Training Hotel Employees

Fascinating article on new trend in training for hotel employees -- the point is that old "follow the script" approaches don't really work. To create a great hospitality experience workers need to notice their guests, think, and respond authentically.

This is a major shift and challenge for training. Most training I've seen, especially in hospitality, is totally behaviorally oriented. Follow the script. Problem is, people are a lot more complex. Instead in our emotional intelligence trainings, we get people to look inside and understand how to connect in a way that's authentic for them.


Hotels train employees to think fast
By Barbara De Lollis, USA TODAY

Excerpts...

The new-style training programs aren't limited to how to check in a guest or how to stack dishes in a pantry. Instead, they're aiming to build distinctive organizational cultures that will add to the bottom line by keeping guests satisfied and loyal for years to come.

Out of favor are scripted lines that hotel workers utter regardless of whether the customer appears happy, angry, tired or rushed. Now, hotel workers are being trained to speak for themselves, and to help guests in more meaningful and less conventional ways.

The new training pushes employees to understand who their guests are and why they're at the hotel, and to anticipate what they might need. [JF: sounds like emotional intelligence!]

"Our guests value the design of our hotels, but what they really remember are the people," says Michelle Crosby, human resources chief at lodging giant Starwood (HOT). "Their loyalty was often to a specific (employee) who'd gone out of their way for them."

-----

Starwood decided to focus its training on its workers' emotions after examining training practices at customer-service leaders like Disney (DIS), Nordstrom, Southwest Airlines (LUV) and JetBlue (JBLU). Crosby, the Starwood executive, says that for too long the industry has been too insular, resisting good customer-service ideas from other industries.

----

In other words, emotionally intelligent employees connect at a "heart level" with guests and meet their needs in a way that's authentic and memorable: The result is customer loyalty.

The missing link is emotionally intelligent leaders who foster a context where people like this can work that magic.

Emotional Intelligence and Age

I just finished posting new research on emotional intelligence and age.

This study started in a workshop where we were talking about Noble Goals. In our model, the "capstone" competence of emotional intelligence is Pursue Noble Goals -- there are two reasons:
1. When we engage in the pursuit of purpose we are less defensive and reactive -- less about our own ego and more about the larger vision. This allows us, even compels us, to manage our emotions more effectively.
2. Really, what's the point? We can teach people to be more intelligent at problem-solving and they invent ways to hack the net. We can teach people to be more intelligent at engineering and they develop better ways of killing. We can teach people to be more intelligent about emotions and they become master manipulators. Voila, job done, let's call it a day. Oh - wait - missed something.... So "intelligence" isn't enough. We need to apply that intelligence -- this is wisdom. So Pursuing a Noble Goal is a way to focus our emotional aptitude and move toward wisdom.

Anyway - point of the story: One of the managers I was training said, "Aren't older people naturally better at this competence? It seems like young people, at least in my company, don't really have a vision." Hrmuph.

So I asked our research team to find out.

The answer is yes - older people are slightly more likely to be emotionally intelligent - at least in four of our eight competencies. I'm excited about this result - it shows that EQ is learned and it does develop with life experience and that age isn't enough: You have to work to learn these skills.

This is an excellent article:

How Emotional Is Too Emotional?
Nan Mooney, Inc

Mooney says women frequently ask what to do about "being too emotional" at work -- I get this question a lot too, and have worried that, as a man, my response might miss the point... so I was glad to read this!
"Professional women are frequently tagged "emotional," as if it's a flaw they should learn to overcome. But emotion in the workplace isn't necessarily a bad thing."

Excerpts:
In my varied career history, I haven't found that women are more emotional than men on the job. We may be more comfortable expressing those emotions, since we live in a society that encourages women to be the feelers and men the thinkers and doers. But being quicker to key into the emotional aspects of a situation largely works to our benefit. It means we may pick up on a client's or colleague's unhappiness, make subtle adjustments in a plan or project to please everyone involved, and -- best of all -- form more trusting and respectful professional relationships.

The place where I think Mooney misses the mark is recommendations of what to DO about emotions. The central premise of emotional intelligence is that emotions are a resource to help us understand and manage the world -- inside and outside. Emotions are information and energy -- data and commitment. Emotional intelligence helps us access the data and tap the energy. When we DON'T do that, emotions well up and spiral out of control. Women and men are socialized to cope with "out of control" emotions differently (as Mooney suggests, bursting into tears vs pounding the steering wheel and cursing) -- but it's the same reaction.

