My wife and I had just finished getting some groceries when we were in our car stopped at a light waiting to exit the parking lot. It was winter in Idaho, and it was snowing. I was watching the traffic and noticed a car that was coming towards us with the blinker on. As it […]

Early in my career, I had four consecutive bosses comment, “I need another Michael.” I took that as a real compliment and very much appreciated it; however, my one complaint—especially with the first boss to say it—was regarding the timing. In that particular case, I was a research assistant to a professor in my second […]

Feedback Anxiety Have you ever learned something at work that turned out to be helpful in your personal life too? My wife, Sally, is taking a course toward a professional certification. Once a month the class has an observation session. In these sessions they each receive feedback from their instructor and their fellow students. These […]

My parents immigrated to the US in 1988 to fulfill their dreams of owning a home with a backyard in a neighborhood where their children could ride their bikes freely. It was challenging. They came here with nothing; my mother cleaned airplanes, while my father was a bus driver. With no college degrees of their […]

Growing up I lived in the same house until I left for college. I remember my dad catching the bus down the street, and taking it to the station for the train into San Francisco. When I entered college, I thought I would be in the same job for a long time after I graduated. […]

Act on Feedback We have discussed how to explore and share feedback. Now it is time to act on the feedback. In Part 2 of this article, we discussed sharing your feedback with others. The act of sharing is the first step in acting on the results; however, it is not enough to make a […]

Exploring Leads to Sharing In Part 1 of this article, which focused on exploring feedback, we provided some tips about how to get comfortable with the feedback and not be too defensive. As you explore and learn about your feedback, it will naturally lead you toward sharing the results with others. Whom should you share your […]

My mom recently told me something that my siblings and I did during a very difficult time in her life that apparently left more of an impression on her than it did me. She was in her room, and the five of us kids walked in together, lined up from the oldest, who was about […]

Processes All my life, I have been interested in processes. At home, I have figured out the “best” way to load the dishwasher to fit the most dishes and get them the cleanest. (My wife isn’t convinced that my way is “best”, but she is happy as long as I’m doing the dishes.) At work […]