It is true that sometimes the speaking style of others–or the topic they repeatedly talk about–detracts from our ability to listen attentively. Or, they simply never stop talking, and you must take control of the conversation yourself. However, while you are listening, listen attentively with a focus on understanding, before you speak. It is also true that some conversations are intentionally conducted while both people are engaged in another activity. You can usually tell when someone wants your undivided attention. That is when you you cannot multi-task, you can do only one thing at a time–and, if it is possible to do so, the first thing you should do is listen.
4. Make your focused listening a way to build relationships. Try this: The next time you are involved in work, pouring coffee, eating lunch or whatever you are doing when someone wants to talk to you about more than small talk and chit-chat, and it is possible for you to give close attention, purposely concentrate your energy on the conversation: Put down anything you are holding; swivel your chair to face the speaker; step away from anything that could be considered a distraction; stop your body movement; show alertness to every nuance of the conversation; change your facial expression to reflect that nothing is more important than hearing what the speaker has to say. The speaker will notice and often will respond by becoming more energized or by speaking in a more confiding manner. Even if you do not see a response, the speaker will be aware of your focus and will appreciate your undivided attention.
Listening reminder #2: Being proficient at multi-tasking is a valued trait, unless one of the tasks is attentive listening.
P.S. The term, The Great Stone Face, is from the title of a book by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Here is a photo and article about it. Nowadays the term is not used to describe someone with wisdom, but rather someone who shows no emotion. It sounds much better in the abstract than when you are trying to have a conversation!
March 19th, 2008
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TLR |
Life and Work, Personal and Professional Development, Supervision and Management |
6 comments
About six years ago I wrote to William Gorden, Ph.D., a former professor of Communications at Kent State University in Ohio, about an article on leadership he had written. We exchanged emails on the topic and a few weeks later he asked me if I would occasionally answer a question on his workplace communications website: Ask The Workplace Doctors. After a year or so he and the other site participant, Dan V. West, asked me if I would like to join them as one of the Workplace Doctors. It’s been a great experience!
The website is a lot of work for several people: Dan West, an instructor in Speech at Rochester Community and Technical College, did much of the original site development work as well as working with Dr. Gorden to respond to questions. Natalie Glase, a multimedia developer for the New Media Center at Kent State University has provided tremendous expertise in an unfailingly helpful way. Dr. Gorden is the powerhouse behind it all! He and I answer questions, though we sometimes ask attorneys or HR experts to handle those that require deeper expertise than we can provide.
At first it seemed to me–and it might seem that way to you–that the answers to writer’s questions are intuitive and obvious. However, I have found that to not be the case. Dr. Gorden and I do not always agree on how something should be handled, and often my research has shown me a variety of potentially acceptable options for dealing with the same situation. In addition, Dr. Gorden and I have very different life experiences and styles, and different approaches to work issues, and that is reflected in our responses. One thing that affects my responses is that I often am writing very, very late at night or very, very early in the morning. I will look at a response months later (especially the ones that go on and on–and on–and think, “What on earth did I mean?”) Nevertheless, I know we have helped many, many people, because we get grateful follow-up from all over the world! Last week I received a thank-you message from someone who originally wrote several years ago.
Those who write to us for advice are of all ages, both genders, every type of business, industry and profession, and every country. Occasionally we hear from someone who has an apparent mental or emotional problem, and now and then we get supposedly sincere questions from students who I think hope we will do their homework essays for them! For the most part, those who write to Ask The Workplace Doctors are genuinely concerned, frustrated or angry about their workplace issues and want to know our opinions and ideas.
Over time I have made some observations about our questions and responses:
1. No matter how clear we make the disclaimer that we are not a medical site, at least a few times a week we will receive a medical question. Sometimes those are the result of people having problems with understanding in a general sense. (”I have goldstones and the doctor says I need sugary. Are their herbs I can take so I dont have to do that?”) Sometimes people do not believe us. (”I know you say you can’t give medical advice, but I thought as doctors you might at least have some idea about this.”) Most of the time writers simply do not pay attention to the big red-lettered disclaimer right above the question section. (”Oops! Sorry!”)
Sometimes my heart goes out to someone who is writing about a medical situation about which he or she is frightened or when the writer lives in a country where medical care is not so readily available, or who lives here but does not have the money for medical care. In those cases I give them a list of resources and sometimes write a personal note of encouragement or advice. If you could see some of those messages you would be very grateful to be you, with your intelligence, capabilities and resources.
