Happy World Product Day 2020! “What do you do for a living?” he asks.“I’m a product manager. My teams build <enter current products> for <enter type of customer>,” I reply.“Oh cool. My cousin is a Project Manager.”“Ummm..Product Manager.”“What?” he says confused.“PRODUCT. I’m a Product Manager. Not Project,” sounding slightly testier than I intend.“Oh…okay. Nice,” he […]
I read this in today’s reading and thought, “I think I broke my happy place.” Being home for 31 days has shifted what my home means for me and what places inside my home mean for me. Some days it still feels like a nest, while other days feels like a prison cell. I […]
Books. It always starts with books with me doesn’t it? But let’s face it, I’ve had a long love affair with books. I loved being read to by my sisters. I learned to read early because I wanted to read ALL the books. The library was the first place that opened my heart and mind […]
Breathe Each year as I move from the Christmas holidays into the New Year, I try to settle on a single word as my theme for the year. I have focused on Joy. I have been Enough. I have followed by Heart. But this year, I couldn’t find the one word. So I waited. I’m […]
Wait…what? You thought I meant THAT c-word? Nooooo…not that one. Though I have discovered there is a time and place for that c-word when well placed and deserved. I call that the enlightenment of living in Europe. (hahaha!) No…what I meant was a different c-word entirely. Or better put…several c-words. In 2020, I’m chasing the […]
Meetings. Meetings. Meetings. This is my life. At this stage in my career I spend more time in meetings at work than probably anything else. Creative time is at a minimum. Writing time is done in fits and starts throughout my day. But meetings…those are constant. Sometimes they are the one-on-ones I wrote about in […]
“Gather data. Gather data. Gather data. And when it feels personal, remember that it’s still data.” This is one of the most used pieces of advice I give to my team members, mentees, people who seek me about big decisions, etc. We absolutely get in our own way when it comes to asking for what […]
Tell me more What’s going on? What’s keeping you up at night? Talk more about that Holding 1-on-1s with my team members is important to me. I try hard to keep a pretty open door and leave time in my calendar for last minute chats. For me this means being open to both regularly scheduled […]
“What do you want to talk about today?” she said, waiting for me to take up the conversation. This is the question she asks every week when I hesitate. And sometimes I do still hesitate. Even though she has been my therapist for nearly 5 years. Even though I talk to her every week. Even […]
Is it possible that, with each inhalation, we take in the world and awaken our soul? And with each exhalation, do we free ourselves of this world, which inevitably entangles us? Is this how we fill up and empty a hundred times a day, always seeking the gift of two breaths? Perhaps this is the […]