The real secret is to access the information of the emotions - tune in, gain insight - and then use that data to make a better decision. When we do so, the energy of the emotions automatically transforms into a motive force toward resolution - that's the power of emotional intelligence!

EQ Performance update

Just finished revising the Institute for Organizational Performance site -- now includes 3 free quizzes:
- Emotional Intelligence Mini-Quiz
- Happiness At Work
- Business Optimism

Also updated info on programs for emotional intelligence and leadership, change, and sales.

Dating and EQ

This is a fairly amusing perspective on why it's so hard to find someone you want to date:

Pearls of Wisdom: Smart, cute and unavailable

The Stanford Daily
October 13, 2006
By Lisa Mendelman

At Stanford, we are blessed to be surrounded by book-smart people. Trust me, the real world looks nothing like this. Even the fuzziest English major (i.e., me) can solve your average differential calculus problem, and, assuming “Freakonomics” and The Economist count, there are lots of well-read techies biking through the Quad. Where the Farm’s population falters, however, is in another realm of intelligence: the fundamentals of social interaction.

I am with Lisa so far -- when schools, or businesses, select a population based on "IQ stuff" w/o considering "EQ stuff" they get people who are not-so-socially-graceful.

Things fall apart a bit when she explains there are 2 axis - SQ is social quotient, and EQ is emotional quotient:
I will assume that second axis on which we are plotting men—and, to be fair, women—ranges from mean and arrogant to nice and down-to-earth. (Obviously, when I used the words “ugly” and “cute” in high school, I was referring to personality). We’ll call this the Emotional Intelligence Quotient, or EQ.

There is a big challenge in our field - people (including me) oversimplify "EQ" and identify emotional intelligence as being "down to earth" or "nice." I think sometimes emotionally intelligent people are fierce. But I agree with the author that I'd rather date someone both socially and emotionally aware...
:-)

Interview w Daniel Pink

This is a piece I wrote...

Leading with a Whole New Mind: Daniel Pink's Memo for Tomorrow's Leaders

Daniel Pink discusses his latest book, A Whole New Mind, with emotional intelligence expert Joshua Freedman, and identifies key skills for leaders in a changing marketplace.

What do you get when you add up designer toilet brushes, Frappucinos, increasing obesity, innovation and outsourcing? According to trend-watcher Daniel Pink, it's a new business climate -- that calls for a new breed of leadership.

To thrive in the era of the three As -- Abundance, Asia, and Automation -- companies have to offer significance above and beyond product value. And leading this kind of business takes special talent - talent that's increasingly hard to find.

The business challenge begins with a changing marketplace, and continues with a new generation workforce. Pink says businesses will find it increasingly challenging to hold marketshare. “Today you have to have the ability to do something that's hard to outsource, hard to automate, and that satisfies some of the nonmaterial demands of this very abundant age. An age where many consumers in the West have had their basic material functional needs satisfied or over satisfied. The way you stand out in a crowded marketplace is to appeal to spirituality, emotion, aesthetics, and so forth.”

The abundance of the current Western economy translates to a glutted market. With a dozen places for gourmet coffee, why turn to Starbucks? With more cars owned in America than there are drivers, why will someone buy a Prius?

Pink says “this puts a premium on aesthetic, emotional, and even spiritual aspects of goods and services.” This explains why self-help and spirituality remain booming, why a 3-star “middle America” hotel puts aromatherapy and guided meditation in executive rooms, and why there is a line for back massage in the Chicago airport. Sometimes called the “LOHAS” market (Lifestyle of Health and Spirituality), there is a trend Pink calls the “accelerated the search for meaning” that a few exceptional leaders are poised to serve. These leaders are metaphorically using “right-brain” skills of creativity and relationship-building (there's no neurobiological evidence of the right/left brain concept, but it's a catchy metaphor).

(More)

It Is in Your Head

It Is in Your Head
By Eileen P. Gunn
US News & World Report, Oct 16, 2006
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/biztech/articles/061008/16eetests.htm

Interesting piece about changes in hiring --

The use of these kinds of behavioral or personality assessments, which ebbs and flows along with other corporate trends, is on the rise again.
In March 2005, more than a third of employers surveyed by the Society for Human Resource Management were giving job candidates personality tests, with more planning to start in the coming year. And 36 percent more were formally testing employees for organizational fit by assessing things like team-orientation, entrepreneurial inclinations, and comfort with a "traditional" work environment.
One reason these tests are back in vogue, according to executives who use them, is that the more sophisticated ones have become increasingly accurate and adaptable to different industries and job descriptions.

