One Big Lesson from Palm Sunday: How It Reminds Us of the Fickle Nature of Life

Editor’s Note: I occasionally republish some of my most popular blog posts. Here’s one from March 27, 2018. I’M ALWAYS STRUCK BY the quiet lesson of Palm Sunday. Last Sunday, in my little church here in Yorba Linda, we waved palm branches and sang hosannas as we remembered Christ’s triumphant entry i nto Jerusalem more than

Continue reading

Unlimited Paid Time Off (PTO) — A Bit More Popular, but Still a Big Workplace Fairy Tale

IT ALWAYS SEEMED too good to be true. Back in 2019, I questioned a relatively new employment practice that a lot of companies were pushing at the time — unlimited paid time off, better known as PTO. I didn’t think much of it back then, and the debate hasn’t changed much since I wrote about

Continue reading

On Martin Luther King Day, Remembering His Famous Letter from Birmingham Jail

Editor’s Note: I originally published this Skeptical Guy post on the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on King Day in January 2024. It seemed appropriate to republish it again this year. HOLIDAYS ARE GREAT because they give us a chance to take a break. But sometimes, we take that break without thinking about just WHY

Continue reading

“Did You Save It?” Words to Remember from a Lifetime of California Wildfires

I WANTED TO WRITE something lighthearted about the New Year in my first post of 2025, but it’s hard to be lighthearted if you live in Southern California, as I do. So much for a Happy New Year. You’ve surely seen or heard about the fires that have decimated several SoCal communities, and the hardest

Continue reading

What Happens When Employees Find They’re Getting a Crappy Christmas Bonus?

Editor’s Note: Here’s one of my most popular holiday classics. This one is from back in December 2018.  I’VE HAD TO WORK THROUGH so many holiday seasons that I feel a little like Clark Griswold. If the name doesn’t ring a bell, the character should. It’s the role Chevy Chase played numerous times, but most

Continue reading

10 Insights Into the American Character … from a Interesting Non-American Observer

THERE’S A WRITER in Finland that I occasionally do a little editing for who I haven’t heard from in a while. He sent me an email last week and he led off with this: “How are you? The election is done and the next president has been chosen. How does that feel?” I’ve gotten similar

Continue reading

This is No Big Surprise, But It’s Finally Time to Kiss the Office Christmas Party Goodbye

Editor’s Note: I’m occasionally republishing some of my most popular posts. Here’s one from back in December 2017. THE HEADLINE ON A STORY in The Wall Street Journal pretty much said it all: Welcome to the Post-Weinstein Holiday Party. What followed was 1,400 depressing words that basically said, without actually saying it, something that you probably already know

Continue reading

Online Job Ads? In the End, They’re a Really Bad Way to Find the Very Best Person

Editor’s Note: I’m occasionally republishing some of my most popular posts here on The Skeptical Guy. Here’s one that was originally published back in August 2017. HERE’S A CONFESSION: I hate online job ads because I’ve found that they’re a crappy way to find the very best candidates. On the one hand, my recruiter side

Continue reading

Dealing With Odd Employees Just Another Thing That Good Managers Have to Do

WRITING THIS BLOG often makes me reflect on people I’ve encountered during my career. Sometimes people ask, “Who was the oddest person you ever had working for you?” and although quite a few pop into my head, there’s one that tops all others. It’s a guy named Larry who I worked with in San Diego

Continue reading

Sometimes You Need a Change, and it Even Happens Here at The Skeptical Guy

LOYAL READERS of this blog — I think there are a couple of you out there — may have wondered why I haven’t published for the last few weeks. My apologies for that, but there are a number of reasons for me going radio silent. The big one is that my family has been struggling

Continue reading