The workplace is its own world of politics, personalities, and unwritten rules, and I spent three decades learning them the hard way. These articles cover office life: managing and being managed, surviving reorganizations, and keeping your integrity when the org chart shifts.
Decision MakingSome management habits never get anybody fired, and they still burn through good people. A boss who needs 100 percent of the information, a review that dredges up a mistake fixed nine months ago, and a meeting built to pat…
Book ReviewsScott Adams built the Dilbert Principle from thousands of emails he received in the early nineties from people describing their own workplaces, which is why the satire still lands three decades later. The book argues that companies don't just promote…
Book ReviewsSona Movsesian's book about thirteen years as Conan O'Brien's assistant is a comedy bit stretched to full length, but it's smarter than it sounds. Under the jokes about napping at work and watching television on the clock sits a real…
Business BooksThere was a time when the hardest ethical question in an office was whether you could reheat fish in the microwave. The principles did not change. The situations got strange.
FictionFour interns compete for one job at a Manhattan law firm, and Vivienne Holloway carries a complication none of them can see. A contemporary novel about wanting.
For Executives & ProfessionalsEthics at work is not the big dilemma. It is the small voice you can overrule without anybody ever finding out, which is exactly why it matters.
Creative WritingPoetry at Work Day is the second Tuesday in January. An honest take from a writer who doesn't like poetry, and what the form still teaches everyday writing.
CareersHe was not going anywhere and neither was I. Learning to work under somebody like that without absorbing their behavior is a skill, and I learned it because I had to.
Business BooksIn 1981 the difficulty was delegating to a person you could see. The managers who succeed now are not the ones with the best org charts.
CareersTwenty years on the hiring side of the table. I know what hiring managers are thinking because I was one, and the first thirty seconds decides more than anybody admits.
Grief and LossA tribute to John Shields, CEO of Trader Joe's from 1988 to 2001. He gave his people real freedom, backed their judgment, and was one of the greats.
Enterprise ITRemembering Rufus Caldwell, the first employee I hired at Trader Joe's. A thorough, well-liked IT pro with a laugh that filled the room. Rest in peace, friend.
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