My late father-in-law wielded a lived-in phrase: “Speak to people in a language they will understand.” That’s a quietly devastating line. “Speak to people in a language they will understand.” That’s not just about vocabulary. Vernacular, sure. But there’s more.…
His temples were a mass of bulging veins, merging with the deep furrows of his perennial frown. Corporal Rockjaw couldn’t break us. Platoon 4 prevailed. I was a conscript, choosing service over jail for non-compliance. Rockjaw was so tough, you…
Ferd’s Core Human Fracture of Ego vs Healing. Ferd’s steely blue eyes pierced the Teams filters with venom. He had been accused of not wanting a project to succeed, of merely earning his salary while sitting all day. I could…
Every messiah has to die. I watched a new managerial god fly in, and while the wrapped coupe was cooling in the basement, he gathered the middle-management saints, who in turn assembled the sinners. Together, they would transform stale tickets…
Brad was flushed with rage. The veins in his forehead pulsated. “I can work for a tyrant, but not a narcissist who needs a performing monkey.” Brad resigned a week later, found a great job at a competitor’s firm, and…
“You will listen to your corporals. Their instructions will give you a better chance to survive.” I reckon the other rookies scoffed at those words, like I did. I was fresh out of university, and conscription had caught up with…
Promotions that feel like punishments. “Congratulations. You now get to drown with a better title.” Glen emerged from his military career as a Major. Nice dude. He was surprisingly “unmilitary” in bearing. We reminisced about trivial shared experiences like inedible…
Hi David, Today is 22 July, 2002. I want to say something simple. I don’t think you did a good job today. Not as a manager, and also not as someone who wants to grow or learn. You tried to…
Hail to the King, by Avenged Sevenfold, is a gritty tune that rocks out against the abuse of power.When the Small King rose to power within my organization, the lyrics of that song burrowed into my mind.He mastered the art…
If you have to, use the occasional ‘fuck’ not as filler, but as a precision tool, not for edge, but for breaking walls or landing emotional weight. Swearing is punctuation, used sparingly. It’s not the content, it’s the impact. Is…