Good advice: More important, the tests aren't about aptitude or intelligence so much as fit. If the test steers the company away from you, it might be for the best.

Matches our experience w using the emotional intelligence test for hiring -- fit matters more than score. Question for me is how well is the hiring manager using the tool. A good assessment can help a lot if used well. Otherwise...

Parenting to overcome stress

This is a piece on children and stress, very basic, a little simplistic - but not bad! Premise is that there is negative stress and positive stress. Parents need help kids know the difference and know what to do about it.

What to do? Well, a few suggestions. Conclusion:

EMOTIONAL intelligence helps children adjust to the needs and pressures of life. Life’s challenges often cause anxiety, leading children to seek reassurance.

Children can be taught to deal with challenges by identifying their emotions and coping with these obstacles. While pressure or stress is unpleasant, children need to be taught that it does not stop there.

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2006/5/25/lifeparenting/14263736&sec=lifeparenting

Leadership and Emotional Intelligence

Nice blog post on "Raven's Brain" about EQ and some of my articles here:

http://ravenyoung.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!17376F4C11A91E0E!998.entry


Thanks Raven!

Raising Emotionally Intelligent Children

I liked these points -- I agree that helping name feelings is a great way for parents to build dialogue about this important area. Often it's hard when parents don't have a lot of words for feelings themselves - or when they are too in a hurry. It's not necessary to use "technical" words for feelings, e.g., instead of "jealous" it's also great to say, "does it feel like when someone takes your toy?":

• One thing parents need to remember is that they are “emotion coaches” for their children. Emotion coaches help their children name and discuss the feelings they may have.
• Parents should not try to solve the problem, but instead try to relate to the child’s experience and respect the child’s ideas.

I did not like this - it bothers me when people write "research says" and don't have the research!
Research indicates that parents can use a variety of ways to become better emotion coaches. One approach is that parents should pretend what it would be like to be in the child’s situation and try to imagine what the child might be feeling.

Raising emotionally intelligent children

Susan Routh
OSU Extension Office
Raising a child is said to be one of the most challenging jobs in the world. Learning how to read a child’s emotions can be just as challenging.

Adults may often find themselves having difficulty identifying their own emotions, let alone knowing how to read their child’s emotions.


http://www.tuttletimes.com/columns/local_story_278191902.html

Long time... and EQ for Hiring

Well I have been a lame blogger. Apparently writing a newsletter, training programs, AND a blog is too much. But I thought of a new idea. I am going to put links to different articles I get into this blog.

Another article on importance of EQ for job success.

Good line: Companies have to hire good communicators if they want to survive.

Not-so-good line: As for employees, older workers tend to have more emotional intelligence, usually through hard-won experience. Younger workers, however, can close the experience gap by showing genuine excitement about the job, interest in the company, and a willingness to learn and grow. A) age has a slight correlation w EQ... IE, while mean EQ increases a little w age, MANY older people have lower EQ than many younger. ALSO, "excitement" and "interest" are not EQ! Younger people can close the EQ gap by being committed to learning about themselves and others!


`Emotional intelligence' a new hiring criterion
By Erica Noonan, Globe Staff | September 10, 2006
In this job market, it's not just who you know, or even what skills you've mastered. It's how well you understand other people that will get you ahead.

This is the age of emotional intelligence, often called EQ, and today's hiring managers want proof you've got it.

Do you have the maturity and independence to follow a project to completion? Can you motivate and lead a group of your peers? Do you genuinely care about the company's values and goals? Are you the type to be sensitive to the needs of a troubled co-worker? Can you control your anger when a supervisor is rude to you?

http://bostonworks.boston.com/news/articles/2006/09/10/emotional_intelligence_a_new_hiring_criteria/

action, intention, purpose

Yesterday Max was having one of his usual tiffs with his sister -- she wasn't paying attention to him and so he went an took one of her crayons or something. It escalated and he came crying into my office. As I was asking him about the incident, I noticed I was using our EQ model as a coaching process:

Know Yourself -- identify emotions and behaviors: What happened? What did you do?

Choose Yourself -- identify intentions and the (mis)match between action and intention: How did you want Emma to respond? What did you want from Emma? What actually happened?

Give Yourself -- clarify the need to change by assessing the intention against your larger purpose: Is that the kind of friend you really want to be? Were you making the world a kinder place?

:-)
-J

Gardening!

It's definitely feeling like springtime now that we're working on the vegetable garden. Trying to get Emma and Max to actually help when their "helping" may be more difficult than the rest of the work...

