It was difficult to say goodbye. And it was humbling. When I told them, some folks got a serious look on their face as if to imply, Oh what are we going to do? Some folks gasped. Others offered congratulations. They all were supportive and happy for me (at least as far as I could [...]
“You’re killing me man” he said as I stood in the doorway of his office. I had submitted my resignation the week before, but it was spring break, and he was out of town. I had dreaded this conversation. This was the profession I always wanted. These were people I had known and respected for [...]
Saturday, November 19, 2011
When he proposed we adjourn, a collective sigh went up. It was late, and we had been stuck in one meeting followed by another. We were happy to be done and ready to go home. I hung up the phone and walked out of the study. Even the dogs were glad. When I appeared in the [...]
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
We were trying to figure out what to say. What to put into the memo. What was important. And what was not. I was at the whiteboard jotting down ideas, drawing pictures of how our argument should look. She was typing into a laptop and poking holes in my scribbles and sketches, adding points that [...]
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
He has white hair and a long, white beard. If it were Christmas time, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him in a big, red suit. He talks with a friendly drawl: a tone and way of speaking that makes him easy to listen to. Listening to him, you want to be his friend. And he [...]
He has a way of talking. He goes on and on and on. We all know this. It’s just the way he is, but still it sometimes catches us off guard, and we get trapped. When we’re stuck in a room and he gets started, there’s no way to turn it off. No way to interject. [...]
Years ago I worked on a team with a guy who lived somewhere in North Texas. The company was a big supporter of telecommuting, and he worked from home. Periodically he would come down to see us face-to-face, but most of the time he dialed in remotely. In the spring you could hear the Mockingbirds in his [...]
It’s 5:55 pm, New Year’s Day, just before closing time. Lane 1 Janie’s face periodically twitches as she scans the merchandise. She isn’t moving particularly fast, and then the phone next to her register rings. She picks up the receiver while she totals up the bill. “Yes ma’am. We close at 6:00,” she says and [...]
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
I got an email from a colleague last night. It came after a week on the road and a really dismal day of decompression when I got back. The dismal days have been really deep, lately. I had emailed him to ask about some work we were doing and whether I had overreached in a [...]
