Good work always takes hard work...

30 days has September, April, June and November… you probably remember that rhyme-to-learn song in elementary school: the days in a month are always the same.  It should be that simple at work. But managing people is hard because managers sometimes can’t rely on what employees tell them, or employees have a hard time getting a straight answer from their managers. If you’re experiencing this, maybe your workplace culture isn’t as open and trusting as it needs to be. You should encourage and allow your employees to tell you the truth even when it hurts. And not over-react. Maybe then they’ll be more truthful when you have to ask hard questions. It’s a lot like being a parent of a teenager… if you know what I mean. Creating trust means more listening that talking, more coaching that blaming, more patience than knee-jerk reactions, and more thoughtful wisdom rather than shoot-from-the-hip directions. It takes time and effort to make people comfortable with acting responsibly and being responsible for their actions. If employees know they can get away with things, they’ll try, but if they know they’ll have to live up to expectations, they’ll try harder. Improving behavior and fixing what’s wrong is much harder than writing an employee off. But, like I said, that takes good soft skills and caring efforts.  And it always starts with trust. And that never changes. Develop and foster trust today.

 

Diane Arbus (1923 – 1971): American photographer.

 

Never overlook your old friends...

Whenever I see Charles Darwin’s name, I immediately think of the play and movie Inherit the Wind, and its portrayal of an historic court case about evolution versus creationism. But that’s not only because I’m a big fan of movies and plays; more so because that was our High School’s senior play, and I was one of the leads…opposite my real-life best childhood friend. We were protagonists on the stage, and besties in our everyday lives… and we remain friends to this day. These days the world thinks of “friends” in terms of Facebook or Linked in connections as one of the measures of our standing in a social-media centric world. But while we may be close to some of those connections, our real friends represent active relationships that require a greater commitment and dedication to maintain. Where I’m going here, is that real friends and friendships take work, shouldn’t be taken for granted, and should never be taken advantage of. Real friendships endure the ups and downs of life, often survive droughts of inactivity, and react incredibly well to any act of rekindling. And whether they are close friends, mere acquaintances, or complete strangers, it never hurts to graciously extend all the kindnesses of true friendship to everyone you meet today.

 

Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882): English naturalist, geologist and biologist,[6] best known for his contributions to the science of evolution

 

Don't be so judgmental...

Companies everywhere are struggling to come up with succinct and workable policies about getting people back to work after this year of layoffs, furloughs, and WFH and hybrid working arrangements. Recently, General Motors published their new back to work policy: it simply says - Work appropriately. It’s a flexible, evolving policy that will differ depending on the employee, week and assignment, according to executives there. And, unlike most policies, it’s not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. Not surprisingly, policies like this are becoming part of the new normal in the workplace and you may want to review your policies with an eye towards simplifying them. One thing you may want to consider is using the Golden Rule as the basis of your policies – after all, most employees probably learned that basic principle above all others while growing up. Another: you probably list the things employees should not do in your employee handbook – consider that employees know right from wrong, so focus on just listing and emphasizing the things they should do. At the end of the day, don’t be so rigid and judgmental – give employees the benefit of the doubt and encourage supervisors to manage them appropriately. After a brutal year of Covid-19 disruptions, companies need to be more flexible in their policies, especially one’s about now getting back to work. That’s what employees are going to expect today.

 

Phillips Brooks (1835 – 1893): American Episcopal clergyman and author, long the Rector of Boston's Trinity Church; he wrote the lyrics to "O Little Town of Bethlehem"

Open your mind to new ideas...

I’m a big fan of pizza. My hometown, Utica, NY was, like most New York State cities, proud of and often noted for its pizza. So, when we moved to Las Vegas, one of the first things we did was go looking for a good pizza place… and we found Metro Pizza. I’ve since come to know the owners, John and his cousin Sam, and they are (or should be) the poster children for proud family businesses (pizza or otherwise). According to John’s Facebook posts, pizza is a metaphor for life itself, and that’s apparent when you meet them or just eat in their restaurants. They’re clean and on top of their game. I had an opportunity to work with them when I was teaching at UNLV and they taught a class on the business of the pizza business. To say they eat, and sleep pizza is a given, but to see them inspiring students to think about the business of pizza and hospitality was inspiring. To be around them is to experience a whirlwind of ideas, both about pizza and life. And that’s what they were teaching the college kids who took their course. Because to them ideas are like pizza dough, made to be tossed around. Those students came away with this: if you want to be successful, pay attention to the details and start every day, and every meeting, by tossing ideas around. That’s a great way to make the point that we’re all responsible for our personal and our organization’s success today.