It's been quite awhile since I posted here last. I guess if I was not doing so much other writing I'd be blogging more... I'm kinda spent on writing! Did 2 Q&A articles this week, on for eLearning producers in US, and 1 for a newspaper in Portugal. Hopefully both will come out next week. I also just finished a white paper on EQ and Optimism, and I really need to get the press release out on that. GAHHHH. So many balls to juggle! Good news is we are almost done editing the Leadership report for our assessment. The template is over 100 pages so it's quite a task.

Anyway, if there is anyone actually reading this blog and wondering "where's Josh been," now you know.
:-)

Anyone there?

Funny thing about starting a blog - I have no idea if anyone's reading it! On the emotional intelligence site I have stats telling me 1100 people per day are visiting... but here I'm in the dark. So click on the little pencil icon under each entry and post a comment!

Triple Threat - On the Rocks in Arches

This weekend was a wonderful family reunion. Uncle Frank turned 70, and about 150 people gathered in Moab to cheer him. Amazing collection of folks from a lifetime of work and play. They all talked about Frank's enthusiasm for life, his trustworthiness and adventerousness. The guy started white-water kayaking in is 60s. Whoa. I was so inspired by the curiousity, courage, and playfulness with which he's lived.

Meanwhile, Max was falling in love with climbing. As a boy who loves rocks, of course scambling up them is a "must do." The glorious red rocks of Moab are nothing short of stunning. 300 million years of rock revealed in these astounding striated towers, mesas, and buttes.

The problem is I'm pretty damn scared of falling. Probably b/c I fell off a little bit of a mountain when I was about 16... somehow the downward slip always looks just a hairsbreadth away. So that's pretty challenging for someone who like adventuring around, and I've sort-of-learned to cope. But now standing on the edge of a rock with Emma and Max I'm barely coherent. Time for some serious emotional intelligence!

We had a lovely weekend, no one fell of any rocks, and I pushed some boundaries. Emma had about 4 different birthday celebrations -- including a picnic perched up in the North Window arch. Then she was invited to join Frank when it was time to sing Happy Birthday - 70 to him, 7 to her. Both seemed to like that better.

Stress and Recovery

The last two days I've been going nonstop. Yesterday I had a call scheduled every hour. AHHHH. There's some good research about "stress and recovery" -- ie, when we stretch, we need time to bounce back. But overscheduled, the last two days have had not enough recovery. I've noticed at the end of the days I'm totally, completely wiped. No more room at the inn. It's been even more clear b/c I'm not fully recovered from my cold, so my reserve-energy-tanks are not as full.

An important reminder for me is that if I go "full out" during part of the day, I end up getting less done in the full day. Life is a marathon, not a sprint.

EQ and Gross National Happiness

I love how emotional intelligence is becoming a truly international concept. Just saw this article from Bhutan saying that corporate success should contribute not just to GNP, but also to "Gross National Happiness" (GNH). Some good strategies presented for engaging a team - and a country. Here's the premise:

There is a body of management practice, evolved mainly in US and Europe, on how to develop an organizational culture driven by vision and values shared explicitly by everyone. It is a management science about aligning organizations' operational and personnel systems, including financial and other incentives facing all employees, strictly to their collective vision and values. It is also an art, to be practiced by leaders in inspiring and motivating their people. Likewise, one should not forget, by everyone else to inspire and motivate their leaders. And, by all to nurture an open and trusting work environment where passion and “emotional intelligence” matter just as much as professional and technical excellence.

Cool! And right on -- if leaders truly used their emotional intelligence to create a trusting and trustworthy environment, can you imagine how organizations would thrive? GNH would go up!!

She goes onto point out that relationship-centered leadership creates adaptable organizations: "Wherever successful, the practice has created nimble and dynamic organizations that not only deliver first-rate outcomes, but also learn constantly from their successes and mistakes, adapting proactively to changing environment." Sorely needed.

Poolside Post-Reunion

It’s been wintery (such as it ever is here on the California Coast) for months, and suddenly today it’s summer. So after much impassioned pleading, I inflated the blow-up pool. Much fun for the under-four-foot-high crowd, but part of the pleasure seems to be fighting with your brother or sister. So I just did the classic Dad shout about “if you don’t have anything nice to say.” Mine is, “If you can't use your words nicely you’re both out of there!” Sigh.

