Immigrants “That dust was everywhere. It got in your eyes, up your nose so you couldn’t draw a breath. So you breathed through your mouth and the grit was always on your teeth and crunched with everything you ate. The quarry slowed and there were no jobs, and then – America, the land of golden […]
I chose to become an independent consultant twice in my lifetime consulting career. I must have liked it because I was independent in various forms for twenty-three of my thirty-seven years in the field. The first time my boss gave me the opportunity to go on contract for a year, work about half-time, control my […]
First Love My first girlfriend was named Coke, not what you’re thinking. We weren’t fifteen year-old white powder fiends. Her real name was Carolyn. The nickname came from her first attempts at saying her name, but it stuck and she introduced herself, “Hi my name is Carolyn, but I’m called Coke.” We hung out after […]
There are but Three “There are but Three,” spoke the Eldest, her bright eyes shining in her creased leather face. “Each is tossed and torn by Sister Wind.” We’d watched with envy as our brothers and sisters left for the fire-talks of the Clan. Now it was our turn to meet with the Eldest. The […]
At the Therapist “How has the week gone?” “I don’t know. . . . not going well. . . I’ve been quite anxious. . . can’t get ahead. . . seems to know and is taking the opportunity to be more of a . . .over and over.” “Are you ready to move on? What […]
Maynard and me Maynard G. Krebs, pictured above, was the sidekick character in The Many Loves of Doby Gillis, the 1959-63 CBS TV series. Dwayne Hickman starred in the title role, and Bob Denver, later of Gilligan’s Island fame, played Dobie’s eccentric friend, Maynard. The character was created for TV and wasn’t in the Max […]
An attractive archetype Americans are a scrappy lot. We’re “cussedly independent.” After all, the United States was founded by “embattled farmers” who broke the rules of war by wearing buckskins and hiding behind trees to shoot at soldiers marching in lines wearing bright red target-coats. So it isn’t surprising that we love the “pirate” and […]
“I know. I’ll become an independent consultant.” Consultants, corporate staff people, or executives came to this career epiphany before asking my advice. I gave them these five things to think about. #1 Why? The first question I asked was “Why?” because it helped me shape the advice. Consultants felt limited at their firm. Maybe they […]
“The Emperor is naked!” It is left to a naïve child to blurt out the truth, when so many would not because they were flattering the emperor or afraid of appearing stupid. In 1837, the Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen published the folk tale, The Emperor’s New Clothes. The story tells of a vain ruler […]
“I seek dead people” My wife is an amateur genealogist. She spends her retirement researching her extended, extended family. She is a detail person, a puzzler, a rigorous researcher, and a writer. She uses all her skills pursuing records of her long dead relatives. Giving gifts to support her passion is a challenge. I’ve considered […]
