Dear work from home __________, your dead…
I swear there are some insecure journalist out there that haven’t seen the light of the office parking lot in years. They’re the Negative Nancy’s that jump on Marissa Mayer for every decision or acquisition she’s made, which all started with her decision to end working from home.
She was trying to turn around a losing culture and 70% increase in stock price confirms her conviction. As 
Jack Welch mentioned on Squawk Box. It’s the right short-term decision at the time. I’m not a journalist so I don’t know how it works, is it like golf or tennis?
I can relate to making it to the office on someone else’s terms. Just look at my Tuesday Night Tweets. With the early sunrise and my open window, I actually don’t need my iPhone charged so I can wake up with it’s alarm. The sun shines right in my face. I slip in and out of consciousnesses as I plan my day. Fall back to sleep.
I was going to be 15-minutes late for the meeting, should I skip it?
I might be more of Jagr as far as the team is concerned. I’m old, I don’t need a lot of support or direction, I’ll call when there’s something I can’t handle. I’ve been around. I make my managers’ work life easier.
I decide to show up Late! (if i do this regularly-without interacting with the team, [i'm a pre-madonna] and make my managers’ look bad).
We have these stupid safety quizzes that we to complete, it’s early “pre-coffee” meeting..I may or may not have mention that this shit could be done online.
Guess what, we’re going to be able to do our safety quizzes online from home. So does that mean we don’t need these meeting?
I really hope not. There are so many ad-hoc discussions that not only builds company culture but also creates the moments of serendipitous innovation.
Being an Old Bird, my idea might be efficient but not work our Young Birds routine. As we squawk back and forth, we decide that we just need 3-days instead of 2-days of clients loaded into our handhelds and I need to pick up my weekly printed hard copy of the schedule. Since we not doing a safety test during our meeting, I have time to ask for it to be printed before my first client. For the rest of the team they just need the third day and can do the changes remotely.
I got the world famous, “Thanks Mike, that’s a good idea”…. I can either pick up the hard copy of my schedule for the office and cal in the changes, or I can learn how to schedule everything in my handheld like the rest of the younger team, maybe ask them to teach me?
We’ll see…maybe I’ll give up why I only need 6-chemical in my truck not 24!
This kind innovation doesn’t happen from working from home everyday, all day in my industry.
Imagine that Yahoo becomes the epicenter for journalistic Millennial’s because Marissa Mayer overheard two low salary pinions taking about tumblr by the water-cooler.
That doesn’t happen with your personal one-on-one skype account, with a google+ hangout or currently during a twitter chat yes it does….
Some Day.
I’ll take you to court if you don’t Pay Me Now!
Have you ever just seen an answer so clearly and known it’s the right decision, then later on doubt yourself? It happens to me every time that there’s a problem that requires a lot of effort or thought.
Currently, I still owe my ex-wife more money from our divorce settlement schedule. I have it, but I don’t have it. If you look at my net worth, I have it. If you look at my current obligations, my available conventional credit, I don’t.
We actually have a good parenting relationship with our daughter, but at the same time, there’s bills to pay and this about negotiating what’s best for each one of us.
If you’ve ever been in a negotiation, one of the tricks is not to lose you cool or say something completely hurtful and severing. The
longer negotiations go on – sooner or later – someone will lose their cool.
For us, if we get to that line without taking a step back, it would destroy our parenting relationship and our daughter’s “happy. love. fun.” bubble.
We cross the line and then stop negotiations, to digest our current situations.
The worst thing you can do is take your issues to a judge and the judge decide you’re just being stubborn, especially if the judge is having a bad day. If you can come up with a few viable possibilities and just can’t agree but are close, she’ll pick one that seems right. It’s a crap shoot, for: win-lose, win-win, lose-lose.
For us, we could walk out of the courtroom lose-lose. If she tells the judge, “I want my money now!” and I respond, “I paid enough and am still paying!” That’s when the judge -after 45 “annoying” minutes for her, which seems like 5-minutes for you – will decide on the easiest option to keep you out of her courtroom!
We’ve actually gone back and forth, luckily for us we have our daughter’s happiness to protect, So after stepping over that line of having a blowout, we quickly take a break.
Driving around thinking about our talk – since we’re close on our current settlement, I could hear John J’s voice ask me (what do you really want?)
I text her “I need your specific number’s to see if how I can make my number’s work. Bam! Done Deal!”
If you have any iota of whom George Steinbrenner was - other that his charity – you would know
he would agree to a deal then at the day of the signing change the terms. It’s works but not if you need to continue that business relationship without any leverage. George always had the leverage.
My self-doubt after this negotiation period had me doubting my clear thought of a win-win resolution. For me, I was just tired after this tough problem-solving session and needed some rest, not someone’s negative advice.
Do you keep going or take a nap before you take on your negative Nancy’s advice?