 

Anna Quindlen (born 1953): American author, journalist, and opinion columnist; Pulitzer Prize Winner and columnist for the New York Times

Do a little bit extra...

People often ask me how they might get ahead: my answer is usually ‘do the best you can, and you’ll get noticed’. There’s no magic to that: be responsible for your actions every day and you’ll be held appropriately accountable. And one of the best ways to always be your best is to read anything and everything that’s related to your job – that way you’ll be the one who’s up-to-date and prepared, and your work will reflect that. I recently started a list of things my consulting partner and I are reading each week, and rather than respond to ad-hoc requests, we’ve started sending that out. It’s an eclectic mix of stories that are culled from dozens of sources that we like and learn from. In the past month much of it has been related to emotional intelligence and how those skills are super-important in this post-pandemic period; you’ve seen some of those themes here in these messages. This week the stories range from overcoming the blahs, revising corporate cultures, and how millennials are disinterested in being the boss, among others. Like me, I’m sure you learn a lot at work every day; but at the end of the day, it’s always good to learn a little bit more by reading something no one else is reading. Knowing a little bit more is a good way to get ahead today.

 

Christopher Morley (1890 – 1957): American journalist, novelist, essayist and poet. He also produced stage productions for a few years and gave college lectures

Catch people doing things right...

Early in my career, I was challenged to find out why there was such a high turnover rate among guest room attendants (GRAs) at the Golden Nugget: everyone assumed it was because of the difficulty of the job.  But after interviewing 100 GRAs who had recently resigned, I found the primary cause was that they were constantly disciplined for the things they did wrong while the things they did right were generally ignored. As a solution, we experimented with a program that focused more on the things they did correctly. The result was that turnover decreased over the next 12 months: the job didn’t change, but the way we interacted with them did. That simple change and the results that it produced led us to expand this program of ‘catching people doing things right’ to the rest of the company... with equally positive results. Everyone appreciates a positive comment or pat on the back when warranted which, by the way, usually balances out the times when discipline and coaching are needed. Employee relations policies are often punitive in nature and the lesson here is that approaching them with a goal of commenting on and rewarding the behaviors we want repeated creates more balance and fairness while reinforcing a culture of trust, respect, and loyalty. And bottom line: turnover goes down. Look for both the flaws and the triumphs today.

 

Whitney Elizabeth Houston (1963 – 2012): American singer and actress who is one of the best-selling recording artists of all time

Change strategies for changing times...

Yesterday I was opining about the importance and value of employee engagement and how managers can make that happen. Now, more than ever, the intersection of servant leadership and emotional intelligence is where they’ll find the skills and tools to create and reinforce high levels of employee engagement. The first part of that combination is the philosophy that leaders should have a goal of serving their employees – listening, empathizing, coaching, communicating, motivating, and generally helping them to be their best. The second defines the array of skills and characteristics that drive leadership performance like recognizing their own emotions and those of others, discerning between different feelings and labeling them appropriately, using emotional information to guide thinking and behavior, and adjusting emotions to adapt to changing situations. That’s far different from just offering employees things to encourage them to be more engaged with the company, their colleagues, and your customers; it is all about managing emotions and situations concurrently, which can be rather tricky. And those weren’t the skills often found in pre-pandemic times; more likely, they were the ones managers were encouraged to stay away from. This intersection is now one of many ways to go forward in post-pandemic times, especially as leaders work to rebuild trust, respect, security, and loyalty. If you don’t adopt these new strategies, you just might find yourself, your team, and your company standing still today.

 

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882 – 1945): often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician who served as the 32nd president of the United States 

Inspect what you expect...

