Health Hazard

In the paper recently, there was a fascinating article on permanent smiles in Japan. Pushing the logic to extremes, this extremely competitive nation is forcing customer-facing staff to keep a permanent smile on their faces. The problem - apart from the physical pain - is that they can't wipe the smile off their faces when they go home.

It seems that forcing yourself to smile non-stop can lead to depression. I guess your body rebels against the fact that you are not listening to it. Other theories?

Sunday smile

I read two articles in The Citizen today. The top half of the page was an article remembering the Maharashi yogi that the Beatles hung out with in 1968. He died last week at the age of 91. Peace and love (and greed).

The bottom part of the page was an article on the latest Rambo and what it says about the American public. The juxtaposition made me smile.

Kodak Moment

From a chartered bus, I looked down on a square that has a number of sculptures. They are life-sized depictions of heroic Canadians (Laura Secord, for example). They are not on pedestals - the idea being to make them approachable. You can look at them eye-to-eye.

A homeless man was standing in front of one of the bronzes, staring at his face.

I stared at the man, wondering what he was thinking.

I keep thinking back on this moment.

We're going through an acquisition at work. I get to compare with the previous situation I was in. See how this company does. They have tons of experience and a staff a thousand strong dedicated to acquisitions, so my expectations are high. Up to now, they are doing swell:
- keeping new staff informed but not overwhelmed with irrelevant info
- sending emails with practical suggestions
- centralized Q&A (pretty standard) and short info sessions
- a goodbye session later in the day of the welcome session so we can close the loop
- iterative and well-published steps to replace signage in and around the buildings

I can't wait for the corporate gifts... Oh, did I mention we're all getting new hardware? No grumbling there - everybody loves a new laptop! Coming next week already - rumour had it there was a warehouse full of goodies just waiting for the official green light.

Mucho fun in perspective!