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.