Finding a friend, someone who won’t stab you in the back…a true friend
Have you ever missed out on a opportunity because you were too busy? Maybe it was a chance to ask someone out, talk an extra ten minutes, or meet someone IRL (in real life).
Maybe it was your kid’s first real hit at T-ball practice or maybe it was in a game.
I actually schedule Wednesday Nights and Thursday Mornings for my daughter – it’s also a court appointed visitation schedule with my daughter. It’s become a habit. (wish I had more time, but there’s bills to pay)
My office and me are actually getting settled in on this scheduled. Then… I throw in T-Ball practice on Thursday Night. They all know
on Thursday I can’t get to my first client until 10am, Then I throw in that my last client of the day must be close enough for me to be at my daughter’s practice by 6:30pm. (I’m always willing to deal with an irate client)
Being important to me, I actually redo the computer-generated schedule, the month before to free up time. (wish I had more time, but there’s bills to pay). Knowing my quirks, that gives my office team time to update my schedule as our work-flow changes throughout the month and daily.
Somebody had the idea that since it’s not my court appointed Saturday, to switch my light Thursday Schedule (that i originally planned) with the call center planned Saturday and then not used the auto-dialing since it’s busy-work and I’m ahead of our monthly schedule.
How’s our NPS?
(Stop and Breathe…Schedule time with your child…)
I sometimes forget that the Universe is in control and my job in life is help someone else and to be of some use.
When I’m of being of some use, it gets the endorphin’s going, I’m high. I’m in control of me.
That’s when I forget, that I’m just a student and to slow things down. aka..there’s men who are more experienced and smarter than me.
I scheduled that time with a man last month for this month. My team look at our previous times and realized each visit is about 45-minutes with him. (Predictive Scheduling)
I skip the computer scheduled program appointment…
He calls at 3:30pm and say’s I must show up by 4:30pm, I show up at 4:06. Having met him before I know what he expects! Stressed that I have to make a last appointment after his and still have to make an appearance at my daughter’s T-Ball practice (for me, more than her) I rush but at the same time talk and communicate with him. Show him that I’m not screwing him over, although I work quick ( I had to put together a few termite capsules by hand without him telling me to {what I do} he mentioned that small piece in the capsule is making it hard for you to snap it closed)
I make my last appointment by 5pm…wait unit 5:15 (no show) leave a card get called at 5:20…turn around another client happy…
Did I mention; I made an appearance at my daughter’s T-ball practice by 6:30 and showed everyone that I can’t hit by 7:15pm, but still made it home for the Bruins Game.
Thank you my Russian Friend to explain how to trust the Universe and Time.
Are you a mom, dad, or a parent? (hey mama)
Compared to my mom, parenting seems like a cakewalk for me. When my deaf brother wanted to sign-up for Little League, my mother had to fight tooth and nail, because some stupid prick didn’t want my brother on his team. He ended up on the Hide-a-Way team (which was own/sponsored by his father’s restaurant), Once all the Bullshit was over about having to coach a deaf kid (the guy was just fucking dumb and probably still is) my brother could hit home runs at will during his first year in little league.
At a birthday party, I actually had the T-Ball coach approach me and my daughter about sign-ups. My daughter is one of two-girls in her class of ten boys. She’s already in dance and mentioned playing soccer. By the end of the party, she wanted to join.
Later that week, my Ex-wife txt’s me, Maddy’s joining T-Ball.
If I focus on how, I missed the Little League All-Star Team because my father wasn’t the coach of my team, although I was the best player on the team (heard it out of a coaches mouth), or didn’t make the junior high team because my hand-eye coordination was off, (years later I found out I had astigmatism). If I focus on me, I would have kept her out of T-Ball or the opposite, I would put the extra burden on her by coaching, giving her glasses and expecting her to be the next All-Star.
The coach actually explained that as she get older, she’ll move to softball. The team she’s on are the kids she interact with daily. The boys are a little more physically mature, but she has no clue. None of them do. If just fun for them. My daughter might be only kid to have to hit off the T. She’s actually the only one I’m paying attention too. In the field, she’s telling a coach how much fun this is more than paying attention to the ball, the pitcher or the batter. On the bench waiting to bat, her and her friend Charlotte are talking about having a play-date on the playground after the game.
They’re just having fun and so am I just being a Dad who showed up to watch and make an appearance.
Back out in the field and back in, they adjust the batting order so Maddy can bat one more time before we rush off to dance class. A great gesture from the coach. The fact is Maddy just likes being there and the socializing more than anything. As she says “we are having so much fun”. We skip her last at bat and head of to dance class.