So yesterday was fun and weird. Lots of people I sort-of-recognized, kind of an altered universe of past-into-now. All my high school friends are old! How did that happen? It was cool to meet them again and discover a bunch of pretty nice people. Some married, some divorced, some wishing they were one or the other. Lots with kids, some without, some wishing they were one or the other...

I started at Head Royce in 4th grade, so several people there I’d known since I was 9 years old. Wow. It’s funny what I remember of them, and what they remember of me. Lots of people asked about our old house above the Cal football stadium -- we used to hang out on the roof watching games. One guy, Mike, has been telling his kids about it when they go to games now. He said his kids think I was the luckiest kid in the world ‘cause I got to watch all the practices and games. But I’d kind of forgotten about it. It’s like there these jewels getting dusty in a drawer.

There were some surprises. There was a kid called Jon, my last real memory of him was a fight we had in 5th grade when he bit me through my Tough-Skin jeans. Now he’s this gracious, handsome tall guy, who was great! I remembered “Karpo” as a sort of strange kid who threw his backpack through the window in Ms. Harris’ 7th grade history class. Some friends reminded me that was the day I punched Karpo in the stomach and he lay on the floor the rest of the class -- Ms. Harris just ignored him there. Now he’s an incredibly tall attorney. I hope he’s forgiven me.

Geez, it sounds like I was fighting all the time. I don’t really remember that part of myself. Makes me wonder if my whole perception of myself is really different than my behavior. Maybe that’s part of what’s scary about the whole reunion thing -- you might end up learning something about yourself you wanted to forget.

JB and David and I were pretty much best friends from 7th grade. They were both there and I was truly glad to connect, even if it was just for two hours.

All through 8th grade we called David “Generalisimo” and he wore a Castro-esque cap and we pretended to be intellectual. I figured we’d be friends forever, but I haven’t talked to JB for 18 years and David for 20. How did that happen? I think it’s one of the biggest regrets of my life -- not just JB and David, but so many people who were so important to me for a time, then I moved onto a new place and new passions and lost touch. I know the phone rings on both ends and everything, but I’m wondering what it is about me.

I guess a big part is that Patty and I fell madly in love so young. We met when I was 20, we started dating 2 years later, and were married just after I turned 25. We did so much together -- between theater and traveling and learning to be teachers. Teaching is a pretty obsessive job no matter what, but we were (are) really work-a-holics. It’s like between each other and work there wasn’t much room in our lives. Somehow we’ve made room for the kids, and kids’ friends, and the neighborhood... so maybe there really was room but I just didn’t pay attention.

One piece of good news -- people really do change. For example, we all knew JB was going to end up in law school, which he did. Then after he started practice, he got interested in teaching. Now he’s a high school history and government teacher in the inner city. Meanwhile his kid brother who didn’t quite make it through school ended up practicing law. I guess people really do change.

The strangest part was at the beginning of the party feeling like I was back in high school -- on the outside looking in. There were lots of people who seemed to be having a great time, and I was sort of standing there wondering how to step into the circle. Instead I floated around the outside, and made myself approach these quasi-strangers. The difference is now I know that my sense of worth and identity come from within, and I don’t really need other people’s attention to feel ok. But still, all these years later, I long for it.

A little better...

Well, getting away from my desk this evening was good! Max and I got haircuts then went to Fresh Choice. Fresh Choice is one of my least favorite places to eat and the kids love it. What's up with that. I think they care more about "choice" than about "fresh."

Then we went to Max's accupuncture appointment. I wish I had one too. Our usual Chinese doctor, Dr Lucy, wasn't available so we saw someone else. He was amazed by how "normally" Max treated the whole thing. Not to say Max likes getting stuck with needles (au contraire), but he's surprisingly mellow about it.

We started this when Max was 2 and about to go for his 3rd course of antibiotics for the same ear infection. Conversations had started about needed tubes surgically implanted. The treatment didn't seem to be working, was costing a ton, and none of us was happy. But still we really questioned ourselves -- aren't you supposed to give your baby antibiotics if he has an infection? Aren't you a bad parent if you do something else? Reasoning that millions of people don't, we decided to give it 3 days. 3 days later with accupuncture and Chinese herbs, his infection was way better. He went off and on for 18 months and had no more infections.

My pediatrician brother-in-law points out that many children just grow out of ear infections, so maybe that's it. On the other hand, in the last year we haven't really being going to Dr Lucy much, and Max has had 2 ear infections. So I think we'll be going once a month at least during cold season...

So, back to the present, I'm still feeling like I have a cold and by back hurts, but I'm not QUITE so cranky.

