Influencer Marketing

I want to pretend that I’m impressed by experts and influencer marketing campaigns. Unfortunately, that’s a lie. Experts are idiots. I’m an expert in some circles beyond my mind, and I don’t know anything. Nobody else knows anything, either. And let’s not forget that the robots are coming. We should all embrace a basic income and…

How to work with stupid people.

We all have them in our lives. Trump lovers, Bernie supporters, birthers, 9/11 truthers, and people who send you a voicemail/text/email and then stop by your desk two seconds later because they need a response. Here’s how to work with stupid people. Smile. Pause. Breathe. It diffuses the stupidity. Begin with praise. We’re all narcissists.…

Botticelli Reimagined

A few weeks ago, Jennifer McClure asked if I wanted to go back to Istanbul. She has a conference on the Asia-side of the city. In case you weren’t reading my blog at the time, Jennifer and I took an incredible trip to Turkey back in February 2014 in the midst of riots, a government-wide…

Girl Develop It

Earlier this year, a friend of mine told me that he teaches a Girl Develop It class in Cincinnati. What’s Girl Develop It? Girl Develop It is a nonprofit organization that exists to provide affordable and judgment-free opportunities for women interested in learning web and software development. Through in-person classes and community support, Girl Develop…

How to work at home with cats.

These are my tips to work at home with your cats. If you have something important to do, save it for later. Cats are your priority. Before you start a Skype meeting, warn everybody that you have cats and they like to jump up and watch the screen like it’s TV. If you’re on a…

Work Friends Endure!

I barely ever make work-related friends, but I’m lucky to have 4-5 people in my life who have known me forever. One of those guys is Jeff. Jeff and I shouldn’t be friends. We are political opposites. We don’t live near one another or work together, anymore. But there was this one time when I…

Financial Wellness and HR

I’ve worked in the HR industry since I was a kid. If there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that a lot of HR ladies are broke. This observation is sweeping and obnoxious. It’s also accurate. It’s true across all ethnicities. Across all orientations. Children or not. Married or single. Young. Old. Somewhere in-between. Nobody…

Pre-Mortem Assessments of Life

I’m not interested in doing a post-mortem on projects, policies or relationships. In theory, it makes sense to take stock of an event when it’s over. It sounds healthy to compile a list of “lessons learned.” But you know what happens with a post-mortem? Not much. You make a list, file it away, and forget…