Category Archives: Breaking Away

This post is a continuation of an earlier post which put forth the following concept:

Setting expectations correctly is far more important than the actual work that you do.

The actual setting of management expectations and the strategy you employ depends upon which of these situations you are now in:

Situation 1 – You and your manager are generally in good communication. He responds favorably to some of your suggestions.

Situation 2 – You are afraid of your manager. He manages by instilling fear in his subordinates. You find it extremely difficult to make suggestions to him. He gives orders and expects compliance, not questions. He deals in threats, both overt and covert.

Situation 3 – Your manager is afraid of you. This is difficult to believe because he will usually hide this fairly well. This is the manager who rarely gives you instructions in writing. He will not tell you if there are problems with your work until he has enough data to get you fired. He will show signs of nervousness when you raise questions and will avoid talking to you if possible. When you cannot get feedback on how you are doing, be very, very careful. Your manager may be terrified that you will show him up by inadvertently exposing his lack of ability to the company at large.

Continue reading →

Oddly enough, the only way you can break out of any trap you have gotten into is by discovering what is ruining your life. Fortunately, it is always something that you are still doing, or not doing. Otherwise, you would not be able to save yourself.

Let me give you some ideas to think about.

Continue reading →

This roof repair project of ours has benefited us in at least two ways. It’s been a learning experience and, at the same time, it has validated our past experience. It has served to remind us that we need to be open to new ideas, but we need to test them against what we’ve learned previously.

New problems may require new solutions, but certain basic actions are the best guarantee of success in any endeavor. You can accurately judge the worth of a person or organization, even yourself, by how well these three things are done:

1. Promising only what you intend to deliver
2. Keeping your word once given
3. Following through so as to meet expectations

Continue reading →

Whatever our uncertainties, we all hope for those moments when we exceed our most ambitious goals. Those are the moments our dreams become reality and our work becomes an inspiration for others to follow.

The world needs more artists. They are vital to any civilization, for without art a civilization is truly dead.

Continue reading →