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  • Blog Post: I’d rather believe you than like you.

    Franny Fried
    People who claim not to care about what other people think are full of baloney. All things being equal, things seem easier and much more pleasant when you're liked by those around you. There is a danger, though, in placing too much importance on being liked. Take my colleague, for example. I frequently...
    on 20 Apr 2012

  • Blog Post: Creating the New Normal

    Franny Fried
    There isn't a lot to look at when you're lying on your back in a dentist chair. So, while unspeakable acts were being performed inside my mouth, I distracted myself by mentally scanning my closet, putting together outfits I could wear to upcoming social engagements. Given the minimalistic nature...
    on 13 Apr 2012

  • Blog Post: Restroom Rules

    Franny Fried
    Sometimes, the togetherness is too much to take. From the moment we get in line at the coffee cart in the morning until we pull our cars out of the parking lot in the evening like a presidential motorcade, we're surrounded. We can't even get a moment alone to take care of our most personal...
    on 23 Mar 2012

  • Blog Post: Recovering from Assumption Syndrome

    Franny Fried
    Houston, we have a problem. Either I'm unable to ask the right question or you keep answering the wrong one. It's probably something in between. First case in point: I recently tried learning how to place an order for supplies. After searching the resource site with no luck, I turned to a...
    on 9 Mar 2012

  • Blog Post: Toss out a few bread crumbs

    Franny Fried
    When was the last time you were lost? Not momentarily confused or a bit out of your comfort zone, but completely, totally lost? I remember two times. One involved taking the wrong exit onto a long, dark road. The other involved joining a new team whose members were too busy to write down any decisions...
    on 2 Mar 2012

  • Blog Post: Flinch and you lose

    Franny Fried
    When he got bored, my older brother sometimes made me play a game called "Flinch and You Lose." The rules were simple. I tried to avoid flinching while he wielded dangerous objects close to my face, raved like a lunatic, or threatened to spit goobers in my hair. Flinching earned a punch...
    on 24 Feb 2012

  • Blog Post: You Have to Earn Your Position

    Franny Fried
    The only people who get my immediate attention and respect are police officers, fire fighters and soldiers, and it's likely their uniforms have a lot to do with that. I hold all others, regardless of title, wealth, or status, at arm's length until they prove their value. I'm certainly...
    on 17 Feb 2012

  • Blog Post: Buzzer Kill

    Franny Fried
    Oh, the thrill of the New Year! We shuffle in, sluggish from holiday sloth until our faces light up with wonder as-one by one-our teammates trot out their new toys. Is that 4G?, we ask. Look at that screen!, we exclaim. And the apps, the glorious apps...never again will we make an uninformed decision...
    on 10 Feb 2012

  • Blog Post: Choose the right tool

    Franny Fried
    Every time I type more than five words in the "Notes" column of a spreadsheet, I have to jump through several click-heavy formatting procedures-to wrap and left-justify the text, start the words from the top instead of the bottom, and make the font bigger than seven points. Perhaps there's...
    on 27 Jan 2012

  • Blog Post: Spread cheer, not fear

    Franny Fried
    Believe it or not, having fun can be stressful. Revelry is especially wearisome during the holiday season when many of us try to jam a quarter's worth of events into a single month. If you have any part of planning or hosting office holiday gatherings, this post is for you. (If you're not...
    on 20 Jan 2012

  • Blog Post: Curb your enthusiasm

    Franny Fried
    If you've ever been the new kid in school, you know it's hard to fit in. No matter how much you tried to blend in you were prone to unfortunate gaffes like raising your hand too often in class or sitting down at the cool kids' table before being invited. Your parents, thinking they knew...
    on 13 Jan 2012

  • Blog Post: That is so last week!

