"It's so hot out here," muttered Poppy the pigeon. The fountain in the park invited him for a spell. He soared down, perched on the edge, and jabbed his tiny pigeon head into the stream. "Ahhh, refreshing." It was. The fountain's water was really refreshing.
Nearby, something squealed. Poppy popped up. Two boys were skateboarding down the park. They were weaving in and out of terrified pedestrians. And both weren't wearing helmets.
Do you know what kind of people can make great people managers? Parents. Having children teaches you a lot about managing people.
And I believe this rule works in reverse too. Good managers can be good parents. That idea motivated the approach I took when I was a people manager; I thought like a parent as I managed my team.
Hopefully, it has helped. Here's why:
"I look forward to growing old."
"Are you insane?" Lisa gasped. She regarded me like a little puppy that just ate his own poop.
What's more fun than bucket of possums and an electric eel? Playing with second graders, of course!
Two friends and I were lucky enough to get such an experience. Our company offers a program called Classroom Buddies. In it, volunteers can take time off during a work day to help an elementary school teacher take care of his/her class.
This year, we got a rambunctious and edifying second grade class. Rambunctious meaning they were like a bucket of possums on speed, with two electric eels. Edifying meaning they opened my eyes to how much things have changed since I was in second grade.
"How did you get up there?" our little cousins asked. They were on their tippy-toes, as if their toes would magically get them on the roof too.
"We flew," my brother and I answered.
"No you didn't. Did you?"
"Yup, we did. And you can't come up because you don't believe us."
Everyone wonders about his or her purpose in life. Why am I here? What should I do with my life? What is my destiny?
I'm not the type of person to sit and wait for an answer. So I've given myself an answer. I can sum it up in a sentence:
I want to fundamentally improve the world. (Hey, we gotta aim high, right?)
I'm not sure what possessed me to light that bush on fire.
Maybe it was because I knew where my Mom kept the matches. That's just about all the reason an adolescent male needs to light anything on fire.
"Do people really live happily ever after?" asked the eleven year-old. He stared up at me with wide, eager eyes.
"Well…" I paused. I sucked in a breath. "That's a big question."
He continued to gaze at me, unwavering. I knew I had to give him an answer. It's rare nowadays for the young to seek advice from their elders, so I couldn't let him down.
I admit it: I'm not always a "positive" influence on small children.
What exactly is "positive" anyways? And who's to say that teaching a four-year-old girl to French-kiss my girlfriend is not a "positive" thing anyhow?
Before you give me that look, let me explain.
"Eat your brussel sprouts, Jimmy," his mother said. "They'll make you grow big and strong, just like the Hulk."
Jimmy frowned and pecked his brussel sprouts. He didn't like how they tasted, but he knew his mother was right. Mother was always right.
Weekly random rambles, musings & writings of Mike Lee in San Francisco, CA