by Bill LaBrie | Oct 21, 2014 | Careers, Coping, Education, Essays, Humor
I grew up around people who lacked one critical skill: They couldn’t admit there was anything worth doing that they couldn’t do. It was among my dad’s life lessons. And to some extent, this denial of incapability was helpful. There really...
by Bill LaBrie | Aug 7, 2014 | Poetry
“The Ashtray” Beneath the blue ramada Sat the man in coveralls. He had emptied the ashtray And set it on the table Firmly, but with gentle care. He encircled it in his palms As a mother would her young. For it was his — for just this time —...
by Bill LaBrie | Apr 7, 2014 | Careers, Essays, IT Management
The beauty of working a job — of working in someone else’s employ — comes in not needing to care so much. I once had a team member who had come from a position of some authority in his prior job. Things hadn’t worked out and he had been...
by Bill LaBrie | Mar 31, 2014 | Careers, Coping, Culture, Education, Essays, Literature
The old man wore his grey hair long and disheveled and carried a clipboard and a walkie-talkie. He sat in a reception area at the airport. I could tell by the logo on his shirt and the name on the back of the clipboard that he was waiting for someone. I had a...
by Bill LaBrie | Mar 17, 2014 | Careers, Coping, Culture, Essays, IT Management, Social Justice
Too many people are drug addicts these days. There’s a real drug problem, and it surrounds us. The “drug problem” isn’t with pot, or coke, or even meth: Nothing “fun.” Nothing Bill O’Reilly shouts about, getting the...