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Inc.com columnist Alison Green answers questions about workplace and management issues—everything from how to deal with a micromanaging boss to how to talk to someone on your team about body odor. A reader asks: I recently hired a new administrative employee. His job is to answer phones, greet guests, and complete various tasks I assign to him. His customer service skills are strong, but his attention to detail is very weak.
Recently, I lost a dear family member, and while I do not often share personal stories publicly, something about her life compels me to share this story. Her journey intertwines life and work in a way that brings perspective on both. Photo from my family’s hometown in Sovramonte, Italy. by Diane Steele My aunt passed away just shy of her 99th birthday.
Most things in the world are complicated, and identity more than most. Everyone’s sense of self and purpose is a combination of shifting internal and external ingredients, and it’s never permanent: Brain chemistry, physical environment, family structures, life experiences, material conditions, and many other things all mix and change as we move through different phases of life.
Over the weekend, I listened to two episodes of Andrew Keen’s podcast which feature conversations with two people from our own domain of work and workplaces. One was Julia Hobsbawm and the other Dror Poleg. It seemed that Julia had introduced Keen to Dror so a link between the two existed. Another link formed in my mind as I listened: the unspoken role of privilege underpinning both conversations. albeit in different ways.
Forgetfulness is costing you time, money, and a ton of missed opportunities. In the age of automation, it’s easy to underestimate the power of a well-trained human mind. But memory isn’t just a parlor trick, it's a strategic edge. Human memory is one of the most underrated business skills. Whether you’re managing people, leading sessions, or having high-stakes conversations, remembering names, details, and concepts can be transformative in building trust, absorbing knowledge, and driving perform
In reply to BookThief. I am not going to internet diagnose this person. I am a multiply neurodivergent doctor who cares for neurodivergent kids through young adults and am pretty connected to the larger community But often what looks like “no motivation” underneath is really “doesn’t have the skills.” Whether that means executive function skills (planning and carrying out the thing) or emotional skills (the major emotional hurdle of even considering college or a job
Check out eight of the sharpest, boldest business books shaping how we think, lead, and grow as professionals in 2025. After the Idea: What It Really Takes to Create and Scale a Startup By Julia Austin Entrepreneurship expert Julia Austin shares battle-tested strategies to help founders and startup joiners build their venture from the ground up. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Julia Austin, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon.
In reply to Nightengale. This. I cannot recommend Ross Greene’s _Lost at School_ highly enough for reframing “lack of motivation” as “lack of skills.” And as the author points out, you don’t even need a diagnosis or diagnosable condition to lack a necessary skill or skills. If the young man’s paralysis is being perceived as lack of motivation, that’s probably influencing the approach of the people who talk to him and try to help.
In reply to Nightengale. This. I cannot recommend Ross Greene’s _Lost at School_ highly enough for reframing “lack of motivation” as “lack of skills.” And as the author points out, you don’t even need a diagnosis or diagnosable condition to lack a necessary skill or skills. If the young man’s paralysis is being perceived as lack of motivation, that’s probably influencing the approach of the people who talk to him and try to help.
Shopping at a store that wasn’t my usual, I was taken with how gleaming and fresh all of the fish looked. Here’s what happened next: The first person to answer my question said he didn’t know, he didn’t work behind the counter.
In reply to MathNerd. I was just thinking about a story like this. I had a friend whose mother was a nurse and was fired after forgetting a patient on a bedside commode for two hours. She’d been there for many years and was angry and disappointed. It seemed a little odd at the time that they didn’t simply discipline her but over the next few months I noticed some concerning behavior, brought it up to my friend, but he didn’t think it was a big deal.
In reply to Elizabeth West. I think you’ll be better off if they keep you a couple days post-op. Some patients do ok being released the same day as surgery, but they’re the ones who are in excellent shape and who have excellent at-home support in place. For many of us, it’s more realistic to spend at least a day, possibly longer, in hospital after surgery.
In reply to AAAAADHD. Declutter first, then organize, is what worked for me. It was hard to find a olace for everything when there was no room for it. We often don’t put things away because there is a ‘cost’ to doing it. We will work to get a needed item out (stepladder to top shelf, search a drawer, reach under the bed) but if it’s trouble to put it away, we will sometimes leave it out.
Documents are the backbone of enterprise operations, but they are also a common source of inefficiency. From buried insights to manual handoffs, document-based workflows can quietly stall decision-making and drain resources. For large, complex organizations, legacy systems and siloed processes create friction that AI is uniquely positioned to resolve.
In reply to Apple White. Have her make it a quantifiable business problem. “Are we behind our goals?” or “Will we lose a contract?” or whatever you can ask that points out that not working outside of 9-5 will cost the company money. If she’s still hinting at extra hours or downloading something to your phone, play stupid. “Oh!