2. Many supervisors and managers observe problems at work but fail to do anything about them. Many of our questions from supervisors and managers start with, “I have an employee here who has been a problem for the last ten years!” Or, “This has been a problem for as long as I’ve worked here.” No matter what kind of workplace, supervisors and managers often tolerate poor performance and/or behavior far too long, until it is very, very difficult to change. As a way for me to urge them to accept that something must be done, I will often ask,
“If you were interviewing this employee today, and knew everything you know now about how he or she was going to work and behave, would you hire him or her anyway? If you would, you may only need to guide slightly, learn to accept the employee’s foibles, and prevent those traits from disrupting others. If you wouldn’t, you need to ensure that the employee gets to where you wanted him or her to be when you said, ‘You’re hired!’” That seems to really focus the supervisor’s attention on what needs to be done, and I get very good, committed responses back from the writers.
The premise of my training, and my responses to those who write to the site, is that most supervisors and managers want to do a good job. Sometimes they are not trained or supported in their work, but in those cases they need to take personal responsibility for gaining the knowledge and skills they need. However, I am convinced that some supervisors simply do not care enough to become involved. In those cases their managers should supervise them more effectively.
3. Many employees who would otherwise like their work feel trapped in miserable situations with coworkers or supervisors. I will often ask for follow-up information about problems, and employees will send me copies of emails and organizational memos, or they will describe a conversation or situation. I am fully aware that not all of those are accurate reflections. However, there are enough documented situations to convince me that supervisors and managers should monitor the environment and do something about bullies, jerks and nasty people–and should work to not be one of those themselves!
Supervisors and managers have a responsiblity for the work and the work environment. If only from a sense of fairness, each of us with that responsiblity should monitor the workplace and intervene to prevent employees from being rude, not doing the same quality and quantity of work as others, being disuptive because of some personal trait or habit, or engaging in psychological or physical tormenting.
On the other hand, employees should gain the knowledge, skills and confidence to deal with conflict on their own whenever possible. Many people who write to our site are looking for a rescuer so they do not have to take action themselves. (Does it seem that supervisors can play a large role in helping those employees gain the skills and take the personal action needed? I think so!)
4. Most of us–employees, supervisors and managers–create or add to our problems through our actions and reactions. Many of the people who write to the website, justify their own inappropriate actions or they fail to take action to solve problems, even when it is possible for them to do so. Some employees say they will be fired if they try to do anything–I think they are much more worried they will be disliked or feel awkward about it afterwards. Many supervisors go back and forth between being a nurturing parent or an angry parent. Or, they violate every best practice of supervision and wonder why they are having problems. Just as you have sometimes felt frustrated with a friend or family member who complains but does nothing, so do I feel frustrated sometimes when it seems the writer could easily make things better–then I think about how many times I have not known what to do about my own problems, but someone else could see the answer.
5. “What we have here is a failure to communicate” applies in almost every workplace problem. Almost every workplace question we receive involves the basic issue of failure or inability to communicate effectively–talking, listening and responding. I think there is another failure and inability: The lack of training, reminders, counseling or correction at all levels of the organization, to ensure that those who cannot communicate effectively learn how, and those who can communicate effectively do it, without exception.
Think of it this way: If someone cannot communicate effectively in the workplace, and with their own work team, how can we be confident they will communicate effectively when dealing with clients, customers and others who are essential for the success of our organizations?
6. It is easier to give sound–though seemingly obvious–advice to others than to find it for ourselves. I often think back to a work situation when I was an employee, supervisor, manager or executive, and wonder why the answer to the problems I had then did not seem nearly so obvious as they do now. As a humbling experience for myself I have sometimes written a problem or issue from years ago and looked at it again, from the perspective of a Workplace Doctor. Sometimes I feel confident that I did a good job of handling the situation, other times I cringe and wish I could re-do it.
One of the biggest values of having a few close friends who can also provide objective advice about work, is that it allows us to see and hear our concerns from the perspective of someone else. If we don’t overuse that resource, it can be very helpful. And, in the process of helping others, we gain new knowledge and skills for ourselves. The research I do to help me learn best practices to share with others, helps me as much as it does them.
I want to write a book one day, with the title I used for this post: The Workplace Doctors Are In. Thanks to Dr. Gorden and the website, I have an endless supply of material!
March 17th, 2008
Posted by
TLR |
Life and Work, Personal and Professional Development, Supervision and Management |
4 comments
Here is Antares, a red giant star that makes Arcturus look teeny-tiny. Our sun is miniscule compared to it, and the size of Earth in comparison is infinitesimal.
