Tangent killer

Tactics1 Comment

Tangents are changeable creatures.  They’re fun in casual conversation, leading us down rabbit holes of conversation.  Eventually someone asks “how did we get on this topic?”  Laughter ensues. In professional settings, they are deadly.  When there is a point and a purpose to a conversation, telling people that you are about to go on a…

Subject to Fashion

Charisma1 Comment

Charisma comes in different flavours and styles, and absolutely experiences fluctuation in fashion.  Like most kind of fashions, the “fashionable” characteristics that make us consider one person or another charismatic are both a reflection and creation of our current culture.  Different social cultures – and I apply the term “culture” to both small groups, self-selected…

Dipping your toes

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There are two ways of dealing with a fear: either by plunging in whole-body or dipping in your toes and gradually getting in deeper. One way isn’t better than the other, and neither method is going to apply to one person all of the time. That being said, I find that when it comes to…

Creativity and the Accountant

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Let’s start with a throwback, for fun’s sake: I work with plenty of people from financial industries.  I also work with engineers, public health researchers, and others who would not be in job typically considered “creative.”  Often, clients from these walks of life kvetch that they are not creative, and say that it’s probably why…