I work in a creative business – the business of creativity to be exact, and I see how difficult it is for some business people and academics to understand HOW a creative approach can help a business grow. But in today’s business environment, I can’t imagine a thriving business that is not looking at their business in a creative way.

The subject of creativity in business has been on the forefront lately, discussed in business blogs and articles in serous publications. There is no question that the term “CREATIVE“ is getting some major traction, according to LinkedIn (based on 135 million professional profiles in several languages), in 2011 “CREATIVE” was the most overused buzz word on user profiles in the US, Canada, Australia, Germany, Netherlands, UK.  But what the heck does it REALLY mean in business ?  

What does creativity mean in business?

Does this mean that executives should immerse themselves in afternoons of finger painting in order to find their inner creative mojo? (I am sure this wouldn’t hurt in the least). For the most part business people have been indoctrinated to draw inside the lines, and to ask them to reverse this way of doing things is quite radical, so how can you change this?.

In one of my favorite business books, Daniel H. Pink’s A Whole New Mind , Pink suggests, that the era of “left brain” dominance, and the Information Age that it engendered, are giving way to a new world in which “right brain” qualities-inventiveness, empathy, and meaning-predominate. But how do we make this change that Pink describes? How do we transition from the predominance of the left brain into the right brain?

Click here to view the embedded video.

There is no doubt, that we are experiencing a major departure from a time when there was a distinct separation between business and creativity, when there was little room for creativity in “serious” businesses, and creativity was something relegated to “free thinkers”. This change is evident as even more conservative companies like Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and Sears, are hiring creativity consultants in the hopes of helping to develop a culture where original ideas and innovation are stimulated. Thankfully, we are also seeing a great change in business schools, as they are starting to recognize the importance of creativity, and the role that it plays in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship.

There is no doubt that creativity is one of the most important ingredients for a successful startup.  And it is also one of the most important success criteria for anybody involved in business leadership. Evidence of this can be seen in IBM’s survey of more than 1,500 Chief Executive Officers from 60 countries and 33 industries worldwide, who overwhelming stated their belief that creativity is the number one most important quality to successfully navigating an increasing complex world.  But how does a business go about making this part of it’s culture?

Earlier attempts at creativity in business – “Thinking outside the box”, OR the MOST overused expression ….. ever

In an effort to foster creativity and innovation, in the late 90′s we overused the term “Thinking outside the box” (I cringe when I hear this expression), this concept was meant to help develop creative thinking, among business people, and a creative way to look beyond what is tangible and present, and think beyond boundaries and envision POSSIBILITIES. There was a great deal of conversation about this concept, but few business people actually grasped the meaning of this, much less the implementation of what is learned when really “Thinking outside the box”. 

I really believe that most people like knowing what is outside of the box, but few actually embrace it, and that could be because it means change, and most people are uncomfortable with that. 

Don’t worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good, you’ll have to ram them down people’s throats.
~Howard Aiken

Creativity in business is not only about product innovation, but can help businesses create ways that help us work smarter and improve the quality of life, think about Apple, Google and Facebook. Let us not forget that true creativity spawned these companies, and they are helping to redefine our world.

I believe we are all creative, the expression varies, to me it is not second nature IT IS my nature. As a result, I probably developed more right-brain thinking skills and so, creativity and creative thinking are the way I think about everything from taking brushing my teeth to problem solving. But how can people who are not accustomed to thinking in a creative way, learn to do so?

Adding structure to creativity is how you codify your ideas

It’s true that creativity can lead to innovation, but sometimes……. it just leads to doing something with no particular quantifiable results other than providing a great deal of personal satisfaction, in business, where ROI measures success, this can be unsettling. But the truth is you can’t force creativity or innovation in business, it has to be a part of the culture, and it has to be “native” to the people in the company – you can’t just make a shift to a creative culture happen over night. 