Employee engagement is all about the relationship between an organization and its employees. Engaged employees are actively interested, enthusiastic, flexible, optimistic, supportive and loyal. On the other hand, disengaged employees do the bare minimum and care less about the organization, their colleagues and your customers. And you know that organizations with high employee engagement often outperform those with low employee engagement. So, it stands to reason that managers want employees that are highly engaged… but that’s easier said than done. High performers may start out that way, but it takes empathetic and supportive supervisors who provide timely and ongoing feedback about the behaviors that matter to keep them at that level. If you want your managers and supervisors to do this, train them to provide this kind of support and give them the authority to act. HR needs to design effective programs, train managers to use them, monitor their performance and provide coaching when needed. Organizations that do that see significantly better profitability, productivity, absenteeism, customer satisfaction because employee satisfaction drives customer satisfaction and overall organizational performance. Look at your organization and honestly assess whether you’re doing these things because this is what it takes to compete in a highly competitive market. If you’re not going to quit the business, get into driving employee satisfaction and engagement today.

 

Kristoffer Kristofferson (born 1936): American singer-songwriter and actor.

Don't judge a book by its cover...

I gave a presentation today to an SHRM state conference on hiring for attitude: in it I was asked about my experiences hiring ex-offenders. That got me thinking about a Ted Talk I did several years ago about those and other alternate recruiting strategies I dreamed up while staffing big hotels. And, in it, one of the key take-aways was “don’t judge a book by its cover”: that’s something that we all do more often than we care to admit. Because we have pre-conceived notions about people and things based on our past experiences and sometimes our up-bringing. Sometimes it relates to something we’re given or have bought, other times it’s the people we meet or work with. People quickly judged the ‘one-eyed ex-felon without an eye patch’ I talked about in that video even though he’d earned the right to a second chance; granted, this is an extreme example, but that just makes the outcome even more amazing. How many times do we judge new bosses, subordinates, or colleagues too quickly (too many); and how much time do we waste before common sense and good judgment override those snap decisions (too much)? As leaders we’re charged with giving everyone a chance to prove him or herself, and as employees we withhold our opinion until it’s proven whether someone is worth our respect and loyalty. Don’t be so quick to judge, keep an open mind, and be honest with yourself, and you’ll find the answer to your questions in good time. In the meantime, try throwing away some labels today. 

 

Eudora Alice Welty (1909 – 2001): American short story writer, novelist and photographer, who wrote about the American South

Here’s a link to my Ted Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tm2BzOLfnOw

Never stop learning...

I talk to business leaders each week and the one thing I’ve heard most is how they’ve leveraged all of the challenges they faced this past year to become better leaders today. None of them ever dreamed they’d have to deal with something as cataclysmic as Covid-19, and most felt they were flying blind as it (1) cascaded through their businesses and plans and (2) spawned regulatory, financial, and employee relation’s issues that were unprecedented. Had they been asked in 2019 how prepared they were for a disaster most would have felt confident: today, they’re somewhere between surprised and amazed they survived. All of them get around to talking about how much empathy was needed to keep themselves and their employees going through these tough times, an employee relation’s approach many had not used very much before. And frankly, they now realize that the employee impact was as severe as the financial impact of this pandemic. So, as their businesses slowly start to reopen, they are hyper-focused on their employees’ lingering issues and morale and how to address them. They will all use what they’ve learned about emotional intelligence this year to help them rebuild the trust and respect that is the foundation of their ability to operate. As unpleasant as this past year has been, they all learned from it how to become better. Keep learning in order to continue getting better today.

 

Adam Gale: Editor of Management Today, a leading UK leadership journal

         

Observe and manage by walking around...

One of my neighbors here in Las Vegas is the local food critic: most nights he’s out testing the local fare. We’ve gone with him a few times and it’s quite the experience: lots of samples, questions, and opinions. Around the neighborhood he’s quite the raconteur, regaling us with stories and opinions. But out on the town he’s all business: for all of his assuredness, he’s quite proud of leaving his opinions and bias at the door; while working, he’s a skeptic, critic and coach. And when he’s done, and the food and experience are digested, his first thoughts and comments are well considered, appropriately phrased, and wisely shared.  It’s interesting to see how everyone working there stands a little straighter, works a little harder, and smiles a little brighter: it’s not fawning, they’re performing at their best. And as I think about his profession and role, it’s not all that different from when managers and supervisors walk the floor: employees do the same, again, not trying to play up to them so much as trying to do their best. Good bosses walk around and watch and talk and comment and coach. We all want our employees to perform at their best whether we’re walking the floor or not: that’s a combination of the right people being in the right jobs, having proper guidance and instruction, and having the benefit of lots of feedback and coaching. Give your employees all of that and they’ll do what’s right whether you’re watching or not today.

