I have a summer intern and I want to share employee relations dynamics with her w/o changing conversation dynamics by inviting her to the conversations.
I call the calendar event "Tea Time" and we go over what I have learned, the implications of the info, and solutions.
I used to think I loved helping people because I was just a kind person. Then I learned ADHD brains get dopamine from solving problems, being needed, and making things better. So now I know I am kind and chemically rewarded.
In the corporate world, if you have:
- a decent salary,
- a manager who trusts you without micromanaging,
- the flexibility of a hybrid work setup,
- the freedom to take time off when needed,
- opportunities for growth and skill development,
- a supportive and inclusive company culture,
You’re already among the top 1% of professionals enjoying a truly balanced and fulfilling work life.
Our COO sent me a Slack: “Laptop is dead, nothing works, fix ASAP.”
I checked the monitoring tool.
His battery was at 1% and the charger wasn’t plugged in.
I could’ve just messaged: “Plug it in.”
Instead I opened a ticket, categorized it as a Severity 2 Power Incident.
Asked him for screenshots of the problem.
He sent a photo of a black screen.
I scheduled a remote session for 30 minutes later “to run diagnostics.”
At minute 29 I told him to verify his power source as Step 1 of the troubleshooting script.
He plugged it in.
Laptop turned on.
I documented the resolution as “User Education: Introduced to Concept of Electricity.”
The ticket remains a permanent part of his audit trail.
For “trend analysis.”
Got lunch today and noticed the guy next to me had a logo on his phone from a company I applied for a job with. I politely introduced myself and it turns out it was the CEO. He gave me his personal email. I literally just got done yelling at my dad that it doesn’t work like this.