Author: John Hollon

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

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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

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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

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“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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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The Corporate Kiss-Off, or What I Learned After Getting Jerked Around About a Job

YOU FIND ALL SORTS of interesting things when you go through old email. I’ve been doing that recently as I try to get rid of the many messages I’ve saved over the years. Why I saved so many escapes me now, but the silver lining is this — I’m finding some interesting conversations that are

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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

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