by James

With the increasing levels of terrorism, civil war, piracy and greedy bankers I was starting to become more and more bewildered with my fellow citizens on this planet of ours. Then on Sunday, I experienced something that made me stop and think that it’s not all doom and gloom and there are good people in the world.

By Will

By the time I was 5 I had a savings account (well..a jar with money). I was doing all my own clothes shopping by 13 onwards (to my detriment as now I’m self styled or “fugly”) and I started my first business by the time I was 14 - a premium lawn cutting service to all my neighbours. I’m an independent person and I always have been. So over the last few years even though I’ve been working in various institutions and not in my own business, I’ve ended up in positions where I manage myself and my time (admittedly not really done by design on my part but maybe subconsciously I’ve gone for those roles). Staying true to form, my current position with my employer involves me managing myself and my activities quite independently - mainly due to the fact that my boss is a bit of a globe hopper and hence an absentee manager.

By Daniel

I’m not going to follow Jerry Maguire and write a twenty-five page mission statement, get fired, and steal a goldfish. The Michael Clayton monologue may be a little overkill as well (I don’t feel like I’m drenched in afterbirth). But, I’m having this angry/depressive corporate epiphany. It’s not so much a “let’s start a revolution” kind of thing, but more of a “I’m going to get on a soapbox and stick it to the man!” kind of thing… In which, after I’m done, I’ll quietly step off and go back to work.

So what gives?

To a certain extent, it’s always socially acceptable to hate corporate America. I’m thinking this is more cyclical, depending on the economy, but it is now “cool” to rant and rave about how much big fat corporate sucks. So I’m rolling with it…

By Trina

I’m an emotional person, and I have accepted that. Perhaps I got it from my grandmother, who announces, “Here come the waterworks,” when she reads a mushy greeting card. Unfortunately, I’m not that adorable when I’m in emotional land. Whatever the cause of it, I can’t help but bring emotions into work sometimes, and I’m not alone on this. When I asked a few of my male friends if they have ever cried at work, I got an immediate NO for a response. Maybe some men are extremely good at not crying during work, but I think strong emotions do affect PEOPLE (men included) on a daily basis. Different people and the different genders just deal with emotions differently. The important part is that each of us handles these situations gracefully, as coworkers do judge you upon observing your reactions to intense emotions.

By James

Sun Tzu’s The Art of War was written during the 6th century BC. It is composed of 13 chapters, each of which is devoted to one aspect of warfare and has long been praised as the definitive work on military strategies and tactics of its time. This past weekend I decided to read through it and page after page it hit me that the guidance I was reading was definitely not reserved solely for the battlefield. Change the title to The Art of Boardroom Warfare and the content is still valid.

By Will

I never remember my dreams. I know I have them, and when I wake up, for the briefest of moments the memory of them is crystal clear in my head, but almost instantly, I forget them. To me, time/task management classes are exactly like that. While in the class, task management techniques are clear and make unarguable sense. I promise myself, once the class is over, that I will remember what I’ve learned. But just like my dreams, when the course ends, what I’ve just learned evaporates, leaving me to go back to being useless and ineffective at managing my daily tasks.

By Daniel

Managing relationships is an art. It starts early in pre-school while sharing our toys. We deal with it in high school with the whole popularity thing. Finally, in the corporate environment, multiple personalities lead to office politics, silos, and turf wars.

Learning how to build up your circle of influence is a powerful skill in the corporate arena. There are self-serving employees and horrible bosses within each rung of the corporate ladder. As you move up the chain, the political games become more complex with more stakeholders and egos. “All great captains,” said Bonaparte, “have performed vast achievements by conforming with the rules of the arts, - by adjusting efforts to obstacles”.

By  Trina

Cooking and grocery shopping for one is a challenge.  I find myself making the same boring chicken and throwing out veggies that have sat for too long (nothing smells worse).  Last December my life radically changed after a Christmas miracle of sorts.  I received the gift that never quits giving: a stockpot with steamer and strainer inserts (yes, I’m a foodie).  The dynamics of my single girl’s kitchen have completely changed.

Perhaps all those bitterly cold winters in Iowa got to me, because nothing pleases me more than a simmering pot of soup.  Soup geniuses like Seinfeld’s Soup Nazi and Rachael Ray have inspired me to slave for my soup.  The beauty of soup is that you can throw things into a pot, and it usually turns out pretty tasty.  I tend to use a lot of the same ingredients but change it a little each time.  Usually, I cook up a…

By James

As I was chatting to a senior colleague this past week, he asked me what I wanted to do next - I have been in my current role for approaching a year now. For the past 12 months I have been asked this kind of question on a regular basis and I still haven’t found a good answer to it. The main reason for this is because I really don’t know what I want to be doing in 2, 5 or 10 years time, and if I don’t know this then I can hardly decide what will help me get there.

Up until this conversation, I wasn’t at all worried about this. I just assume that I will take opportunities as they arise and see where they lead me. My colleague didn’t seem very impressed with this approach and laid bare a few (blatantly obvious with hindsight) facts of corporate…

By Will

Last year I had the privilege of working as part of Graduate development scheme within our company. We’ve been recruiting Millenials for the past two years, with varied success and whole lot of learning on behalf of the company and our millennial intake. While I loved every minute of it, I must admit that being in a room with a bunch of revved up Gen Y’ers is a bit scary (I’m a Gen Y…I really shouldn’t be scared) - the level of enthusiasm, ambition and energy is a heady mixture. I couldn’t help thinking to myself that Gen Y ambition is a bit like the running of the Bulls in Pamplona - a powerful force but with the potential for disaster.