Tag Archives: transition

Time to unplug?

Posted on January 17, 2013 | 1 comment

‘Why should he be any different,’ recounted my husband as he told me a story from a holiday party we attended.   He was indulging himself with some gooey treats at the buffet.  Two gentlemen who looked to be in their early 60s stood steps away from the table.  One sported a bow tie.    They were talking about a young friend who was searching.  A person trying to figure out who he was going to be AND make a living at the same time.  My husband’s ear engaged as these men agreed and chuckled, ‘that will pass.’ Continue reading →

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The Best Decision You Ever Made?

Posted on January 10, 2013 | 3 comments

‘I’m the best decision this organization ever made,’ said quarterback Tom Brady in an early conversation with Bob Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots.  Brady joined the team in 2000 as the 199th 6th round pick.   Team talk usually misses me.   I write this only after someone explained to me the meaning of a ‘sixth round’ pick.   199th? Continue reading →

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Your wish?

Posted on January 3, 2013 | 2 comments

“I want to work on policy for the federal government,” replied a bubbly twenty-something friend at a holiday-themed cocktail hour.  She and I were talking about her career moves.  Within the past thirty days she’d pivoted from wanting to attend law school to enrolling in a masters program for paralegals.   I have to admit this pronouncement rocked me.  Her spirited response came after I finally asked, “what is your dream?” Continue reading →

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Yuletide greetings…

Posted on December 20, 2012 | 1 comment

“I love yuletide,” chirped a friend as I explained a kooky Winter Solstice tradition in our household.  She threw me a little with her use of yuletide.   My favorite online dictionary defines it as, “the period of celebration of a pre-Christian festival associated with the (northern) winter solstice.” (Wiktionary)

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What are your 100 precincts?

Posted on November 15, 2012 | Leave a comment

Have you figured out the ten teams that matter?  I asked naively during a meeting earlier this week.  If the looks on the faces opposite to me were any indication, the answer was no.   My meeting comrades had been charged with a change management effort at their company.    They had lengthy color-coded spreadsheets.  Action plans and timelines.  They hoped to train everyone.  Win hearts and minds.  And accrue victory one step at a time…..   Continue reading →

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Live the life you’ve imagined…

Posted on November 8, 2012 | Leave a comment

For years I’ve ferried about a tattered 1998 Wall Street Journal page with a quotation attributed to Henry David Thoreau.  “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.  Live the life you’ve imagined.”  It’s a yellowed beacon interspersed with my chaotic fridge decor.  This week a conversation with a friend caused me to examine its meaning more completely…. Continue reading →

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The self we project….

Posted on October 25, 2012 | Leave a comment

‘Nice. Happy. Fun.’  So read my picture’s caption on my 3rd grader’s All About Me poster.  She is VIP in her class this week.  Amidst the photo cut outs of birthday parties, funny antics and family vacations there were silhouettes of each member of our family.  The words caught my eye as glue sticks and scrap paper swirled across the kitchen table Sunday evening in a mad dash for Monday readiness.  The words made me pause. Continue reading →

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Career and Life Blockers…

Posted on October 11, 2012 | 2 comments

Ever heard of blockers?   I picked up on the phrase during my tenure as head of HR and Administration at a large S&P 500 corporation.  A blocker in that context was a person who stood in the way of another’s progression.   For those outside the corporate world this may seem odd so here’s the scoop.   Every year the CEO, the head of HR (yours truly), and all business unit presidents would discuss the ‘talent’ (read: employees) who held the title director or higher.  In our world that numbered more than 400 people. Continue reading →

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Transition Interrupted….

Posted on October 4, 2012 | Leave a comment

“Take out your application and reread it,” urged an endearing professor to our section of first year students at the Harvard Business School.   We were less than a month into a two-year residence there.   To a one we were humbled by the scope and pace required of us.  At that moment we stood bleary-eyed and dejected.  Her recommendation was intended to rekindle some sense of personal self-worth amidst a sea of upheaval.  Did it work?  Not sure any of us headed for our file cabinets but the sentiment was an elixir in its own right. Continue reading →

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Transition Requirements: Deftness Inside and Out

Posted on September 27, 2012 | Leave a comment

Do you remember Lawrence Summers’ gaffe regarding women and the sciences?  He referenced a “different availability of aptitude,” in 2005 while addressing an audience as president of Harvard University.  It cost him his job.   Would it surprise you that he might have unknowingly referred to a pervasive cultural bias that most likely affects women in every field, not just the sciences?  Why stop at the fields…this bias is likely present in every transition over the arc of our lives. Continue reading →

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