How do middle class people of the developed world keep the edge, work ethic, and values their immigrant ancestors had? How do we develop mental toughness?
This month my company featured me on our portal in a blog-style interview. I thought I’d share since I haven’t posted much about work lately. Here you go: Get to Know John Demma We […]
This barber, he had to be seventy, was telling me once while trimming me up how he just had a whole bunch of cancer surgically removed about a week earlier. Tough old dog, I […]
That’s a picture of a cute little clownfish, we’ll call him Remo, swimming among sea anemone. Most fish would not be feeling too good right now, because those cool looking tentacles of […]
Manager is a just a made up word. Supposedly a manager is a person who controls a portion of a business, but you and I know this is silly, and not a […]
The greatest trick Waste ever pulled was convincing the Organization it didn’t exist. Waste does not look like an enemy, it appears as a friend-in-need. Waste is the extra team member that […]
Warren Buffett says he was born lucky. Being born in America, in the 1930s, without having to overcome barriers of race or gender, combined with the power of compound interest, allowed Buffett […]
The other day I read this Wall Street Journal article called “Smarter Ways to Discipline Children.” The article advocates the parent management strategy outlined by Dr. Alan E. Kazdin in his famous […]
Kids are generally thought of as little career killers for their parents. I can understand why. Kids take up a lot of a parent’s time with their need for attention and supervision, […]
I have a tendency to judge others against a perfect version of themselves. I assume people are capable of perfection, and I expect to find everyone virtuously sprinting towards perfection. Expecting perfection […]
The other day a new guy asked me, “Can you give me some tips?” I think he wanted me to give him one of those top ten lists, you know, the ten […]
Having a good sense of humor is important for a manager. It shows the team you’re a real person, and not just an order shouting robot. I think some managers are confused […]
I read this Newsweek article called “Is the Internet Making Us Crazy” last week. It’s about how people are becoming more addicted to the web, digital devices, and screens in general. I am […]
Why do we experience time in one direction? In other words, why do we remember the past, and know nothing about the future? And why is it a complete certainty that my company and your company will some day go out of business?
I read this article last week, another in a long list that talks about declining employee tenure. The article reminded me of dozens of articles I’ve read that peg the millennial generation […]