Ball Busters and Mansplainers

In such a heightened time of awareness as we are in right now (2018)…on topics of gender equality, workplace equality, social equality…I am both excited and  frightened..and I am still processing and evaluating.  I have some strong opinions on where I stand philosophically on these topics and current events…but I am not ready to share those yet, not because I am shy to share them, but rather, given transitions in my own life, I don’t believe I have fully developed my belief set yet.  Instead I want to talk about something related, but closer to my day to day home in the corporate setting.

In a conversation the other day with S, he brought up the term ‘mansplaining’ to describe what had a happened to a friend of mine in a story I was telling him.  Mansplaining is defined as the process by which, typically a man, will explain something in a condescending and patronizing manner to a woman.  Continue reading “Ball Busters and Mansplainers”

The Micromanager Boss

I think we have all had one in our lives…maybe he wasn’t even your boss, maybe she was your girlfriend, or maybe he was your dad…or maybe she was just your manager.  *cringe*  I still remember the couple micromanagers I had…thankfully it was only a couple.  Took me a couple times to learn and figure how to steer clear of those.

The problem with micromanagers is they can be so damn stifling and draining.  Stifling because they are just on your game…even when your game is on.  Draining because not only do you have to do the work, you now have to explain the work before and after…step. by. step. *cringe*  I still remember having to write out how I intended to draft up each of my slides for the night.   Continue reading “The Micromanager Boss”

Strategy versus Execution

Having spent the earlier part of my career in the more execution side of things (trading floor, product management) and the latter part more on the strategy side of things (consulting, in house strategy), I am often asked whether I am more of a thinking or doing person.  I struggle with this question because I think it’s fundamentally the wrong question to get a gauge of how someone operates…the better question would be do you think and do in a way that most optimizes what you want.  Continue reading “Strategy versus Execution”