ArcaMax

You may think this column stinks, and you may be 100 percent right, but it's not my fault. The time I should have spent polishing my perspective and perfecting my prose was taken up in caring for Chirpy, my budgie, who is not at all well. He is listless and depressed and shows no interest in grooming.

Wait a minute -- I'm describing myself. ...Read more

Just because there's a degree from Harvard Business School on my resume doesn't mean I'm a snob. It also doesn't mean I went to Harvard Business School, but that's another story.

I did read a recent issue of Harvard Business Review in the waiting area of a discount tattoo parlor, which is pretty much the same thing as attending Harvard and a ...Read more

You've been dreaming about it for years -- the singular, magical moment when the ball and chain is removed from your ankle. Your sentence has been commuted; your time has been served; and you can leave your job forever.

Whether you've been fired or you actually made good on your promises to quit, you no longer have a job. You're free!

And what...Read more

Your career kayak is out of control and you are racing down the river of failure, heading for the waterfall of doom.

You are scared of losing the job you have and you are even more scared about finding anything better. Finding anything, period.

You want to know what the future will bring.

I can't help you -- that much you do know. But to ...Read more

It's your first day at a new job. What do you think about?

If it's you, you think about how long it will take before you reach your last day at your new job. But I'm talking about normal people. Normal people want to do their best from Day One, so they can grow and learn and have long and fulfilling careers.

Or so I learned from Julia ...Read more

This has happened to you, I'm sure.

You have a problem with your cable company, or your telephone provider, or the emergency button on the key fob for your new Lamborghini Centenario Roadster has stopped working. You call customer service, and after poking your way through a phone tree of Paul Bunyan proportions, you eventually reach a human ...Read more

Has this ever happened to you?

Your company makes a passel of new hires, some of whom are earmarked for your department. Because you have no say in the hiring process, you have no idea who has been hired or what they have been hired to do.

The question is -- what do you do when the newbies arrive?

1. Welcome them warmly. They're human ...Read more

TGIFridays

It's not just a gourmet restaurant, where the Philly cheesesteak eggrolls alone are worthy of three Michelin stars. It's also an expression that sums up your entire working experience.

At the start of the workweek, you put your head down and muscle your way through a miserable Monday, a terrible Tuesday, a weird Wednesday and a ...Read more

We all make mistakes, or do we?

When it comes to doing your job, you're famous for doing everything right. You're perfect, and that's why everyone at work hates you. (Well, it's not the only reason, but it is one we can discuss in public.)

While your faultless record is admirable, there could come a time when making a mistake would not be a ...Read more

Companies are trying something new: artificial intelligence.

Sound scary? It is. But you have to admit, it's better for management to actually have some intelligence, even if it is artificial.

Or is it?

According to "What's on Your Mind? Bosses Are Using Artificial Intelligence to Find Out," a recent article by Imani Moise in The Wall Street ...Read more

You want to succeed at work. This is admirable. But will the traditional methods for getting ahead work for you?

Don't think so.

Maintaining a positive attitude is one frequent suggestion for strivers, but your "can't-do" attitude is based on years of failures, flops and boo-boos. To positively believe you have what it takes to get ahead is ...Read more

Ever dream of being stranded on a desert island?

There you are, totally alone, in the middle of the ocean, doomed to spend the rest of your days with no human company.

Sounds good, doesn't it?

Thanks to today's trend of open offices, the constant cacophony of co-workers can make work hell. Equally bad are the desk-side pop-ins from ...Read more