    Franny Fried
    Social networks are a great way to spread things around, whether those things are political uprisings, movie recommendations, special sales offers, or pictures of adorable kittens in teacups. Social networks also act as accelerants by fanning the flames of fast-moving fads, fashions, and funny sayings...
    on 16 Dec 2011

  • Blog Post: Taming the Thread

    Franny Fried
    Whether you like it or not, email long ago replaced in-person conversation as the preferred method of business communication. On balance, I think this is a good thing: it's saved me from many unnecessary status meetings, it's great for getting the word out rapidly, plus it's easy to ignore...
    on 9 Dec 2011

  • Blog Post: Why smart people do dumb things

    Franny Fried
    If you are reading this post, I assume you're a smart, educated knowledge worker who likely reads other (albeit not as amusing) blogs about technological advances, world events, and economic trends. I also assume you are prone to momentary lapses of reason. It's easy for me to recall my...
    on 2 Dec 2011

  • Blog Post: Choose your battles wisely.

    Franny Fried
    I recently learned a great lesson about choosing your battles when I watched a friend's two-year-old daughter. The toddler is smart, determined, and energetic, and I always leave her company smiling, exhausted, and wiser because I've learned something I can apply in my adult work environment...
    on 18 Nov 2011

  • Blog Post: I gave at the office...again and again

    Franny Fried
    These days, I rarely look in the recesses of my freezer. However, I have a good idea what's back there: cookie dough for the pee-wee league, hot dogs for the Huskies, and mini pizzas for the Webelos, whoever (or whatever) they are. I'm tempted to affix a "No Solicitation" sign...
    on 4 Nov 2011

  • Blog Post: What's the job number for 'talking about the job but not doing it?'

    Franny Fried
    We all are liars. And there's really nothing we can do about it. Burdensome time-tracking systems force us to fib every day. Think about it. If you were totally honest about how much time you spend talking about what you're doing versus actually doing it , your time sheet for a typical week...
    on 28 Oct 2011

  • Blog Post: Your deadline CANNOT be yesterday!

    Franny Fried
    While in a meeting the other day I heard what I've come to believe is one of the dumbest catch phrases used in the workplace. "As usual, our deadline is yesterday for this, so we need to get started ASAP!" (Naturally, it was followed with a chuckle meant to convey conspiratorial sympathy...
    on 14 Oct 2011

  • Blog Post: Something wicked this way comes...

    Community Editor
    Depending on when you were born and whether you favor science fiction or Shakespeare (or both), this phrase may have different meanings for you. My fondest association is with the movie made in 1983 that was based on a Ray Bradbury novel. Second is the second witch in Macbeth. Third is the prolific...
    on 7 Oct 2011

  • Blog Post: Sometimes you need to clear the decks

    Franny Fried
    For many of you the beginning of July also marks the beginning of a new fiscal year. It's time to reflect on last year's challenges and successes while you set clear goals for the next. As you're doing so, please remember that-while it's good to push yourself to greater heights-downtime...
    on 30 Sep 2011

  • Blog Post: Why can't Johnny read?!

    Franny Fried
    It started with my sister-in-law. In response to emails I'd send her about upcoming family events, she'd reply with only partial answers. When I asked her two simple questions, she'd answer just one. When I followed up with her about the un-answered question, she'd reply with an unrelated...
    on 23 Sep 2011

  • Blog Post: Twitter me this, Batman!

    Franny Fried
    Call me old-fashioned (or a stickler for Associated Press style guidelines), but I must confess to having a hard time accepting the new language being used everywhere that I call "tweet-speak." This rushed, cryptic code does little to enhance understanding, enlist support and influence...
    on 16 Sep 2011

  • Blog Post: My foot on your backside...is that in scope?

    Franny Fried
    I know, I know. The email I just sent asking you to estimate what it would take to tweak the employee lookup window is added work. I understand that by taking time to: gripe about it summarize your gripes in an email you'll send to me, everyone on the team, and my manager walk...
    on 26 Aug 2011

  • Blog Post: Hyperbole ROCKS!

    Franny Fried
    Have you ever really been rolling on the floor laughing your "you-know-what" off? Was your first attempt at growing tomatoes in a pot on your deck really an epic fail? I hardly think so, unless you stumbled onto some new breed of eco-hazard that radiated from your neglected vines to kill...
    on 19 Aug 2011

  • Blog Post: It's always sunny in our department!

    Franny Fried
    Sometimes I wonder when it is we develop a sense that telling the absolute truth is not always best. For me it was the time my brother and I set off a sequence of events that caused our Christmas angel to lose her nose. We were forbidden to play in the upstairs living room. Most times we abided...
    on 12 Aug 2011
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