George Jean Nathan (1882 –1958): American drama critic and magazine editor (and no relation)

Listen and understand before you seek to be understood...

I like food that is simple and straight-forward – being able to identify and taste each of a meal’s ingredients. Likewise, I like simple and straight-forward company policies – ones that are understandable and create a workplace of mutual respect and trust. Because that’s what employees expect and appreciate.  So, consider this: it’s contradictory to have an employment-at-will policy that states the company can terminate an employee for no reason AND an employee handbook that states the company will follow progressive discipline and due process in all terminations. That’s muddled and inconsistent. Or this: we (the company) want you to be comfortable working here and commit to a workplace based on trust and respect AND our employment-at-will policy states that management doesn’t have to explain its actions. If you never have, nor never will terminate an employee for no reason, then why have this policy. Especially if it erodes an employee’s sense of security AND makes them feel like management can’t be trusted. Leaders should look at their values and goals and assess if those are consistent and aligned with their policies and practices. If they want employees to trust and respect them then they have to act in a trustworthy and respectful manner. I think that’s another way to say the Golden Rule. Leaders should say what they mean and mean what they say. That’s how to create trust and respect and a sense of security in the workplace today.

Alice Waters (born 1944): American chef, restaurateur, activist and author.

The best time to do what's right... is right now!

Here are more comments on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and his 1954 book about human behavior and motivation. It essentially said that people and, by extension, employees, need to feel secure before they can become comfortable enough to achieve their full potential. At work they have basic needs (like safety and security), and psychological needs (like being accepted and feeling like they’re useful and productive). These are the kinds of things that (1) don’t cost anything and (2) which managers should provide; they’re the kinds of things derived from caring and empathy supervision. If they’re in place, employees will be engaged, want to do more, and be of greater benefit to their colleagues and the company. If they’re not, in reality or perceived, employees will be dis-satisfied and seek higher compensation or look for others, like a union, to listen to and care about them.  After nearly 70 years, this psychological concept is embedded in the policies and practices of the most successful companies – because it’s the right thing to do. Business leaders should train their mid-level managers in the art of satisfying employee needs and expectations: talk to them regularly, listen to feedback from them and their employees, and promote a caring culture. That ultimately attracts and retains line-level employees, the ones that most companies today are trying hard to find. If it’s there – promote it; if it’s not, the right time to act is today.

 

Fulton J. Sheen (1895-1979): Archbishop of The Roman Catholic Church

Win the war for talent...

Things are quickly getting back to a new normal, and business leaders are being challenged to manage this transition effectively. Businesses were forced to do things this past year that unfortunately stripped employees of their sense of security – getting them back to work and again feeling trusted and secure is going to take great skill and empathy. That’s easier said than done – case in point, Amazon: this year they increased their workforce by nearly 30% (400,000 + workers) – all of whom were most likely happy to have the job but also stressed by the demands to perform up to the company standards. That friction led to the biggest union campaign and vote in recent memory.  And that may be the tip of the iceberg – Amazon pays $15.00 per hour, offers full-time work, and has great benefits – all of the things we normally think would be hard for union organizers to overcome.  But the bottom line – if employees don’t feel secure, trusted and respected, all of those costly compensation items pale in the face of that uncertainty. And that’s what employees are looking for today – security and good benefits, in that order. Amazon won, but the lessons are clear. In your rush to re-open, don’t overlook Maslow’s hierarchy of needs – there’s a war for talent and the winners will be those that understand that basic psychology (more on this tomorrow). This crisis is really going to reveal the character and caliber of your leadership abilities. Rise to this challenge today.

 

Anne Chow: Senior Vice President – Premier Client Group, AT&T Global Services https://www.att.com/Common/about_us/pdf/anne_chow.pdf

 

Embrace your values...

