Author's articles

Beyond Your Tasks

By Nan Russell · 14 years ago

Ever hear the story of the two masons working side by side at a building site? They're doing the same work under pretty much the same conditions. One day a stranger comes along, approaches one ...

All requests are not equal; all customers or clients are not equal; all to-do-list tasks are not equal; all work responsibilities are not equal. You can do fifty things today and get little, if any, ...

What Basics?

By Nan Russell · 14 years ago

The cyclical and now ubiquitously appearing phrase, back to basics, ignites supporters. The reasonableness of returning to previously successful principles, ethics, systems, accountability, approaches, or you-name-it, appears a tantalizing remedy for our individual or collective ...

Fact or Opinion

By Nan Russell · 14 years ago

"You ain't going nowhere, son. You ought to go back to drivin' a truck." What if Elvis believed this Grand Ole Opry manager's critique after his l954 performance? Or the Beatles listened in 1962 when ...

Workplace Ladder Fuel

By Nan Russell · 15 years ago

Maybe you received the email offering cash in exchange for testing the Microsoft/AOL email tracking system. Or you heard that theaters were using subliminal advertising to increase sales of popcorn and soft drinks. Maybe it ...

Too Many Maybes

By Nan Russell · 15 years ago

Workplace decision-making often reminds me of a "Peanuts" comic strip I saw where Lucy and Charlie Brown were discussing their New Year's resolutions. "I'm going to be a changed person next year," Charlie tells Lucy. ...

It Takes Time

By Nan Russell · 15 years ago

The story goes that after one of Ludwig van Beethoven's performances, several people were offering him their congratulations, when one woman commented, "I wish God had bestowed me with such genius." "It isn't genius, madam, ...

Progress Trumps Perfection

By Nan Russell · 15 years ago

In the late 17th century, Lord Chesterfield, an English writer and politician, wrote to his son, "Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well." Three hundred years later, we still heed this advise ...

Lying on a Nail

By Nan Russell · 16 years ago

Once there was a young woman who didn't like her job. Everyday when she came home from work, she told her husband how terrible her day had been, how tiring the work and how unreasonable ...

Relationship Basics

By Nan Russell · 16 years ago

Since she'd been referred by a good client, I rearranged my schedule to accommodate a phone meeting for what she described as a "pressing decision" about a potential business endeavor I had experience with. The ...

Making A Fresh Start

By Nan Russell · 16 years ago

"How could that be?" I muttered silently as I reread the message. This was not a person I wanted to encounter as I returned from a holiday vacation filled with family, friends, and fun. And ...

Thought Conformity

By Nan Russell · 16 years ago

As I turned on the national news, two "experts" were debating one of the societal issues that divide this country. For minutes their ping-ponged comments volleyed about a controversial book and a soon-to-be-released movie. Then, ...

What is Experience Anyway?

By Nan Russell · 16 years ago

I learned in first grade that one plus one equals two. But, that's not the right equation when counting work experience. We often think we're building experience to help us get ahead. In reality, we're ...

Hot Coals

By Nan Russell · 17 years ago

Involved in an expensive developmental workshop, Chad volunteered first when the facilitator queried the group about their objectives. It was the morning session of a weekend event that a friend of mine was conducting, and ...

How Does That Work?

By Nan Russell · 17 years ago

How would you respond to this question: "Are you one of the top 10% of performers in your company?" This question posed in a recent Business Week survey found that overall 90% of surveyed executives, ...

Assessing Your Work

By Nan Russell · 18 years ago

I'm not a big fan of New Years resolutions. Sure I've made dozens of them, all with good intentions and a bit of magical thinking, believing this time the resolution will stick. Maybe a few ...

Taking Your Words Seriously

By Nan Russell · 18 years ago

When we ordered the stained glass window as an accent piece for our home, the artist-proprietor told us he was a bit behind. “So," he said, “to be on safe side, plan on six months." ...

Creating Your Own Luck

By Nan Russell · 18 years ago

Losing my job in the last recession of the last century, I discovered first hand the power of creating your own luck. A week later, I decided to locate an interim position while I looked ...

About Your Work

By Nan Russell · 18 years ago

I like Simon, one of three judges on American Idol. I find his feedback refreshingly honest. And while his words startle me with their ego wounding potential, the traditional feel-good, let-you-down-easy, sugar-coated feedback is not ...