One of the first systems I learned about that helps to give structure to the creative process is Julia Cameron’s “Artists Way”. It has tools for creative people, one of the most important is a daily ritual called “Morning Pages’. And even though this process was created for artists, I wholeheartedly encourage anyone to try it.

There is little mystery, like anything else, creativity takes practice, to become a music virtuous it takes practice, to become a great painter you must paint tirelessly…. so allow yourself the room to practice being creative – even if it means finger painting in your office when no one is looking! 

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A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of. ~ Jane Austen

Money doesn’t buy happiness – or maybe it does ???

This is a question that has been on my mind, because I have noticed a widening chasm between the happiness of the “haves, and those that have less”. People who are comfortable financially and are financially stable seem to be MUCH happier than those who are not, they seem unscathed from the stress of these difficult times. Is their money like an invisible shield that keeps unhappiness at bay?

As the middle class dwindles, and the overall happiness rating in the US drops, I wonder if happiness will be reserved for the 1% of our country OR will we be challenged as a society to redefine happiness? 

There is no doubt that across the board a desire to be happy is prevalent in not just the US, but in our Western culture, and a happy life is very much the preferred life. People who are considered successful, have influence, economic power, stability and tend to be happy.

In a study conducted in Britain, by the Institute of Economic Affairs called “The Pursuit of Happiness”, determined a direct correlation between happiness levels and the amount of wealth a person has accumulated. The study goes as far as to say that CASH can make us happy – and that CASH, is the most important factor in a person’s happiness.

Another study conducted at Princeton, goes as far as to claim that the threshold in the US for happiness is a $75,000 household income (even in high-cost cities), the study analyzed information gathered from 450,000 responses to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index (GHWBI).  

Money is human happiness in the abstract; he, then, who is no longer capable of enjoying human happiness in the concrete devotes himself utterly to money.
~ Arthur Schopenhauer

The big question is - Does happiness lead to success or does success lead to happiness?

In a study by LYUBOMIRSKY, KING, AND DIENER they actually evaluated the success of happy people, and concluded that happiness DOES lead to success. This makes total sense – who wants to deal with a miserable person with a gloomy outlook? I see this in sales all the time – people who are top performers in sales tend to be the happy ones.

A new way to measure a country’s success?

In the past 100 years, our world has become increasingly focused on the correlation of success = money = happiness. Even the way we measure the success of a country is based on their economic well being, and although the tiny country of Bhuttan may have invented the term “Gross National Happiness”, the governments of major economies including France and Britain, are coming up with measurements that may revise the meaning of success to include other criteria. Some of these measurements are based on studies like the Compendium of OECD well-being indicators which is an attempt to evaluate “well being” in developed economies, and takes into account factors like health, education, political freedom, housing and safety. The study helps provide a better measurement for the quality of life, inequalities that may exist amongst certain segments of the population, and how to provide better policies. 

Check out this interesting interactive index which allows you to compare countries and criteria from the newly published report How’s life? Measuring well-being

Click here to view the embedded video.

Happiness in the US

In the US, where we are consistently ranked poorly on work-life balance, there seems to be a move by companies to consider the well being and happiness at the work place – all in the name of increasing productivity of course. But I don’t know of any company that is doing anything significant in this regard, I did find a list of the 50 Happiest Companies for 2012, you will be surprised by some of the organizations on this list! 

Of course, there are a few outliers like Zappos, Google, Facebook etc, but you don’t hear of any “happy employee” initiatives from major corporations. It is nice to think that one day there could be a Chief Wellness/Happiness Officer in the C Suite ….

I believe that being happy is in fact part of being successful, the road to true happiness is to focus on what makes you happy in the moment not on attaining it in the future. Living in the moment with an open and happy heart can open our minds to opportunities at work and in life to attain more of what we want.  It’s recognizing and taking these opportunities that will lead to success.

The successful and happy ones dance lightly with life.
~ Jonathan Lockwood Huie

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Don’t get a “job”, create a life and career you love – why not?

