Wayne Turmel started it all, with his article called Wearing Big Boy Clothes. In it, Wayne argues he behaves more professionally when he wears his “big boy clothes,” an interesting comment to say the least. Wayne is a cranky middle manager in the Midwest. Lisa Haneberg argues we shouldn’t care about a dress code. Lisa says […]

How do you you apply the principles of improvisation to management? Too often our management plans consist of mental gymnastics that keep us in our heads and out of touch with what is occurring at work and with our staff. Many managers are finding the benefit of learning about improvisation to improve their management approach and skills. See Patricia […]

Office Wisdom: I guess the atmosphere that I’ve tried to create here is that I’m a friend first and a boss second, and probably an entertainer third. ~ Michael Scott, Branch Manager - Dunder Mifflin In the last episode of The Office, Michael - the manager- ran over one of his employees, believed the office was […]

This summer my wife and I watched all the DVD episodes of the NBC’s Office, from the very first episode. We got hooked on the characters, satire and parody of office work. Many people I know preferred the British Office series - as Canadians we are divided between the old British Office and the American Office. Are […]

I watched a clip from a 47 year old professor giving his last lecture, as he is dying from pancreatic cancer. I thought to myself “What would I do if I only had 1 more team meeting to hold?” because I was leaving my company for another opportunity, preferably for an opportunity of my choosing, […]

Don’t get me wrong, I love fun at work I just resent when someone says we must have FUN at work. This is when I feel like one of Michael Scott’s (NBC television show The Office) employees who are coerced into engaging in FUNtivities. My Master’s thesis was on humor in counseling. Humor and playfulness are my top signature […]

Are you ready to grab GEMO and go with it? This September, I have accelerated my accomplishments on a lot of projects and new initatives because I found GEMO.   GEMO is an acronym for Good Enough, Move On. It helps avoid perfectionism, dithering, delays, and other productivity traps and snarls. Here is how you practice it. You work at something, you […]

To love or not to love, that is the question. Labor day was on Monday. Now it is back to work for the week. Are you just laboring along or is management a labor of love? How do you feel about the following equation (labor = love)? Is it a dream of new age management flakes […]

To all those in the US who are celebrating Labor Day, I wish you a very happy holiday! I hope you’re getting some rest as most companies are closed today (mine included). So what does Labor Day have to do with management? Did you know… Labor Day was created because the Central Labor Union wanted a day off […]

As a manager, you need to recharge your batteries. You get tired, just like your team. And when you do, you know that you are 1 of 1; that is there is likely nobody else in your organization who does exactly what you do. That means most likely you have to get everything cleaned up […]

How do you feel as you experience slack at work or in your personal life? Are you comfortable with slack or are you compelled to be doing something…anything? Currently Slacker Manager is in the transition time between Brendon Connelly writing this blog and two other bloggers picking up “the slack.”   During this period of slack, I encourage you to read the […]

“Recent research shows that 70% of white collar workers are unhappy with their jobs, ironically they are spending an increasing amount of time working.” ~Dan Miller, 48 Days to the Work You Love If you are not satisfied with your current employment situation, then I highly recommend this book. Miller has laid out some easy-to-follow steps that […]

Everybody had little foibles that they sometimes hide, sometimes revel in.  Mine happens to be pens.  I love collecting and using them.  Not only the fancy, high end ones but well design inexpensive ones hold just as much thrill.  I’ll often find myself switching pens in mid-document just because the one I’m using just isn’t […]

“I have observed that most people put too much emphasis on decision making and too little on decision managing. As a result, they lack focus, discipline, intentionality, and purpose” ~John C. Maxwell, The 360 Degree Leader Before you can begin to manage others you must become disciplined in managing yourself. “Leading by example” is an old piece […]

Here is a snippet from the New Scientist: If you want a robot to move more gracefully make it as lazy as possible. So says Oussama Khatib of Stanford University in California, who is looking ahead to a future in which humans interact more closely with robots, and where we will expect them to move more like […]