When I opened my e-mail inbox this morning, the usual assortment of messages that arrive overnight were awaiting my review and action. This morning, however, the new messages were punctuated with exactly sixteen e-mails marked as HIGH PRIORITY – with that annoying red exclamation point – and all of the so-called urgent e-mails were from the same person. What am I to believe other than a) the offending e-mailer had sixteen emergencies pop up simultaneously; b) she believes that…

There’s nothing quite like a personal tragedy to nudge a person into a state of reflection. My father passed away on May 30th after a massive heart attack. At age 67 he appeared as fit as anyone I know at any age. He swam twice per day, once in the early morning and again in the late afternoon, and managed his diet effectively so he was trim and athletic. With no history of heart trouble there was no reason to suspect that he had total or near total blockage of all major…

The five-year-olds on the baseball field deserve better. At least that’s what I told myself as I walked off the field last night. The game ended in a tie, of course, as all games at this age do given we don’t count outs and runs, but my feeling of failure last night as a head coach had nothing to do with the game result. Looking back on the game the kids had fun, we avoided any significant injuries, the players generally understood where to be and what to do, and the flow of…

A recent internet dialogue attracted my attention as a job candidate wondered aloud why he wasn’t being invited for interviews despite being a “perfect match” for the jobs he is applying to. The original post and subsequent comments led me to think back to a blog post I published in 2007 on this very topic. It appears below without edits or amendments.

[Originally published on March 1, 2007 at http:blueblanketblog.com where it was read by…

There are two small businesses that I frequent near my Minneapolis suburban home. The first I do so out of loyalty – they rock. The second I visit because my family wants to – despite my ongoing objections. Let’s quickly examine the difference between the two customer experiences and see what they can teach us.

Von Hanson’s Meat Market - http://www.vonhansons.com/ - feels like an old-fashioned butcher shop. The product is excellent and I…

This morning I watched an older woman with a walker make her way down the sidewalk. Her movements were very deliberate and it was clear that her limbs would no longer cooperate to move her with any urgency or speed. In fact she shuffled more than she walked – it was the best she could muster.

What I found fascinating though was the effortless manner in which she used the walker. With each step forward on her right foot…

On opening day, Minnesota Twins center-fielder Denard Span struck out three times in five at bats (in an 0-5 effort). If that is the only time you ever see him play, you might draw the conclusion that “Span can’t hit the curve ball” or “Span can’t hit against right-handed pitching”. Based solely on the first game of the 2010 season, you might write him off as a terrible hitter with no future in the big leagues. Only if you either a) continue to watch him over the course of the…

Not so long ago I had a conversation with an HR colleague that was looking for a new opportunity. We were talking about resume strategy and I asked her the following question:

What is your goal? Do you want to look like everyone else in the candidate pool and hope you stand out based on your skills? Or can you risk being uniquely you in the way you present yourself? That question completely derailed our resume writing…