In reply to Tech dummy. Wifi is how it gets into the device, not what goes in, so it isn’t the wifi. I have a creepier explanation based on various online cautions from reputable sources: Your device is listening in on what he’s watching, or you talking about what he’s watching, and selling the data to some business that’s feeding it into the various algorithms to decide what to show you.
In reply to Touchofthe’Tism. If you’re in a position to negotiate, see if you can get more PTO… either vacation or sick or ‘personal’… an extra week of vacation time would be my goal but even a few days would be good. Good luck and congratulations!
In reply to WoodswomanWrites. I feel that way about some of the Friday thread things too, although I suppose I can’t discuss that here. Maybe post this question on that thing we do for money next Friday? I like reading travel advice for people going to a place I don’t expect I’ll go to. That isn’t exactly foreign to me though (ahahahaha, couldn’t resist); I’ve benefited from the travel advice on some of my past trips (thank you, people with good ideas about th
In the accounting world, staying ahead means embracing the tools that allow you to work smarter, not harder. Outdated processes and disconnected systems can hold your organization back, but the right technologies can help you streamline operations, boost productivity, and improve client delivery. Dive into the strategies and innovations transforming accounting practices.
In reply to karstmama. Look up for CNIO -> chief nursing informatics officer jobs. We have docs doing CMIOs, but CNIOs are soooo valuable. There are less of them but the field is growing.
In reply to chocolate muffins. County health department. Or if you have a local children’s hospital, they may have a kids Covid vaccine clinic day (ours does closer to the fall when the flu shot is out).
In reply to BookThief. I was in an analogous situation in that I am the mom to a formerly troubled young person, divorced from the father. I know my then boyfriend now husband had plenty of opinions on how to help my son (who was a minor at the time). But he was respectful of boundaries and held back at first and didn’t come swooping in with how I should address my son’s issues.
In reply to Dr. Gurathin. Revolutions is so good! And gives you a great sense for the ‘long 19th century.’ IMO it takes a couple of seasons to really hit a stride, so please don’t give up if the English civil war doesn’t grab you.
I was thinking about the intern who was fired for disabling his coworker’s caps lock key. I do computer-aided drafting, and it’s customary for virtually all text on a CAD drawing to be all caps, so I use the caps lock key. But then I’m often caught out when I forget that the caps lock key is on and I start typing a document, an email, whatever.
In reply to Help Needed. Find a restaurant similar to what yours will be and ask what they use… if it’s someone on the other side of town or might have a slightly different audience, then ask if they will spend time showing you what they do… kind of hinky if you ask a direct competitor, is all… Good luck!
In reply to WellRed. I had loved the Little House books as a kid; it probably helped that I had blonde hair and my younger sister had brown hair, although I definitely identified with Laura. When I came to read them to my own daughters I had totally forgotten Ma’s racism. Reading happily along, come to a section, pause pause pause… They were young enough that I ended up deciding on a combo of C (no, I’m not reading that out loud) and maybe a bit of D: I paraphrased, then explai
In reply to goddessoftransitory. This. My neighborhood does an annual potluck/BBQ thing. I’m the only one who brings something that carries a label specifying all ingredients so people know whether they can safely eat it, or want to. I wish that were more of a practice at potlucks. I’m always peering at things asking if there’s meat in there or they cooked with lard.
In reply to Peanut Hamper. I used to love this series too, but lost interest after the first few episodes. I didn’t like how Christine is now dating her boss (Korby). Ugh. For a series that tries to be woke with non-binary characters and diversity, It’s distasteful how they went to the trope of student falling for professor. It could have been so easily changed with Christine falling for an equal.
In reply to Cat and dog fosterer. Alternatively, what about a few pots of catnip under the window, so he can have a relaxed enjoyable experience while staring at your cat?
In reply to Rosengilmom. I tend to avoid sports metaphors but took it as a compliment when someone told me my work group “bats above your weight” I take it to mean the same thing as the boxing reference–that we’re performing in ways you’d expect from someone with some kind of advantage over us.
In reply to oleander. It folds. Fold it up when you’re not using it. It’s easier to leave it standing in a corner folded up than in plain sight… You can have a pillow and blanket in another bag, so everything is hidden from plain view.
In reply to Shiny Penny. LW#2 has a strong response to something which seems innocuous. That’s coming from somewhere. Perhaps her coworker is doing something shady which LW omitted from her letter. Perhaps it’s something she’d find difficult to articulate, but is still there. Or perhaps the coworker is perfectly innocent, and the strong response is coming from somewhere in LW’s past, or something.
In reply to Bike Walk Bake Books. Fluevog shoes or boots, I’m thinking particularly of one called Gracias. Very spendy but very long lived and super comfortable. You will see some pretty out there designs on their website but they have some sedate colours/styles too and a good return policy.
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