The planets align to tell me things… occasionally.

Tonight I discovered that you can still have a revelation every now and then even when you’re exhausted (or is it because you’re exhausted?). Anyway, I just hopped on Facebook to catch up with my cousin who lives in London, only I didn’t make it that far. I actually stopped dead in my tracks when I glanced at one of my “silly” apps: Chinese Astrology! I share this with you — what it said today for my sign, “The Wood Rabbit” — because it seems so relevant to communicating:

“You’ll probably be sad, disenchanted, without daring to show it, and inclined to give up everything. You must absolutely find ways to relax; the most simple and certainly one of the most efficient ones is contact with nature. You’ll above all try to consolidate what you’ve got or still to improve your material and professional situation by only taking carefully calculated risks. Beware of tough sentimental storms, of risks of frustration, disputes, rupture, of turmoils of all kinds; to avoid all this, only one solution: try to be as tolerant and understanding as possible.”*

*Emphasis mine, because this is important!

OK, now aside for some sloppy writing there in the middle part (lost in translation?), this message needs to be my horoscope every day. Don’t we all feel disheartened about our work sometimes? Don’t we all have times when we just need to step back, relax and sever our emotional ties from our professional situations? This is definitely a goal of mine, one I struggle with more frequently than I’d like.

But the big message that shines through is obvious (mostly because I put it in bold letters and put an asterisk by it!). Tolerance and understanding. It’s as simple — and as difficult — as that. Can you imagine what would happen if we all made that our mantra?

Hhhmmm. There I go with the Kumbaya again. Leave me alone, it’s been a long week.

Tell the truth.

Does your employer do a good job of communicating with you? Stop laughing. I’m serious.

What does it do well? What does it do poorly?

Part of what I’m trying to get from this grand blogging experiment is a sense of how I can improve communications where I work. We don’t work at the same place, but I have this theory that whatever’s going on at your place of business would probably sound strangely, eerily, sadly familiar to me and anyone else who visits. We’re all making the same mistakes. So maybe I can learn something here:

Rant. Go ahead. Tell me what outrages you. Tell me what makes you proud. I’m not talking about policy. I can’t do anything about your medical benefits. What I’m interested in is HOW THEY TALK TO YOU. How do employers talk to employees? And how can they do it better?