It’s truly the best, the relationship that I have with my ex-wife and her Beau; as Maddy gives kiss to parents, grandparents and her little sis. She started to pout. Was it a Daddy, Ex-wife, step dad or grandparent issue? No with our communication and teamwork, we realize she planned to play on the playground with Charlotte after the game. We agree that we can do this on Wednesday and bring her over to Charlotte and tell her we’ll try to do this on Wednesday…
She does her super-girl change from her baseball clothes to ballet clothes, complete dance, then we head home. Her cousin Donna is at a friends off we go to Pump-N-Jump so she can socialize and make friends. Her focus and happy place right now.
Something that she’s really confident at…making friends.
Imagine if I started the day criticizing how she can’t hit, or that her mother is more concerned about appeasing her newborn than 
watching the game, or that her step-dad isn’t her father. How would that shift the Paradigm?
Would she have a play-date on Wednesday with Charlotte, would she want to leave early enough to make dance class, to make new friends at Pump-N-Jump? Be excited that we’re all going to her recital?
How would that change her experience and her life?
As a parent how can you control or change the Paradigm to benefit your child?
Could it just start by Googling the meaning of Paradigm?
I love my team, get in line or your fired.
It’s funny, I complain about our 7am weekly meeting, then we have finally have a monthly branch meeting at 4:30 every 2nd Thursday to fit my schedule and I’m grumpy as hell. It was because my daughter kept me up half the night, tossing and turning with a slight snore, being the Klingon that she is – I have to be there for her, to bond with her and let her fall back to sleep. It’s my one-on-one time with her on Wednesday night. We fell asleep around…I fell asleep after the final Bruins goal. Then woke up and watch a documentary about hydro-power and the Hoover Dam and the how the slightest changes will fix their water level problem.
Long story short, I woke up cranky. Until Maddy became a snorer, I never doubted that she was my daughter. She has my families hair. No worries.
Grumpy, Cait shows up with a bag of Summer clothes for me to keep, and I kiss Maddy and shove her into Cait’s arms. (who is pleasant and refreshed after a good night’s sleep) I’m just a half cup of coffee into my morning.
I actually forget that I planned this with my team (my supervisors and manager), I kept my Thursday Schedule light, so I could fit in a 
branch meeting and T-ball practice while being grumpy for the first half of the day.
The sky opened up and down-poured:
T-ball practice cancelled. I could relax during my branch meeting.
It. Was. The. Best. Branch. Meeting. I. Ever. Had.
Even after horrible winter weather, our numbers were slightly over budget and we really want to focus on our sales as a team! (thanks to branch manager who can decipher numbers and splits)
We actually have a great new sales product, we can clean your gutters of leaves and prevent them getting clog for the next 25-years (Whatever, if we took your money, we’ll fix the problem for free). As a team we’re excited that we have a new product that actually works! Got a tree growing in your gutter? We can fix it for around $600.
That’s the good news.
Some more Good news, I love my Sales Guy. He does sales right. We call him an “inspector”, bottom line he’s going to point out the problems that we can fix, he’s not going to scam you, but he’s going to bring to your attention, services that- you could do if you had the time – we provide.
The bad news….
To satisfy our metrics and our labor numbers, instead of calling my trusted sales professional. (who’s killing it in sales) My superiors created a contest.
The top tech with sales or sales leads gets a 32-42” TV… the team gets to dine out for free.
Here’s the problem:
Our top sales tech are on the same team, My supervisor,Bob, already won the contest.
I’m on my supervisor Laurel’s team, She has a fighting chance with a couple large sales.
Here’s the problem, In order for me to compete in this contest…and help Laurel beat Bob (both my supervisors) I have to take ⅓ of the our branches top sales person’s commission.
I currently give that ⅓ to him for free, with a quick, sometimes long winded phone-call.
I have more TV’s than I need and to meet for a team dinner is currently an inconvenience…. We still need our branch meetings.
Ummm…..We made budget and then some and I’m giving money and sales away…
I love laurel to death, but I can’t screw my honest sales guy out of 1/3 of his commission.
How about a revenue contest that includes, my top sales guy, laurel’s client retention ability and my same day service. That’s Win-Win.
Why would you have a contest that wants Laurel to either give up or stab Bob in the back since he has the two tech (60% of tech sales) on his contest team. Which screws our Branch manager’s Sales team. (1/3 of their commission)
I’m tired and had a long day, either get in line or your fired, too… Spainhour, Brackett…What was Mike’s last name that beat Jim out of that Regional Job that we eliminated?
I can afford to live on Martha’s Vineyard with a base route of $26K, I can actually do 30K if you let me do my own scheduling. Let’s do the greatest good…
It’s doesn’t matter if your 130 or 230, it’s jealously that will make me leave.
As we get older, I think we spot jealously a lot quicker. Whether or not we can act quick enough to defuse the situation that’s another matter. Jealousy is actually my biggest turn-off. As the man cave saying goes, “big or small, loud or quiet…any port in the storm.”
