Meh Ball

 

I love baseball. I love math. I enjoy stories by Michael Lewis. Money ball should have been a slam dunk and yet it was kind of a bore. I take consolation in the fact that it was the Twins who ended the infamous win streak. Only wish that would have happened in 30 minutes into the movie and it would have ended there.

Turning Over Your Social Media Passwords for a Job Interview?

There has been a lot talk about companies asking job interview candidates for their social media passwords. I don’t quite buy into this though. This seems extremely risky from a business point of view. The candidate could easily say you looked at my personal pictures and writing and didn’t hire me because of my orientation on this matter.

In fact prior to a job interview where this was a possibility I would almost encourage people to take a lot of pictures of them kissing someone of the same sex, join some obscure religious sects fan page and sue the company for discrimination if you didn’t get the job.

I can’t think of one reason why a company would want to absorb this type of risk, why their auditors or insurance coverage would want to allow it either.

But if it is a possibility for you I would turn the invasion of privacy into sure hire or pay day with a little reverse play.

Lovable Fool

It took me a long time to realize a few simple truths that I will share in case anyone else is finding they are in a similar spot. There is a big difference between liking someone and promoting someone. To put it in other words you can be the most liked person in the office and stay at the bottom of the org structure for as long as you let your attitude and behavior keep you there.

There was an article I read approximately 5 years ago as part of a class course study that probably changed my professional life more than anything else. Here is the article by Tiziana Casciaro and Miguel Sousa Lobo. I realized on an honest assessment from myself and the feedback of a trusted colleague that I was in the wrong box in this matrix and needed to make a few changes

If you are a lovable fool here are three things you can do to help yourself and your career.

1.) Get some training, a degree a certification something that will get some letters behind your name. It helps build competency and confidence in your abilities. It also helps others have some confidence in your abilities

2.) Shut your mouth a little more. Keep the fact that you are hung over to yourself. Weekend plans that involve binge drinking, blow-up dolls should be kept to yourself. While everybody tends to love the party guy, most people aren’t chomping at the bit to put them in P\L management positions. – Keep personal drama

3.) In this day and age of interconnectedness remember there is a difference between co-workers and friends. Kept them separate. Separate circles and sharing properties in social media apps. Even if you are friends with them in real life – still restrict them to the co-worker circles. The last thing you want is them to pull up a site in your office that has compromising pictures or access to different things that a person a cube over doesn’t – if they are a co-worker – restricted period.

You can be likable and reserved especially if you tend to have a foul mouth and a heavy hand on the vise. Just keep it separate.

It sounds simple, be professional, but sometimes the need to fit in or be liked tends to make us compromise our future enterprise prospects.

A lesson I am happy I learned when I did.

Meanwhile in the Background of my Brain

Wondering….

 

 

What is the difference between a drug and a vitamin?

 

What if he had been wearing a ski mask instead of a hood?

What other factors are going on in this neighborhood that they have armed block watch?

Would Trayvon have felt threatened if he saw someone in a hood approaching him?

For some reason those seem like important questions to me today. 

Reward Program

Dear Pet Co\Roundy’s etc why can’t you just give me a good deal when I take the time to come into your store?

You want to combine my demographic information with my purchasing habits to be able to better market to people?
This is the primary reason when ever I sign-up for a rewards program I fill out all the information as wrong as possible. I am a 90 year old woman on most of them or better yet I just go to stores that don’t require me to carry around little plastic cards on my key chain to get a good deal.

Global Warming is a Farce?

Now I see if you want to debate the impacts of global warming. I can see if you want to argue solutions to the problem or urgency of their implementation but to say that the over whelming amount of data and scientists who are studying the problem have no idea what they are talking about is dangerous and irresponsible.

The next time you hear someone say this it is time to ask a few questions.

1.) How do you think a green house works?

2.) Do you think that changing the thickness or material the greenhouse is constructed of will change the environment inside?

3.) Do you think we can accurately measure gas or air and the types of pollutants in the air?

Little experiment you can do for some extra convincing.



I think the main problem tends to be the grasping of size and relatively fragile nature of the problem. Climate change is small gradual and occurring over time. For example there is variation like this winter being a heat wave in Minnesota. Might not be due to global warming just a random occurrence. It is the overall trend that is concerning.

Yes weather patterns have changed in the past due to asteroids, volcanoes, polar shifts etc. They also had dramatic impacts on the earth. We can study these events just like we can study the impact we are having.

Rain on an Asphalt Roof

In a similar vein as yesterdays post on hot meals we had some of the first thunderstorms roll through Minneapolis of the season this past Monday night. It was very relaxing and almost tribal. I sat on my couch with all the lights out drinking a glass of wine and watching the lightening show. I was warm. I was dry. Something in that combination felt supremely powerful. There is something about living in Minnesota that I absolutely love. Although in modern time the need and skill to survive here is diminished there is something about the ability to shelter, provide, persevere and succeed in an adverse environment.



Or is it complete stupidity? I spilt on the topic every few days.

Hot Meal

Something warm in your tummy. I think there is something to the feeling of enjoyment of a hot meal. I mean when you think about it for 100,000’s of thousands of years our frail little bi-pedal species has been eking out a living eating plants and grubs or running from predators and trying to survive. Hot meals were hard to come by. You had to build a fire, be in a safe place to do so and have an abundance of resources and time to actually cook something. Most of that is still true today. Maybe something reaches across time every time I have that hot meal and lets me know everything is ok. I am in a safe place.

Improvement Outside In

It is amazing what a little home renovation can do. I have lived walking on 1970’s rolled linoleum for longer than I care to remember. Avoided spending the money to redo it under the guise if it isn’t broke why fix it. However after finally succumbing to pressure to update it I am super jacked about the result. After retiling and re-carpeting the floors I am amazed at how big of a difference it has had on my overall being.

It is amazing how much aesthetics of how something looks can have on your personal being. It looks less cluttered it is relaxing it cleaner, modern, rich. There is something about putting yourself in a rich mindset to attract further riches. I have come to fully accept that you are what you think about and in changing the appearance of my daily surroundings I can reinforce a different way of thinking that is continuing to have a compound impact on my life.

Creature of Habit

You never quite know how big of a creature of habit and routine you are until something fundamentally changes your habit or routine.