Yesterday’s visit by “The Ghosts of Bosses Past” sparked an avalanche of memories (please, somebody just merge already!). So the ghostly visits continue…

Early in my career- I was pretty dynamic (some might use aggressive, especially for a Canadian). I called people out, I didn’t suffer fools and I generally went around assuming that work should be the only focus of anyone on payroll. I was full of piss and vinegar. Smart and driven. And basically every boss’s worst nightmare.

Instead of putting me on a leash and fighting me everyday, he harnessed my energy- which in truth, was endless.  I could value a company in a day; work up a field study in a week, and when empowered, lead people with humor and fun.

So one day in our weekly meeting he said “David.  I love almost everything about you but you rub some people the wrong way. I’ve thought a lot about it and I have a solution. You should take up painting.”  Painting?!?! This is a true story.

I thought he was crazy.  But I trusted him. So I signed up for painting. And It worked. It calmed me down, allowed me to see a world outside of work and accessed an artistic part of me I didn’t know I had.  

Invest in your people. You’ll get more out of them. (The second painting I did is in the comments).

#hottakeoftheday