Sure I get jealous, but I’m approaching 40 – I’ve dealt with it enough to know if it’s my insecurity, my partner’s insecurity or if she’s just trying to push my buttons. (that’s when I walk away)
I probably have another 40-50 years in me, still life’s too short to deal with anyone’s who has a goal of pushing your buttons in a negative way.
We all have that miserable friend, parent, or sibling that wants to tell you how to handle a relationship or a simple date. (Make them do all the work, make them call you, make him ask you out, make him pay for the date, only losers date guys who do dutch….) all that advice is usually from a miserable person – if there not miserable, take notes!
I’m actually in a good place in my life – sure I have my bad days, but all in all, it’s not so bad – While my dream was to live on Martha’s Vineyard doing the job I love (grilling supper and writing in the evening with a cool summer breeze flowing through the window), I got a one-bedroom apartment in my home town (grilling supper and writing in the evening with a cool summer breeze flowing through the window). Life’s not so bad. The lack of drama makes it’s even better.
Let’s face it. Weight, money, looks, sex, no sex, flirtation won’t destroy a relationship, Jealousy on the other hand can destroy a relationship in a second if there’s no trust. Whether it’s a friend, a sibling, boyfriend or girlfriend, jealousy can ruin your life.
Look jealousy can be a good thing – a wake up call. If a buddy points out the highlights in your girlfriends hair and she becomes flirtatious. She’s probably just making a point that she wished you would speak up when she gets her hair highlighted again for the 1000th time but this time it makes her hair pop! or not.
If she’s deleting her private messages with him. Kick both of them curb.
If she’s not willing to sign a prenuptial agreement, kick her to the curb. If she can’t document her fears about committing to marry you, then it’s not worth it. (i learned the hard way)
It’s a lot cheaper to discuss separation when you’re in love with a mediation lawyer than when you hate each-other after years of marriage with divorce lawyers.
With a prenup, Jealously gets discussed and kept-in-check. Instead of giving the lawyers a big fat check. (Also she gets to learn about your dream of hitting that (her) as a fat chit or a skinny chick. (Variety is the spice of life)
If she explains what would make her happy and you can do it together, she’s a keeper. If she goes out of her way to make you jealous, then dump her.
That’s why I leave…and pick up my daughter after work, watch her softball practice, bring her home, make supper, clean the house, do my own laundry, all during my free-time.
After a long day, I don’t need any manufactured drama. Just a the real drama of the day and how worked sucked, doing the dishes sucked or how proud you are of yourself, your kid, parents or siblings. Jealousy without trust (not your voice) can destroy this happy moment as we enjoy the spring breeze through an open window at the end of a long day.
Guys! get out of your head compliment her on something that’s different…maybe how she’s even hotter with just foundation and lip gloss. (that compliment pays dividends when you want Sunday brunch and/or movie date night sex)
Being honest with trust kills Jealousy.
Cinco de…My daughter can’t decide on college!
One of my favorite holiday’s is Cinco de Mayo. Originally is was a just an excuse to get together with my friends and get drunk. Over the years, it’s just became an excuse to get together with my inner circle of friends and catch-up. Drunk, Drinking or Not.
These days, it actually ends a lot early than in the past. We have kids, we’re old, we all have been up since 6am. If we time it right, we might actually get some…unless you’re going home to a teenager. (Enjoy your kids 8pm bedtime while you can.)
For me – it was slim pickings, actually no pickings – I was the only still single-dad with no single anything to pick up…so I’m home writing. (honestly, no complaints and no drama)
Once everything settled down, the topic of the evening was college admissions. We’re all middle-class working parents…
One of my inner circle friends talks about how they’re at the beginning of the college process with their oldest child and visiting each and every college to narrow down her list.
We all chime in: What’s her major? Why didn’t she like the best college for her major? How long is her degree? Do she understand the cost? Does she understand that her college needs to have a networking influence?
As parents, we continue the discussion: I’m still paying off my student loans (it’s worse than a credit card debt), What about financial aid? (you can get colleges to compete against each other with their financial aid packages), For her major, she needs to stay close to home. (she’d be an idiot to go elsewhere).
How to you tell your know-it-all-eighteen-year-old, that if you’re serious about your major you should stick close to home, study and listen to the World’s Best Doctors in Boston.
Especially after we were so poor that early admission wasn’t even a pipe dream for us.
How do we direct her to the right college decision, How do you tell her she’s not one-step below a doctor, but two-steps below, or that she actually smart enough to be the doctor! After all we’re just dumb middle-class parents to her and she’s eighteen.
How did you or plan to navigate the college admission process? Did you start in child’s junior year? Or did you wait until their Senior Year? Maybe it started with daycare?
Maybe we just turn her over to the universe and follow close behind?
