Mitch’s Blog

(originally published July 2nd, 2005)
Yesterday I had to stop by UPS on the way home to pick up a package that they had tried to deliver a couple of days in a row. I was out of town, and my wife was at work, so she called and told them I would be coming. I [...]

(originally published October 4th, 2005)
Last week William Bennett, the former Secretary of Education under Bush Sr, said a very bad thing on his radio show that I’m not going to repeat. It made headlines, kind of, for a day and then it disappeared. He didn’t apologize; didn’t even see why he had to apologize, and [...]

(originally published June 2nd, 2005)
I am a big time creature of habit. It would surprise no one who knows me well if I mentioned that once I decide I like a restaurant, I’ll go there often, and eat the same thing every time. Well, there’s this Japanese restaurant that I’ve decided makes the best salmon [...]

(originally published December 18th, 2005)
This past week, Ford Motor Company went through the wringer in bad publicity. First they took heat from an organizaiton because they advertised in a gay publication. Someone met with the groups leaders, and agreed to pull their ads from this publication. When word got out, the bad press went the [...]

(originally published May 23, 2005)
As a manager, are you an initiator, or are you passive? Are you someone who is always trying to figure out if things are at optimum, looking for problems so that you have an opportunity to fix them, or are you someone who comes in, hopes nothing goes wrong, and is [...]

(originally published November 11th, 2005)
Well, today was a tough day. It started out okay, but then I had a series of setbacks that started to bring me down, and depress me for a long part of the day. I don’t want to get into major details, but let’s just say that they all seemed to [...]

(originally published November 17th, 2005)
You know, there’s nothing that will pick you up any quicker than a compliment. Yesterday, I agreed to go to a meeting where I didn’t even know what the topic was going to be. When the meeting started, I learned quickly that I was expected to be able to provide answers [...]

(originally published April 25th, 2005)
Here are “8” things to consider if you’re going to be an effective manager:
1. Be friendly, but not friends
2. Be honest, but not brutal
3. Be upfront when there are negative issues, but offer suggestions for improvement
4. Balance negative with positive
5. Be consistent; you’ll usually get back what you put out
6. Pay [...]

(originally published January 15th, 2006)
This one is a short post . I got this file awhile ago, and it’s quite interesting. It’s called 1001 Tolerations, and it’s a listing of things you should think about not tolerating, or putting up with, in your life. It’s at least good to think about, or have conversations about. [...]

(originally published September 2nd, 2005)
Last night I went with a few people to one of the big, famously named department stores, one of those where you’re surprised they don’t charge you to walk through the doors. Suddenly, I’m surrounded by suits that are around $1,500, watches as high as $4,000, sweaters starting at $400, even [...]