Carson, the son of a friend of mine, is an MBA whose passion centers on business mergers and acquisitions. Two years ago, Carson accepted a position with an investment bank that offered him an embarrassingly low starting salary that was packaged with the promise that he’d be seeing some nice bonuses as the firm closed large deals.…
Imagine that you are walking alone across a vacant parking lot on a breezy day, when out of the corner of your eye you notice a crumpled-up bill blowing at your feet. You immediately step on it to keep it from escaping, and then reach down to discover that it’s a $100 bill. No one…
I’ve been writing and speaking about millennials since they first made their way into the workplace as teenagers in 1998. Since then, I’ve interacted with thousands of mature business owners and leaders who’ve confessed their struggles and frustrations in managing this enigmatic generation. Today, more than half of all millennials (born 1980-2000) are 25 and older, and the part-time teen workers of 1998 are…
Is it just me, or have you noticed an outbreak in the number of flaky people out there? I’m not talking about liars, cheaters, and thieves. Flakes aren’t bad people who intentionally do bad things. Flakes are the irresponsible ‘me first’ knuckleheads who are lacking in the simple social graces. To assure we’re on the same page, allow me to share…
The Seattle Seahawks throttled the Denver Broncos (my home team) in the Super Bowl last year. Yet these two teams were, arguably, the most aggressive in signing free agents to upgrade their teams during the off-season and both are odds-on favorites to repeat as the teams in next year’s big game. That’s because when it comes…
The unemployment/underemployment problem facing millennials predates the great recession. It goes back to the early programming they received from their parents when the economy was booming in the early 2000’s. And parents haven’t let up. “Follow your dreams.” “Find your passion.” “You’ve got to love what you do.” Dreams? Passion? Love? Sounds more like the…
Imagine walking into a room where you are invited to play a game where you could win $1000 or more. In front of you is a large bulletin board that has pinned to it the logos of twenty large well-known companies; brands most everyone is familiar with. Next to this is another large board pinned…
Last week on an upgraded flight between Denver and Orlando, I was given a warm cookie after the meal service. This is a nice touch United Airlines does and has done for first class passengers for years. But as I examined the little brown paper sack the cookie came in, I was amused by the…
Postal workers get a bad rap and are frequent fodder for comedians and late night talk show hosts. But aside from the renowned story of Fred in The Fred Factor, here’s another glowing example of a remarkable postal worker. “It’s just part of our work ethic,” Deborah Ford said when asked how she’s retiring from…
This isn’t just another one of the thousands of articles, blogs, and stories sharing personal feelings of betrayal in light of Lance Armstrong’s recent confession to Oprah. There’s already been so much public outrage that anything I add about him would be redundant. This is about something bigger and infinitely more important. I’m more concerned…