To be who you are isn’t as easy as it sounds. The pressures of growing up are incredible as kids face all kinds of external influences and internal emotions. And then all of that shows up in the workplace when they get hired. Recruiters strive to figure out who and what they’re hiring, hoping that their new employee has a good internal compass and excellent set of personal values, all of which they’ll hopefully use when deciding how to act. That’s why it’s so important to have a set of company values and weave them into things like the job interview, the on-boarding process, the orientation, and the way managers act. If the company’s values and the employee’s values are aligned, they may grow and become what they’re capable of while working for you. If they’re not you begin to feel the friction immediately. Use your company’s values in everything you say and do – that too is easier said than done. Look them up this week and see if they really reflect what you want your company to be. If they are, ask some of your employees if they know what they are; if they do, then reinforce them every day, in every way.  If they don’t, you’ve got some work to do. Let your employees know what you expect of yourself and them today.

 

Alvin Ailey (1931 – 1989):  African American dancer, director, choreographer, and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

 

Don't lose out...

Looking back on all the stuff I’ve done, many happened without having to think about whether I should or shouldn’t. Many were opportunities that I couldn’t overlook or refuse. But when we see things that need revising or improving, we sometimes start hemming and hawing about whether we should or shouldn’t. The longer you wait to make decisions like that, all that happens is that you get older.  Or somebody else does it. You should never say “no” because you think something may be too hard: you’ll never improve your knowledge, or skills, or situation, that way. Or your career. Case in point: 25 years ago, I’d torn my Achilles tendon, and was laid up and depressed. Out of the blue, our HRIS provider invited me to visit their headquarters to brainstorm with them about improvements I’d been asking about. I could easily have said no; or suggested they invite someone else… and I almost did. But then I realized what a great opportunity that would be, and I got out of bed and hobbled across country to work with them. Best thing I ever did – I left there with a greater working knowledge of computers just as they were then starting to proliferate in the workplace. That gave me the knowledge and courage to go on to create lots of cool computer applications. Look for opportunities to learn and do more before you get another day older today. 

Larry McMurtry (1936 – 2021): American novelist, essayist, bookseller, and screenwriter 

Don't bite off more than you can chew...

I’ve learned that big things don’t happen overnight. The courage to do the handbook I wrote about yesterday came from having learned from a lot of crazy/cool projects I’d done in the past. With each resort opening, I got deeper into trying to reengineer and improve HR practices and processes that had become outdated or inefficient. Most of the things my team dreamed up hadn’t been tried before, so we started small and kept going. Like: Manually handling and processing 55,000 applications at Mirage lead finally, after 4 iterations, to an entirely paperless and seamless HR environment at Wynn. Like: When we broke through the wall to situate our HR help desk in the main employee corridor at Mirage, we started to dream of improvements that led, in increments over 15 years and 6 iterations, to Wynn’s employee intranet and portal.  Like: When we first committed to an employee-centric, value-based culture at Golden Nugget, that led, again in increments, to Million-dollar employee recognition programs, the Bellagio Yearbook for all of its original employees, and a culture of excellence that led, some 20 years and countless small steps later, to that crazy handbook at Wynn. Great things really are done in a series of small, well planned, incremental steps. There’s never a better time than right now to take a look at your present practices and processes and find some small things that could stand a series of incremental improvements. That’s a journey worth starting today.

 

Vincent van Gogh (1853 – 1890): Dutch post-impressionist painter who became one of the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art.

Have some fun...

Every company has an employee handbook, and usually their HR department struggles to create one that anyone will read or remember. For the opening of our last casino, I challenged my employee communications team to get innovative and create one that everyone would want to read. First off, someone asked ‘what are the best instructional/reference books on the market’? Another answered: the For Dummiesbooks. And right there you could see the spark and sparkle in everyone’s eyes. The first thing we came up with were the characters that lived and provided commentary in the margins. There was Ben Thinken (the guy thinking about the things that affected everyone), Freeda Ask (with the supervisor’s point of view), Willie Knowsit (who knows it all), WIREman (always pointing out where things were on the employee portal), and Mom (who always knows what’s best). Lots of great graphics, caricatures, pictures, and colors, simple, to the point, and fun. When we passed them out there were employees sitting and laughing and talking together as they read their handbooks, commenting on both how they were written and what was in them. Mission accomplished. And it felt great to be able to make something out of that sudden idea. Communications are the most important as well as the most challenging management responsibility.  The lesson here: focus on both what you want to say andhow you should say it. Get creative and make your employee communications effective today.

 

Beverly Cleary (1916 – 2021): American writer of children's and young adult fiction.

Take some creative baby steps...

