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Archive for the ‘Behaviour & Relationships’ Category

Recommendations to Rent

An article this week in Ottawa’s major newspaper describes the ordeal being faced by a man in Kingston, Ontario, who rented out his home to a family a couple of years ago. These people came with a good recommendation, but their stay over a couple of years was a destructive one for the home, including cleanup horrors stemming from some of the most disgusting manners imaginable. After months went by before eviction could be finalized, the home owner is facing a litany of expensive cleanup and repair, likely to the tune overall of $30,000. (more…)

Trumped-Up Terms

As a heretofore regular word in the English language, ‘trump’ has some familiar, longstanding applications. While it can be both a verb and a noun, recent connotations seem to be putting it more frequently into the pro-active role as a verb.

Given the electoral earthquake in the U.S., it’s interesting to note how many of these meanings are open to being flavoured, or perhaps coloured, in the reflection of the (capitalized) eponymous President elect. (more…)

A Cute Story

According to a brief article in the current issue of Psychology Today, there are about one billion dogs in the world, but only about 15% are domesticated. (Many of the 85% in the wild don’t make it to their first birthday, due to being abandoned as pups.)

It would seem that a key point to a dog’s survival is “Tricking a person into taking care of it”. (more…)

Whoa! The Orphan Client

When I was in the financial services industry, one of the client servicing issues I dealt with, on the insurance side, concerned what have been termed ‘orphan clients’.

Such clients came about from departed representatives, tending to fall into a category of not high priority allocation, or at least not priority follow-up. They might be awaiting a trigger for administrative staff to arrange a replacement agent. (These times were on the cusp of tighter compliance expectations.) (more…)

It’s to be Experienced

The fourth and final part of a series of mini-articles under the umbrella of ‘Life Lessons’ in October’s Psychology Today focuses on the idea of being open to life experiences.

Therefore, let us benefit (even if vicariously) from the comments of the contributing authors: (more…)

A Rock Versus a Soft Place

A survey of millennials released this week has revealed that more than one-half of them would prefer the earth to be hit by a meteor than have the Republican candidate become U.S. President, and about one-third of them feel the same regarding the Democratic candidate.

There is a surrealistically dire implication in these choices – with the human side of the equation, our world deeply impacted, whether the choice is metaphorical or not. (more…)

It’s Time

Part Three of a series of mini-articles under the umbrella of ‘Life Lessons’ in October’s Psychology Today focuses on the issue of time.

Therefore, it’s worth considering some ‘timely’ comments of the contributing authors with their insights on this immutable topic: (more…)

Guidance for Neanderthal Sales Thinkers

Like it or not, in one manner or another, we are all sales people.

For many of us, this is (or has been) literally true. Even in businesses where corporate mission statements exemplify other, i.e. lofty, aspects of service relationships, the ultimate determination of success or failure generally comes down to whether or not sales are made.

For the population at large, not dependent on successfully adhering to the sales process to make a living, variations of selling still infiltrate daily living. (more…)

Addressing Obstacles

Part Two of a series of mini-articles under the umbrella of ‘Life Lessons’ in October’s Psychology Today focuses on what is called ‘Facing Adversity’.

Once again, the comments of the contributing authors collectively can provide valuable insights for our own lives: (more…)

Keeping Life Ship Shape

Under the general umbrella of ‘Life Lessons’, the October issue of Psychology Today has a series of mini-articles metaphorically spreading from branches of the life tree. The perspectives attempt to clarify what is deemed a paradox – our instincts can be flawed biases that science attempts to overcome, meanwhile, personal wisdom emerges from lived experiences.

Thus, here are some thoughtful comments under the heading of ‘Shaping Your Life’: (more…)