Showing posts with label appreciation for our team. Show all posts
Showing posts with label appreciation for our team. Show all posts

Monday, June 21, 2010

Cut the cancer in your team.

Ten years abroad leaves you with a big gap of what's going on back home. I left Canada 3 months after the Y2K flop and came back weeks after the Vancouver 2010 olympics. There's a lot in between there to miss. One thing I totally missed was the birth of the reality show. They are everywhere. Some are fantastic some not so much. After 10 years of Nihon Televison I'm kind of bingeing on English T.V.

I've already professed my love for Til Debt Do U$ Part and I've grown to like the Millionaire Matchmaker because that lady's insight into the millionaires is amazing. I stumbled across one called Salon Takeover for the first time the other day.

Some Chicago salon was in danger of closing the stylists with the help of Tabatha Coffey. The show I watched the team really pulled together and made huge changes but one stylist. She fought it every which way. She swore, backstabbed and threw tantrums. Why? She had worked there five years and had some commitment to the salon. Her co-workers called her a cancer in the team.

I hazard it's her Upper Limit Problem or maybe she's one of the crabs in the barrel trying to keep the escapees down. Whatever it was she was let go and left in tears.

Like it or not these people can be in your team and I mean at work or at home. They are the first to say "It can't be done!" and do everything in their power to make sure it isn't - maybe sub-consciously. I've seen it in action and luckily have gotten rid of a lot of the "crabs" in my life but it's not over yet they always manage to come back!

Friday, October 09, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving Canada!

This long weekend in Canada is Thanksgiving. We are hard pressed to find a whole bird here in Japan and even if I did I don't know where I'd cook it.

When we do cook Thanksgiving dinners are legendary at my house. Todd is a FANTASTIC chef and always puts out delicious meals that leave everybody wanting more. There never are any leftovers...

In the expat community there are a lot of people alone for many holidays so it's nice when we have impromptu parties with people of all nationalities bringing a dish. I guess it's a true rendition of the original Thanksgiving of sharing.

We have so much to be thankful for; even the bad things that happen teach you to be thankful. When bills come due and tenants leave or rates go up and rents go down everything is a learning experience. Every hurdle you clear brings you that much closer to your goal.

Todd, Ronan and I are really grateful for our excellent team, our mentors, our friends and family and most importantly our partners. We're looking forward to seeing you soon!

Ode to Thanksgiving

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!