The ordinary things we have are amazingly useful and that makes trying to think up new things that much harder. Look at the things we take for granted – smartphones and 5G technology that brings the IT of everything to our fingertips, video meetings and conferencing that brought the world and work into our homes during this pandemic year, super computers that made these new vaccines possible in record time, Amazon deliveries almost as fast as we can order, and social media that connects us whether we like it or not. To our grandparents, air travel and electricity were the miracles of their generation; to our parents, putting a man on the moon ushered in the world of computers that changed their generation; and for us, those past miracles keep on spawning newer and more amazing things. So much is created every year that we tend to take innovation itself for granted. Stop; look around at the things you take for granted: somebody dreamed them up and, if they can dream, then so can you. Look for something small that you can improve upon and let your creative juices flow. If you lack some of the technical or mechanical skills, there are lots of people who can help. Start small.  Take creative baby steps. Keep dreaming. If you can improve one thing, think how many more you might change. Don’t take anything for granted today.

 

Hans Christian Andersen (1805 – 1875):  Danish author and a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, poems and fairy tales

Bide your time...

Looking back, I’ve created a lot of pretty cool things: high volume hiring and training processes, applicant tracking systems, landmark collective bargaining contracts, self-service applications, and simple but effective recognition and retention programs. Lately, however, I’ve been letting my creative field lie fallow so that it had the time to nurture a new idea that addresses the time, cost and logistics of getting managers and supervisors into training classrooms.  But this past year has forced us all to adapt to remote work, new technology that helps bring us together, and a new normal that demands different thinking and practices. All of these have made the time right to launch a new supervisory soft skills training program that is both radically different and highly effective. It’s called Tiny Classroom Training and we (my partners and I) are rolling a sneak peek of it out to a few friends in business soon. Innovation is hard and usually takes more time and effort than expected… like that old ad once claimed, “no wine before its time”. The lesson here is that waiting for the right time and circumstances are critical ingredients of innovation. Wait for things to be right before rolling out your new ideas today.

 

Emmylou Harris (born 1947): American singer, songwriter, and musician

Don't be afraid to start over...

I worked with architects and designers my entire career and always enjoyed how they created the drawings that would ultimately become the spaces we worked in. I learned that it was an iterative process that always included lots of erasures. That influenced the rest of us to also work iteratively on the things we dreamed up and implemented in operations: lots of brainstorming, always including others and their perspectives, and never hesitating to start over with a clean sheet of paper. Even as computers and version control procedures took over this ideation process, it too included deletions and edits until we got it right. Once, we opened a new restaurant that looked good on paper but failed miserably operationally: that led to the practice of building partial and full-scale models that could be studied and changed until those too got it right. Great things start out as small ideas that, through a disciplined process, become finished concepts and products. All of them invariably contain lots of actual or virtual erasures, the goal being to get it right before you start to construct the real thing.  Be open to input from others and don’t be afraid to admit imperfections, and when you are part of an ideation or design team, never hesitate to add your thoughts and perspectives to the mix. Like your mother always told you: “two heads are better than one”. So, don’t be afraid to use your eraser today.

 

Elsa Peretti (1940 – 2021): Italian jewelry designer and philanthropist as well as a fashion model, described as “arguably the most successful woman ever to work in the jewelry field

Make people laugh...

Everyone knows I’m hard of hearing: I usually explain that to everyone I meet. And that I’m a practical joker: I practice that craft often. So, years ago it was especially poignant during an April 1^st Employee of the Month Luncheon at Bellagio that a group of catering managers rigged up a speaker in the potted plant behind me when I was emceeing the event. In the middle of my remarks, they started whispering things that came out of that speaker: I thought I heard something but couldn’t tell what it was, so I ignored it. After 7 or 8 of these stealthy broadcasts, I finally figured out that the noise was coming from behind me and, as I turned to see what it was, they shouted April Fool. In that instant, the shock made me jump, but rather than getting mad, I started to laugh. And everyone there at the luncheon did too. It was poetic justice: the joke was on the jokester. And right then and there I realized that it was the ability to take a joke, not just make one, that proves you have a sense of humor. We all joke around from time to time, and it’s important to know how it feels to be on the receiving end: be mindful of that the next time you have a hankering to joke around. Have some good-natured fun today.

 

Max Eastman (1883 – 1969): American writer on literature, philosophy and society, a poet and a prominent political activist