Category Archives: Authenticity

Driving etiquette meets business actions

On the way to work this morning, I actually had to use my horn.  Not a common occurrence for me.  One minute, I’m riding the middle lane, keeping a respectable distance from the car in front of me (I have a thing about that).  Next thing I know, a woman in a Lexus came merging over into my lane (she did signal) but she was moving into the lane right where my car was located.  She almost sideswiped me.  I had to lay on the brakes (good thing no one was tailgating me) so I also felt compelled to lay on the horn.  She jerked around in surprise but kept on coming. 

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A digital break

Before the holidays, I decided I need to unclutter my brain.  I have this thing about balance – I love challenge and energy at work and peace and partnership at home.  I think on my Myers-Briggs results over the years and that makes sense to me – I am an ENTP but my E is borderline I.  The results are so close, that some tests over the years call E, some I.  Most people who meet me would think I am definitely an E but to have that level of energy, I need to recharge.  I’m fortunate that my husband is my best friend and he totally understands me - we match in that lovely and indefinable way that has brought us 15 wonderful years and many more to come. 

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Side Note: Stuff going through my head

I’m starting a new element on my blog that I think I am going to call Side Note.  Here’s where I am at with this – I love what I do and as a key part of that, I really like engaging with others in the field (picking your brain is lots of fun for me) and the chance to share my learnings and mistakes along the journey of customer experience is part of the that fun.  But (you knew that was coming, right?) there is a person in The Corporate Woman and I think there’s stuff I’d like to share on that front on occasion as we go.  You let me know if it gets too tangled or your not interested.  I can always split the path.

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The Power of Reflection

Setting aside time to reflect gives you the opportunity to see how things fit together and identify gaps.  This nothing new, right?  You know this, have experienced it, whether it was in your personal life or work life or both.  So if we know it, have felt the benefit of it, why is it so hard to do?  Why do we feel compelled to fill up every precious waking minute with a task?  How many of you feel the impulse in an idle moment to pick up your Blackberry or iPhone (or similar item)?  Do you ask yourself why?  I do.

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The tooth fairy story

My daughter is six years old and very imaginative.  Her creativity fascinates me.  This week, she lost her second tooth – let me tell that it has seemed both a dramatic and funny saga that I simply had to share.  Maybe it will make you laugh too (-:

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Small, angry voices…

I admit to fear and to worry and to doubt.  I am fortunate in these times of fear and uncertainty, where many are suffering the most dramatic and awful change of their lives.  I am thankful, every day, for what I have:  my good health (and health insurance), my loved ones (and their good health), my great job (that I am lucky to love) and the basics we all need (food, shelter, etc…).  My heart goes out to those who are suffering because I remember earlier days where a roof over my head was uncertain, not much food (so thankful for free school lunch programs) and no health insurance (or money for much needed medicines, like my asthma inhaler).  I remember and my heart cries out for them.

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Speaking at Toastmasters

I had the opportunity to speak to the local Toastmaster’s group and guests yesterday on the topic of public speaking.  I shared with them my journey from terror and lots of mistakes to finally learning how to be comfortable and myself in front of an audience.  I was happy to share my pain and suffering in the hopes that someone could learn from what I have learned.  The most fun was hearing the questions people asked!

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Time for planning

The business planning cycle I have gotten used to seems to be one of good intentions but just slightly off.  I have had the good fortune to see this planning cycle work the same at more than one company.  I ask myself this (and you, of course) – is this cycle a necessity or can it be successfully improved upon?  Here’s the one I mean – it starts with budget time (where you hope you have a solid long range strategy to lean on).  It’s approximately mid-summer.  Now, for some it actually starts a bit sooner or a bit later but I picked a mean.  You haven’t solidified your plan for the next year yet but you have the framework, so you can put together the money.  Then year end hits (for those of you on the calendar fiscal year, which is quite a lot of you) and everyone is focused on that.  Come January, you hope to have a finalized budget and plan for the year.  That is always the goal.  It’s part of why you start the budget cycle early, right?  But how many of you make it to the goal line of early January?  Part of that is because you need to see how year end close went but there are often other factors that get in the way.  So you may not have a final plan and budget until February or even March.  It’s a crazy cycle – shampoo, rinse, repeat!  Every year this happens, everywhere I work or where my friends and colleagues work, it tends to happen.  Does it work better where you are?

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Change happens…

Earlier this year, I talked about it being time for change – how do you decide?  How do you know it’s time?  Well, my family and I decided it was time when an opportunity to go work for Citrix Online came open in my field.  What a great company, really smart and talented people and a great desire for being ever more customer focused.  My family loves living in beautiful Santa Barbara vs. living north of Seattle in Bothell.  Change like this often feels like a leap of faith - you weigh your options, check your gut, agonize with friends and family (okay, maybe that last one is only me) and then decide.  You really don’t know until you actually make the choice though, do you?

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Love and Loss

My mother passed away on Friday.  I feel sad but also happy and at peace.  You see, she has been terribly ill for a very long time and we who loved her have watched her decline in an anxious miasma of sadness and helplessness.  The thought that continues to reverberate through my brain is that she isn’t hurting anymore.  For the first time in a very long time, her life is not defined by pain. 

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