Workaholic nutcases

Workaholic nutcases
(Published on-line, La vie en tranches, Journal Métro, February 9, 2015)
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Would you like a recipe for building a strong and hyper-productive team? Here’s a strategy:

Step 1: Hire ten people for your team. Among the ten, there is a pretty good chance you will find one workaholic nutcase willing to work 80 hours per week and do whatever is asked.
Step 2: Either fire the other nine or make their lives so miserable they all quit.
Step 3: Hire nine others. Chances are pretty good you will find another workaholic nutcase.
Step 4:...

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Posted on 11 Feb 2015
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It’s your turn to do the dishes!

Publié le 27 janvier, 2015: Journal Métro. SVP, voir plus bas pour la version Française.

Wouldn’t it be nice if it were easy to ask for what you wanted? Being able to assert yourself is a necessary skill. It ensures that our rights are respected and that we are treated as equals in relationships. But it is tough to do. If you overdo it you can come across as arrogant, self-centered or aggressive. Many people choose instead to say nothing when they are bothered by something.

The difficulty with asserting yourself is that as tough as it is to do in a new situation it gets even harder in an...

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Posted on 28 Jan 2015
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Boredom has its rewards

Boredom has its rewards
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There’s a funny thing about the activities that give us the most pleasure; we never would have found them if we weren’t bored at some point.

If you think about the things you really enjoy – a sport like tennis or golf or hockey – a social activity like cooking for friends or family – a leisure activity like painting or doing crosswords – the common denominator in all of these was that at one point you were bored and looking for something to do.

The way in which we fill our voids can sometimes make the difference...

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Posted on 14 Jan 2015
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The foster mother

The foster mother
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We are blessed by the mother who gave up the child. – Lucinda Williams.

As an adoptive father, that lyric makes me cry every time. My last two trips to the United States were to Burlington, Vermont and New York City. Both times we saw Lucinda Williams in concert and on both occasions she opened her show with Blessed, the song from which that line is taken.

The trip to New York also gave me the chance to see the 9-11 memorial. It was among the most moving experiences of my life. To see the memorial and to hear that song...

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Posted on 17 Dec 2014
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Malala and the triumph of good over evil

Many people wonder if human beings are fundamentally good or evil.

Most of us will acknowledge that there is a bit of both in the world. I agree but the quantity of each is not fixed in stone. Good and bad actions are forces that influence our collective mindsets.

Malala Yousefzai was shot by the forces of evil. We are not always in control of events in our lives but we are in control of how we respond to them. It would have been easy to capitulate and shake her head at the injustice of such an act. Instead she stood defiant in the face of adversity and steadfastly continued to fight for...

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Posted on 11 Dec 2014
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Not forgotten

Photo by René Lortie

I have nothing more to add but in case you missed what I wrote five years ago, here it is:(SVP, voir plus bas pour la version Française)

Today is the 20th anniversary of Marc Lépine’s rampage. Yesterday, I was in my car and heard two riveting interviews on CBC’s As It Happens. The first was with Nathalie Provost, who was shot by Lepine. The other was with Monique Lépine, Marc’s mother. I thought it might be a good time to re-post a column I had written on the 16th anniversary of the event.

I don’t get paid to write the column in Métro and often wonder why I...

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Posted on 06 Dec 2014
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I miss my Rolodex

Chances are pretty good that if you are under thirty you’ve never even heard of a Rolodex. Of course if you’re over fifty…there is probably one on your desk. (SVP, voir plus bas pour la version Française)

I think of Rolodexes and manual typewriters whenever I think of how much my world has changed since I was a kid. More importantly I think about them whenever we see people who are highly resistant to change.

The stress of new challenges
The reason change is scary is because of our basic stress response. This mechanism is designed to protect us from harm. By feeling stressed or anxious,...

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Posted on 03 Dec 2014
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9

I have a weird feeling about this!

Premonitions
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I have a confession to make. Before I get on an airplane I think about it crashing and I imagine my family at my funeral. When my kids are out late, I imagine a car crash and think of what I’d say in their eulogy. Occasionally I feel an odd pain somewhere in my body and imagine myself getting bad news from my doctor.

Is there something wrong with me? Perhaps. But I bet you get similar thoughts as well. In fact I’m sure most parents get at least a fleeting thought of losing a child on a daily basis. The same goes for health. Almost...

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Posted on 21 Nov 2014
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7

Troubled loners

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Life can be filled with moments of pure joy at times – the birth of a child, the warmth of love, the goose bumps felt when listening to music that inspires you – but unfortunately tragedy and grief are also part of the human experience. We witnessed this recently with the death of two of our soldiers. Seeing pictures of grieving loved ones and imagining children growing up without a father wrenches the heart.

Inevitably we start to look at killers and what motivates them. We can blame radical Islam, we can blame political forces, we can say...

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Posted on 04 Nov 2014
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9

Je suis hyper-concentré… hé, regarde ça!

Je me demande si les hommes de cavernes ont déjà eu à s’asseoir pour écouter des professeurs de cavernes. Si c’est le cas, j’imagine qu’un certain nombre d’entre eux auraient reçu un diagnostic de trouble du déficit de l’attention (TDA), ou l’équivalent pour l’époque!

Je suis pas mal certain que si vous lisiez la liste des symptômes du trouble du déficit de l’attention vous croiriez en être atteints. En fait, à part quelques phénomènes, nous devons tous affronter ce genre de situation, parce que notre monde a changé, mais pas notre biologie.

Manger ou être mangé
L’être humain a évolué dans...

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Posted on 06 Oct 2014
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