I’m launching a Substack where I’ll anthologize my more informational content into practical, educational posts that tell you how I actually GSD.  You can expect thrilling topics like state labor regulations, insurance regulations, payroll tax insights, deep dives into obscure payroll settings, workflow design, free practical resources, calls to action, and buttons to click.

One does not simply fire someone in a position of leadership. Loose lips sink ships.

So your boss sucks. They play favorites. They make arbitrary decisions and everyone knows they have no idea what they’re doing. They change rules on a whim. You’re right. Your boss sucks. But they’re probably not doing anything illegal. They're just bad at their job.

In most cases, your boss wasn’t evil. You just didn’t get along. Good thing you don’t have to anymore. Even if your boss did do something super illegal, you don’t always get justice. Even if you did get justice, it doesn’t undo the awful thing that happened to you. It’s better to get out of the situation. Keep the awful thing from happening in the first place. 

Your handbook should help people make decisions. Not just disciplinary decisions. The handbook should draw bright lines where possible, and give guidance for situations that are unclear. Your handbook should give guidance on the unspoken habits your organization runs on.

The same tendency that makes it difficult to structure Google Drive folders also leads to creativity. Neuro-atypical brains make connections between things that other people wouldn't see. 

Going into your DMs with someone who’s left the company feels like walking into the perfectly-preserved bedroom of someone who passed away before their time. Eerie, reverent, forbidden.

You may see them as a perfectionist. Overbearing. High maintenance. A control freak. Nit picky. Difficult. It’s exhausting. You may avoid them. Or resent them. Since strivers are often high achievers, they tend to land in positions of power, putting their unrealistic expectations on you.

When is it appropriate to send the “Is now still good?” message? It’s not like they’re going to see it. If they were attentive they’d be in the meeting and this wouldn’t be happening to you.

You’re sending the recipient to purgatory. They'll spend the whole weekend in an avoidance loop, thinking about your email and dreading the mental calories it will take to reply. They’ll be headed out on a date with their spouse, turn on their phone to call an Uber, and there will be the notification for YOUR EMAIL, just waiting. Watching.

That's what leadership looks like: Putting aside your own experiences and recognizing when it isn't about you. Because, as we explained in that meeting, bias has no place in the workplace.

When it comes to hiring and promotion, we tend to think admin skills are intuitive. So we devalue them. But admin skills are not universal.

I forgot. I’d asked the new office manager to grab “breakfast” for the VIP meeting. I forgot “breakfast” was code for something different around here.