The Crone in the Corner Office is on vacation.  My next essay will appear on March 30, 2017.  Thank you for reading.  Kathi

I usually end these essays with a quote rather than begin with one but today I am inspired!  I have spent the last hour on the elliptical machine, running to nowhere, watching the women’s semi-final matches at the Australian Open, where the oldest woman to reach the semi’s of a Grand Slam, Venus Williams, 36, will play her “baby” sister, Serena, 35, for the championship title.  To get there she beat the future of U.S. women’s tennis, Coco VandeWeghe, heir to generations of athletic talent and one of the hardest hitters in the game at the ripe old age of 25. Now, I am a huge Serena fan and I have become a Coco fan watching this tournament.  But I “ran”…

I have a reputation in my immediate family as a “good story teller.” When my husband and younger son describe me that way they really mean that they think I have exaggerated the tale beyond all recognition and am bordering on being an out and out liar!  My older son shares this particular skill with me and, like me, sees it as a means to keep a conversation from lagging.  But, make no mistake;  the stories I tell are absolutely true and reflect the way I look at the world.  And there lies the rub: the way I look at the world is, by definition, unique and my creation.   Mary Catherine Bateson, noted anthropologist and daughter of Margaret Mead and Gregory…

I had a consulting assignment at a small company and, as part of my remit, I was available for one-on-one coaching for the senior executive team.  One day one of those senior executives asked me if I would spend some time with a new staff member.  This young man had been hired for a job for which he had no qualifications, no experience and he was loudly telling everyone what they were doing wrong. “Sure.  I think I can offer some help here.  Tell him to call me and set up an appointment.”  So began my coaching relationship with Mark (names, as always, are changed to protect the innocent).  Mark was young and very, very smart.  It was true that he…

My husband and I look at the world somewhat differently and, because of that, there are many topics that we have almost unconsciously agreed not to talk about.  Yankees vs. Mets to give but one example.  We are both smart enough to know that you don’t change someone’s mind by arguing and we share so many core values that we’ve been happily married for a very long time with just a handful of topics off-limits. When I stumble onto a new, off-limits topic I am always surprised.  Many, many years ago he was in a rare, down mood and asked me, “What is the meaning of life?” I quickly answered without thinking about it, “Life is short and then you die,”…

A while ago I wrote about how grateful I was that a valued employee was brave enough to tell me that he didn’t think I was doing a very good job (The Crone in the Corner Office, July 14, 2016: “Hearing Loss at the Top of the Mountain.”).  Many readers wrote to me privately since that essay appeared, asking for advice on giving their boss feedback.  Oh, the awful boss stories I’ve heard, leading me to write again about how we must take responsibility for ourselves and our own issues (The Crone in the Corner Office, September 8, 2016: “Does Your Boss Need Therapy, Coaching, Miss Manners or Meds? How About You?”). Clearly, I have grossly underestimated the degree of hearing…