I’ve done a lot of complaining here, but of all the things I’ve complained about, I can’t complain about my life…….. And all this time I’ve been paid to say what is on my mind on television, you don’t get any luckier in life than that.
~ Andy Rooney

One of the things that struck me during the coverage of Andy Rooney’s life and passing, was his resolute claim that he did what he loved professionally for 70 years – and in fact he did it right up to his passing at the age of 92. Some would say that he was one of the privileged few, but I say why not do something you love to do professionally? why shouldn’t we all do what we love?

Living your life’s passion can not only be extremely rewarding but can lead to prosperity. Interestingly, most creative professionals that I know, will tell you that they do what they love – why can’t this be true for everyone?

Watch Gary Vaynerchuk’s funny and inspiring video. Gary is a 35 year old New York Times and Wall Street Journal Best-Selling author and a self-trained wine and social media expert, and the founder of Winelibrary.com.

Gary Vaynerchuk: Do what you love (no excuses!) TED Talk

Click here to view the embedded video.

Doing what you love is the cornerstone of having abundance in your life.
~ Wayne Dyer

Have you asked yourself:  What do you love to do? What do you care about? What sparks you? Find your niche, whether it’s working for a non-profit or becoming an entrepreneur creating a company based on your passion?

1. Is there something you already love doing, a hobby? 
2. Care about your self first – figure out what you love and then do it.
3. Study the market carefully and you will find opportunities. Consider conducting a market survey with potential customers to uncover untapped needs, position yourself to succeed

I am not suggesting that you leave your great paying job tomorrow …. but really think about it, plan it and pursue it. Start in small steps, and work on pursuing your passion after you leave the job you are lukewarm about.

Here are 3 stories of people I know who are pursuing their passions:

People might tell you, you can’t do it, you will starve – well I am here to tell you that you can! Here are 3 stories, of people that I personally know, who are making a go at it in 3 very different ways.

• Molly Butler, someone I know in Atlanta was just laid off – she actually enjoyed her full-time job, but her true love is pets. This past year she started Wag & Purr, a pet sitting services she was growing on the side. Now, it’s a no brainer, the passion she had as a side business will most certainly grow and provide her a great income – because she loves it. 

• I have a friend who has been a writer his entire career – he has written for major publications, the news – you name it. But recently he started working on writing a book about 2 of his great loves – Sports and cooking.  There is no doubt in my mind that this venture will be successful, because his passion makes him a credible source, that and the fact that there are so few cookbooks geared to men. 

• Rob Mazze was a well respected Executive at a large New York advertising agency, who got laid off less than 2 years ago. When that happened, he went through a period of introspection about WHAT to do next, and decided to follow his passion for yoga, (which he regularly practiced for 20 yrs.). He enrolled in the teacher training program at Yoga to the People and is now registered as an instructor by the Yoga Alliance. Keep in mind that he went from a highly paid executive job to being a student and re-building his career and income. In a very short time he has built a private clientele as well as regularly instructing at several studios. I have no doubt that his business will grow, and if he chooses he will soon be running his own studio.  

These are just a few of the stories I know personally, you get the idea …. define yourself by your passion, build your business based on that definition and you will have an instant brand for yourself and your business, and that is something that potential customers are naturally drawn to.

Passion is important, especially in your work life since we spend an average of 8270 hours a year at work – and I will tell you that entrepreneurs typically spend much more than that. Be in control of your own future and create the opportunities to do what you love!

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“That we are responsible for our own fate, we reap what we sow, we get what we give, we pull in what we put out. I know these things for sure” Madonna

My favorite “mistresses” of reinvention is Madonna – SAY WHAT YOU WILL ABOUT HER – HATE HER OR LOVE HER, she has been through more “re-births” physically, creatively, personally and in business than any other public figure I can think of.  