Gloomy, Reunion

It's another gloomy day. Where the hell is Spring??? I have a cold. The day is stretching out unpleasantly in front of me. And I just RSVPd to a party for my 20th high school reunion.

Looking at the list of who's coming I was hit by all the wonderful and awful memories of middle and high school. The sense of bullet-proof unstopability simultaneous with this total powerlessness and dread. The names include people who I desperately longed to be like, who I desperately longed to like me ("like" being euphamistic, in the second case, for lust), and who I took totally for granted. There are also a lot of blissfully happy memories. On a day like today, I guess, somehow that sense of the totally open road is eclipsed by the memories of loneliness and loss.

My best friends in high school were the theater geeks. We spelled it "theatre" because that was more sophisticated. I don't know if we really thought we were cool, or if it was a booby prize because we weren't as cool as the actually cool kids (all jocks, of course). Of course they were as busy working at being cool as we were working at being anticool. We were all furiously chasing after some image or other. What a colassal waste. I'm sure the institutions and cultures of American high schools has made the fortune of many a therapist. Maybe many an EQ consultant too.
:)
One surprise was seeing how many people are bringing their kids. My high school classmates are still frozen in my head as 18 year olds. How can they all have kids??? Oh. It's 20 years later. Where did that all go?

Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing if I can see these people as humans instead of as icons of what we wished to be. I suspect for all of us (well, most of us) we came to see those paper-doll cut-out figures were ultimately pretty empty.

Is Gossip All Bad?

We has a great conversation last night about gossip (at Mount Madonna School - amazing place). On our school climate survey the lowest scoring question was, "People here don't gossip much."

One of the parents pointed out that gossip isn't necessarily done with harmful intent -- people could say they "gossip" because they are concerned and sharing important information. Personally I wouldn't call that gossip. Princeton WordNet says:

n 1: light informal conversation for social occasions
2: a report (often malicious) about the behavior of other people; "the divorce caused much gossip"
3: a person given to gossiping and divulging personal information about others

So there is a dimension that's just "chit-chat," but there's that "often malicious" in there. What do you think? Is there something inherently malicious or undermining in gossip?

Anyway, one of my favorite questions: How do we use the tendency to gossip in a positive way?
What's so good about this is that it acknowledges people are as they are -- and we still have choice... and we still have the opportunity to influence others. It's a very strengths-oriented approach: What do people do well, and how can that come into service of a larger purpose?

Global Kids

I just posted our first international art competition. I'm really excited about it because:

• I don't think we celebrate and honor youth enough
• Having art from young artists from around the world will be very cool - make the calendar even more special and meaningful
• It just seems fun to me to connect people in this way!

I'm kinda worried about getting enough submissions though -- I wish we'd done this 2 months ago. Anyway - if you're reading this, go get the PDF and then send every art teacher and young artist.

Sopa de Limon

The 2nd best remedy for feeling yucky.

• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 avocado cut into cubes
• 1/4 c salsa, chunky
• 2 tortillas, crisp over flame (on gas stove) or in pan, tear into pieces
• 1/2 lime.

Put all the stuff into 2 bowls, eat with your true love who also has a bit of a cold and comisserate.

Roses

Just came home from some errands, feeling a little sorry for myself (too much work, not enough $), and saw our roses are blooming.

YAY. So brave w all this rain.
Also saw there is a gopher running amok. Gotta kill it.

Life in the garden is much simpler than "real" life.

Take is serious?

Well I just finished Julie/Julie by Julia Powell and I loved it (enough to write a review which I don't really do), and now I'm inspired about this whole blogging thing. (By the way, her blog is cool: What Could Happen?)

Really the first few posts I did we just ads for what I was working on, which is cool if anyone cares, but I think maybe I'll try actually blogging.

So I can't believe it's actually noon already. The day goes by in no time, it's scary. I still haven't eaten breakfast - again! I wish that would help my diet. Shit. But I did nordic track this morning, so 1 step ahead, 1 back... maybe that's why this morning sitting down to work seemed kind of overwhelming.

I love working at home, but sometimes it would be great to have a bunch of people just to bs with and not really work... I think it's an under-appreciated part of "work" -- kind of a recovery time. Because people are herd animals, maybe we need to herd around sometimes? Maybe that's why gossip is so insidious.

Today I'm going to my kids' school to present the data on the school climate -- gossip is a problem. That's been true in just about every school I've measured, but we don't have that question on our corporate survey. Maybe I'll just stick it on there to see what happens.