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:
Whenever people read about the science of love, it usually leads to one of two conclusions:
Love is difficult to describe. Poets and lyricists have tried doing so for eons. And they're still at it.
But how would a scientist describe love? It probably wouldn't be as romantic as a poet's or lyricist's description. I fancy it would be something like this:
"I look forward to growing old."
"Are you insane?" Lisa gasped. She regarded me like a little puppy that just ate his own poop.
I'm sitting in a Barnes & Noble right now. As usual. Next to me are a father and son, sitting at a table and reading quietly.
The boy looks young; maybe first or second grade? The father looks pretty young too; maybe only a few years older than me.
Then the thought struck me: I totally want to be a father who brings his kid to Barnes & Noble too.
"What's finito?"
"It means finished."
"Well, I'm not finito yet," declared the little girl. She climbed off chair and began to walk around the cafe.
I want to be a grandfather who tells stories to his grandkids one day. Fantastic stories. Stories about how I fought off legions of rogue ninjas who swarmed the family mansion with just a rusty butter knife.
As his eyes rose to the sun-brazen sky, he thought to himself: "Yup, today is a good day to make amends."
The old man staggered down the steps of his porch. Each worn board creaked out a different tale. He stomped onto the sand and puffed dirt into the sky. His cane pressed into the ground and left behind a solitary mark.
"Squeak squeak squeak!" went the little toddler's shoes as he raced by and out of the pearl tea cafe. His harried Mom raced after him and grabbed his arm.
"Wait, honey. Mommy's still waiting for her order," she said as she pulled him back in.
"Squeak squeak squeak," went his shoes as he followed her back in.
Weekly random rambles, musings & writings of Mike Lee in San Francisco, CA