When Madonna came on the scene in the 80’s, she was young, defiant and unconventional, she had fame, fortune and POWER.  She showed the world that she was going to achieve it all – on her own terms, making her own choices. I admired her then, and 3 decades later, I still do. She is a highly diversified business powerhouse and yet still takes risks – from acting, launching ‘Material Girl’ (a new line of clothing with her 14 year old daughter Lourdes), to dating men half her age without any care for public opinion.

She has had much success, a good deal of controversy and a fair amount of public failure too – but she keeps on going. At 53, she CONTINUES TO inspire, including a whole new generation of women. 

“I think that Madonna was a great inspiration for me…. If I had to examine her evolution through time, I think she reinvented her clothing style and music with success every single time. And at the same time remained a real force in entertainment in the whole world.” Rihanna

What can we learn from Madonna about reinvention?

Reinvention is at the core of who Madonna is professionally and personally, one could say it is part of her brand as much as her sexuality.

One of the most important things about reinvention is that your CHANGE should be CONSTANT and WITH PURPOSE. When I say CONSTANT, I mean both huge changes and the constant necessary refinements. And with PURPOSE, don’t make change for the sake of CHANGE – have a purpose in mind, how does the change fit within the final outcome you desire???

• Be accountable for your SUCCESS and FAILURE – TAKE CONTROL OF IT.
• CREATE something new from something old, OBSERVE opportunities, LISTEN, LEARN.
• Live your life with PASSION!!!!
• Take the lessons you LEARN FROM FAILURE and apply them towards success.
• NEVER APOLOGIZE FOR TRYING SOMETHING NEW, (not even to the recruiters who ask you why you deviated from your professional track).
• BE HONEST – WITH YOURSELF about who you are, and what you love to do.
• TAKE RISKS – when you can, and they make sense to you.
• LISTEN to your gut – follow your HEART.
• Know your CORE VALUES, PREFERENCES, INTERESTS – be true to those.
• ASK FOR HELP to make changes and become who YOU want to be.
• The ONLY PERSON YOU CAN COUNT ON TO MAKE CHANGE = YOU.
• BE BOLD AND BE BRAVE, (I’m not suggesting you wear the GAULTIER CONE BRA….. but it did work once)
• NO doesn’t necessarily mean NEVER.
• DO NOT listen to criticisms that are intended to knock you down.
• LISTEN to critiques that help you refine your REINVENTION.
• CREATE FULFILLMENT by FINDING the right fit for your dreams.
• BE FEARLESS

A mantra to start the day, on the road to reinvention 

Nora Roberts – Novelist

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I want to highlight my one, two punch mobile apps strategy that keeps me on my feet, keeps me connected, and allows me to keep pace with the industry bobbing and weaving (the conversation). Also, how the combination of the two helps me stay productive while traveling. Seesmic & Evernote – these are my jab and cross for Social Media effectiveness.  Both of these apps are amazing on their own, but when combined together, they are a knock out!

What is Evernote?

Evernote is a powerful note taking and saving application.  The notes can be text, video, audio, or images and the best thing is that they are available to you no matter where you are….your computer, web, or mobile device. 

I use it all the time to store and organize the information that I come across.  Lean more about Evernote’s powerful features.

What is Seesmic?

Seesmic is my favorite application for tweeting. One of my favorite features on the iPhone app is Spaces, which allow you to customize the application to your liking. Spaces on Seesmic for iPhone can support multiple accounts, searches, trending topics, lists and much more.

My other favorite feature is the ability to save Tweets by sending them to Evernote with a single click (see how I use this feature to save time below)

How I use Seesmic & Evernote to stay Productive on the road:

• Catch up on Tweets when there is no internet access
  I do a lot of tweeting on the train, or on the go, and can’t always get great Internet access.  What do I do?  Before I enter the subway, I pre-load my tweets into my Seesmic application on the phone. (Tip: Once you are on the subway, turn on “Airplane Mode” to save on battery life).

• Save Tweets for Later
  While on the go or when I don’t have access to the internet, I want to be able to save things for later where I can follow links in the tweets that catch my eye or reply to the tweet that I read.  Seesmic allows you to save your tweets in one click using the “Send to Evernote”!

