Thanks for checking out my blog...I'm new and I've never done this before

Working is something that most of us have in common.   For sure lots of serious stuff happens there, and it ultimately makes the world go round.  But in amongst the seriousness, there is some pretty crazy hilarious shit going on in and around our workplaces.  Stuff that makes me laugh. 

And if you’ve ever gone to work, you’ve had a boss that made you crazy.  You’ve had co-workers that are so political and cut-throat that they could just as easily be working for some sub-Saharan dictator (and who knows, maybe they are on the weekends).  You’ve wondered what it is that keeps you coming back to that place.  The money?  Perhaps.  It’s easier than finding something else to do?  Likely.  You absolutely love it?  Rarely.  It’s more plausible that it’s a combination of those things.  You’re used to it, and it’s better than the alternative.

In 25 years plus of working (which on many days feels like an entire lifetime), I would have to say that I’ve been lucky enough to have worked for some great organizations and some fantastic bosses.  Along the way I’ve encountered some freaks, to be sure, and where it’s the fantastic bosses and great organizations that have given me a great career, it’s the crazies that have really made it interesting.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I’m a boss.  I have been for years, and I don’t think at this point in my career I couldn’t be.  Now that doesn’t mean I don’t also have a boss, because I do, and it has often been my bosses that give me the best reasons to smile.  Sometimes they’re so on the mark it’s scary, and other times, they wouldn’t know the mark if they tripped over it.   I don’t subscribe to a particular management philosophy, or even a set of rules by which I manage my team or business.  To be certain, I like things open; I like the discussion frank; I appreciate the people that work for me telling me like it is; and I’ve been known to change my mind, backtrack on a decision, change a deadline, and yes, commit the odd HR violation (if I’m going to get in trouble it’s because words often exit my mouth without being cleared by my brain.  I’ve never groped anybody.)

So why blog?   I’ve had some experiences that make people smile when I share these stories, so that’s what this is about.  It’s about me being serious about work, but not taking work too seriously.  I take back what I said earlier.  I do actually have one rule.  I spend 50-60 hours a week working, so it has to be fun.  Not 24/7 life is a carnival kind of fun, but I need to like the people, I need to believe in what we’re doing, and I need to be able to be myself at work.  I need to laugh.  If those things aren’t happening, I have to go. 

My lovely wife doesn’t really ‘get’ me when it comes to how I feel about work.  She’s a nine-to-fiver.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but in a lot of cases, I’ve done most of my best work way before nine and long after 5.   She doesn’t understand what it is about work that makes me happy.  We’ve been together for almost 20 years, and while I’m sure she still doesn’t understand, at least she’s not bugging me about it anymore.

My hope is that in these stories, all of them absolutely true, you’ll find something that makes you chuckle, (because it maybe resonates a bit).  They are the experiences that have turned me into the employee, the boss, the husband, the father and the friend that I am today.  They make me smile when I remember them.  Some of the experiences weren’t so pleasant, but when I take a look back and consider them in fresh context, bad things take on a humorous light. 

I'm totally new at this.  I barely read anymore, let alone write anything.  I just like sharing the laughs.