• Save Tweet Replies as Drafts
  This Seesmic feature allows me to reply to the tweets and save them as drafts.  This is VERY useful when you are on the train without access to the web.  Once you are outside, you can post all of your Tweets from the draft file and you’re done!…knock out

   

Okay, full disclosure. I have been practicing martial arts recently and I think that influenced my metaphor.

How do you save time with mobile apps?

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People who cannot invent and reinvent themselves must be content with  borrowed postures, secondhand ideas, fitting in instead of standing out.” ~ Warren G. Bennis

Some of my story …..

20 months ago, just before turning 46 and after a disastrous time in my life (the love of my life left me, my dog died, an IRS audit, an apartment fire, surgery and loosing my job…..) My life had started to sound like a sad country song. I decided to take my life back, and with the help of family, friends, armed with a sense of humor and an awesome Life Coach I got down to the work of “reinvention”. I had become a mid career, middle management type in mid life …… “mid” never quite suited me, I had always been a little edgier and unconventional – so how did I get to the middle? I guess I had compromised some of my dreams, like so many women do.

How reinvention and a great life coach is changing my life        

Working closely with a Life Coach, I wrote a list of my hopes and dreams and set forth to achieve as many as possible in the next 25 years.

Goal #1  was to go to Graduate school and complete an MBA, but I didn’t want to do just any program, I chose the #1 ranked program in Global Management…and in  Europe!

Even before I applied I had my doubts:

• Would I be the oldest person there? 
• How current and relevant was I?
• and most importantly how the heck was I going to  manage to get to Geneva, Switzerland every 6 weeks for 10 days at a time when I had no job, little savings and the economy had tanked?

I put all of my things in  storage, got rid of my car, and I am happy to report that I did it! after 17 months of financial struggle, working hard on my studies and lots of support from unexpected places, I graduated with my MBA in Global Management!

That's me!

In fact, I was not the oldest participant, the oldest was an energetic woman from Poughkeepsie, New York who is in her 60’s, and had set her dreams on hold to raise a family and grow a business. Her dream was to work in the Foreign Service and live an exotic life abroad – and she may do that now that her husband is retired. I learned lots about business and the world – from books and my fellow students from around the globe – and I learned that I knew much more than I thought I did. So many of us forget to acknowledge how much we know and have learned through our life experiences.

Are you recognizing it’s YOUR time for a change?

Mid life is a good time for reinvention, but you don’t have to be middle aged to do it. For example, when working with a Life Coach, anyone can make a careful evaluation of  what you want to accomplish, then take the action steps towards making it happen. This is powerful stuff, at any age.

The Reinvention Road

That’s what I will be writing about, the journey, struggles, joys and unexpected twists that is reinvention – I will share my experiences and what I am learning on the reinvention road, and I hope to hear from you and other people who are fellow travelers or just thinking about it…..

Think about this ………….

If you could make any change in your life without risk, what would you do?  What’s holding you back?

Enjoy this clever and beautifully done video about “Nagging Doubt”

Click here to view the embedded video.

What would it be like if you answered the pull of your unrequited dreams?

Disclaimer  - I am not advocating that anyone run out and do what I did, this is my personal journey that may serve as inspiration but not a road map. Part of reinvention is finding your own dreams and working towards fulfilling them…. whatever they may be.

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Hearing Elizabeth live was amazing and inspiring.  As a presenter, she is outstanding! She is personable, connects with the audience, tells an amazing story, and is just fun to listen to.  To lean more about the presentation aspects of the talk, read John Zimmer’s speech critique.

The Effects of Multitasking

Elizabeth’s message on “reclaiming & reconnecting with ourselves” inspired me the most.

Practically everything we do is sending energy outward. We are connected to the world 24×7 and are expected to read, think, and respond immediately. When we are not in front of our computers, we are on our mobile devices…we are either working or texting, twittering, facebooking, checking in with our friends and followers and we are constantly interrupted and we are multitasking and multitaskers are “lousy at everything that’s necessary for multitasking”. The studies show this and multitasking causes major stress, inhibits our creative ability, reduces our ability to problem solve, and it makes us slower thinker. It drains us and depersonalizes us.

We need to reclaim our personal and professional boundaries, reduce our stress levels, stay more focused on the task at hand and the goals ahead and we need to reconnect with ourselves to ensure that we are more balanced and more effective and efficient. Below are 5 tips that will allow you to reconnect with yourself and reclaim your life.

Elizabeth’s 5 Tips for Reconnecting with Yourself

1. Say No
   “I’ll say no to things that I used to instinctively say yes to, invitations that are wonderful, but I know will actually make me more tired the next day, more stressed”, says Elizabeth Gilbert.

   According to William Ury, director of the Global Negotiation Project at Harvard University, “No may be the most powerful word in the language, but it’s also potentially the most destructive, which is why it’s hard to say” and almost everyone has trouble saying No.  If you’re not sure how to get started, read the 7 simple ways to say “No”.

2. Schedule “Quiet” time
   Whether it is ten minutes or an hour, make time where you spend with yourself, without TV, phone, computer, or any other distraction.  Making this “Quiet” time a part of your schedule will ensure that you will make time for it.Elizabeth takes long walks.  You can meditate, go for a walk, play with your dog, or anything else that brings you to a peaceful moment that is purely yours.

   In that silence and stillness, I met this other voice that I never had before, which is this older part of me—this calm, sedate, affectionate, forgiving, wise soul that watches my comings and goings and my spastic fears and desires and anger, and all the stuff that pulls on me and intercepts me before I get dragged too far away from myself
   ~ Elizabeth Gilbert

3. Find a “State of Wonder”
   This is a simple act of finding and believing that something around you is beautiful.  Whether it is a painting, a building, or a just a tree, this exercise forces us to see and appreciate beauty that is all around us, no matter what is happening in our own lives, and will help us lift us spiritually.

   On the “State of Wonder”, Elizabeth says “it’s our responsibility to find it from time to time”.

4. Don’t rush to make decisions
   When making decisions about your life, Gilbert advises everyone to just slow down.  She says:

   I think we always rush into decisions because we don’t want to hold up the train of progress but it’s okay to say actually I don’t know and I need some time to figure it out and just ask the world for a little bit more space and a little bit more time and that’s not always easy to do. But you risk injuring yourself as you hurtle along when things are not going right instead of stopping the momentum.

5. Be Present
   Elizabeth embodies “being present” and it is one of the hardest tasks for me and most people and requires a lot of practice.  For some great being present tips, read this simple guide to being present for the Overworked and Overwhelmed.

My takeaway from the evening: only if we can be connected enough with ourselves, can we be more productive, creative, and happy.

Thank you to the Academi of Life & Elizabeth Gilbert for reminding me to reconnect with myself.  Join the the Academi of Life on May 11th, for an evening in conversation & music with Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor.

What do you do to reconnect with yourself?

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• Come prepared. You want to hit the ground running, so learn a bit on your own before you get there. Look around for books, articles, and blogs on your new employer (or your new industry). Ask your future boss to recommend more.
• First day? Show up on time. Notice I say “on time,” not “early.” You might be inclined to arrive ahead of schedule, but you’ll only throw off the first-day schedule of HR, office tour, and paperwork. Speaking of paperwork, bring everything with you they’ll need to process your employment (ID and social security card), payment (blank check), and ID badge (big smile). Dress a little more nicely than you would for a normal workday. If it’s a casual office, you can break out the patched jeans tomorrow.
• Get a mentor. If your company has an official mentorship program, take advantage of it. If not, make your own: Find someone you can take to lunch and coffee and ask all the dumb and gossipy questions you want, someone who will answer you honestly and discreetly. I recommend you find a mentor outside your department—best to keep the hairy stuff away from the people you work closely with.
• Don’t talk too much. We’ve all been in meetings with that one person who won’t shut up: he talks when he has nothing substantive to add and asks questions to show how smart he is. Don’t be that person. There’s a temptation, when you’re new, to show that you can contribute, but if you’re not actually contributing, keep quiet.
• Be eager, but not too eager. This is a tough one. You want to take on every project that comes your way at first. You don’t have to, and you shouldn’t. If you overextend yourself, you’ll wind up behind and overwhelmed. Better to go smaller at first, set reasonable expectations and then exceed them.

How many jobs have you had? What do you do when you start a new job? Do you have any tips to add?

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When I first began working at my small search engine company three years ago, I wanted to fit in, and so I dressed like my co-workers dressed. Although my company, like many around here, has no written dress code, there is definitely a standard. All the guys (and it’s mostly guys) wear the same thing every day: jeans, freebie t-shirt from a tech conference, and a button-down shirt, unbuttoned. When I followed the “uniform,” however, I found that it drowned out my personality. I didn’t look like the guys; I looked like a bland automaton and a wallflower. So not me.

Eventually, I decided to take full advantage of the Silicon Valley vibe. No dress code? Great—I’m going to dress like me. My weekend style is best described as “modified punk”: vans and studded belts, tattoos on my arms, but no mohawks or nose rings. I started wearing that style to the office, and I’ve felt more confident ever since.

The topic of how to dress in casual offices has come up on many occasions on women-in-science email lists that I subscribe to, and I seem to be in the minority. Most women recommend dressing to fit the culture and look professional. And, sure, people take the girl with visible tats and skull t-shirts a little less seriously, but to me it’s worth it. My style increases my self-possession, makes me surer of myself, and that helps me to be a better worker. It’s liberating to let my personality shine through and not be obscured by my clothes, even if it costs me a bit in professionalism.

How do you dress at work? Would you dress differently if you could?

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Oh no, wait—yes it can. Crying at a workplace where you’re the only woman for miles around is worse. And doing it in front of your boss. And having to talk about it for the next week. Well, that’s my crying story. Hey, everyone’s got one, right? Right??

In my case, it came at the end of a stressful and frantic week when it seemed like I couldn’t do anything right. A piece of my code had a bug. Stupid, annoying bug. Software had to be rolled back, customers reassured. It was a whole big thing.

After I fixed up the code, I went through a few rounds of “you suck” meetings. What was wrong with me? How could I have been so careless? I had to explain to group of managers exactly what the problem was and why I didn’t catch it before. I was up every night that week—working, worrying, and wondering whether I even belong in this profession.

At the end of all this, a senior manager asked me to send an e-mail to the entire company explaining the bug. Ughhhh, really? Do I have to? Yes, really. I really had to.

So I composed a mea culpa, previewed it to another manager, swallowed my pride, and hit “send.” Not five minutes later, another senior manager (my boss’s boss) pulled me aside to tell me how inappropriate the e-mail was—not the intent of it, but the tone. He was upset with the way it was worded. Apparently, I had humiliated myself incorrectly.

Well, that was too much for me. The tears came, and I couldn’t choke them back. That I managed not to out-and-out sob was the only victory of the day. I hoped that Boss would discreetly back off and leave me to my embarrassment, but he had me cornered in my office and just kept… on… talking. Luckily, it was late in the day and no one else was really around. After apologizing as coherently as I could, I headed right for home.

The next week, I had several conversations with all kinds of managers who kept asking to talk to me about the encounter. Some were of the “are you okay?” variety, and some were still on the “you suck” thread of the week before. I endured similar conversations with my fellow engineers as well. Apparently, word had gotten around.

The bug itself I have long since gotten over. Bugs happen. But the crying at work? My brain still hangs on to that one, hauling the memory out every now and then so I can re-live it. It will fade eventually, I’m sure, and I’m really looking forward to that day.

Have you ever cried at work? How did you handle it?

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